Green Things

Robust spicy mustard greens washed and trimmed and torn.

Green play dough squished and squashed and shaped.

I’m sure there must be more.

Oh yes, green masking tape adds another bit of spice.

Strips upon construction paper ‘for my daddy’, might be nice.

A tiny, bright pink t-shirt, and brand new apron with green stripes are now adorned.

Tomato plants, green garden trowel.

Pink and green garden gloves for planting

Landscape green in warm spring rain.

Green masking tape once more create 

another green design with blunt scissors 

always ready for an active, busy day

From all the building, planting and artistry today

an appetite is born, so chicken, rice and mustard greens

And like this poem - some corn!

(The author - that would be me - apologizes for the erratic rhythm of this piece.)

“Imagination is the beginning of creation.  You imagine what you desire,

you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.”

~ George Bernard Shaw

Changing Horizons

The seascape, flat in the distance, a curl at the edge, 

foot steps trailing in the sand.

A graveled dirt road lined with tall old trees

horizon barely visible behind shivers of leaf and pine. 

Filtered sunlight dappled the road ahead.

Dust rose from the road to meet shimmering heat 

when dirt road turned to softening asphalt.

Trees stepped away from the highway.

Ocher and terra cotta stained cliffs pushed forward.

Topping a hill of browning grasses,

clumps of rounded trees made dark cutouts on the horizon.

Vehicles ahead grew ever more distant or 

disappeared around a bend in the road.

Vehicles behind, mere dots in a rear view mirror, 

played peekaboo around more bends in the road.

Across a river, vehicles made a twisting mountain descent.

on a parallel but curving dirt road.

Coming down from mountain meadows,

a wide valley dotted with cattle, horses and sheep

splayed out between feet of granite-gray, snow covered mountains

that rose to pierce puffed white clouds drifting low between the peaks.

The highway, a thick grey thread, 

wound through passes

thick with fog or

bright with sunlight.

Down from the mountain

the grand golden prairies, 

spread out ahead of me 

edged in green;

white puffs of cloud on the distant horizon.

Return to the sea

or drive on through the prairies,

to hills with trees and scrub

or mountains of pine

all the way to the ocean.

So many vistas to enjoy.

So many challenges calling.

“A person only grows as much 

as his horizon allows.”

~ John Powell

Discernment

Meant to discern

see through

into

around

understand.

Discernment: meaning to discover

nuances

shades of 

colour

feeling

mood

temperament

with one’s own soul

with another’s soul

Discernment with intent to 

see

hear

feel 

learn 

a truth outside of the mind

Discernment

not ‘dis’ing facts 

accepting facts

as pieces of the whole puzzle.

Discernment

certainly aids

decisiveness

creativity

forward movement

sensitivity

Discernment 

thinking on your feet

when an event heats up,

a crisis unravels,

a dam bursts.

thinking when your feet stop running

hunger rumbles,

thirst needs slaking,

breath asks for depth

soul asks for calm,

Discernment suggests

location

time 

direction

Discernment is

not standardized

but blends detail,

only suggests

is not rigid

When discernment is accompanied

by a solid click

in the gut

in the heart,

for that moment

there is a ‘right’ answer.

Discerning 

other nuances

later on

may provide another solution.

“It’s the deepest channel that runs the most true.”

- Kate Wolf

"Summertime....and the livin' is easy.."

(Cue Peggy Lee's voice.)

Writing and revising for the day

Heat too hot for being outside

except for short periods.

Ceiling fans whirring

cats and dogs stretched out

Humid still air heavy 

in the trees

on the meadow

A lazy, productive day

“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.”

~ Sam Keen

The Gosling Report ~ 2

It’s been a week since seeing the goslings at the pond in the meadow.

From a distance, before my camera was up and ready, four adult geese, honking loudly, lifted off to the northeast.

The family of geese I have been watching was on the pond today.

All seven goslings, with mom and dad, have grown, with longer necks and button bright black eyes.

In past days, ‘too close’ was several feet from the edge of the pond.

I was always warned by gentle, but agitated, parental honks. 

Today the small gaggle of geese allowed me to walk to the very edge of the pond, while watching me closely.

One young one raised briefly out of the water, 

bravely flapped two fuzzy, featherless wings while

another attempted to honk like the big guys.

The goslings, still carefully guarded by mom and dad, in a slightly disorderly line between them, had a bit more room to stray, but never far from their parents.

“Growth is never by mere chance; it is 

the result of forces working together.”

~ James Cash Penney

Serenity

Serenity has no direction

but is full of motion.

Serenity is quiet

but sways to ‘soul’ music.

Serenity is singular

but embraces loving hugs.

Serenity has no temperature

but basks in warmth.

Serenity has no picture

but is filled with imaginings

Serenity has no aroma

but home ‘scents’ bring peace.

Serenity has no feeling

but is filled with deep emotion.

“What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity 

devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter ~ a soothing,

 calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair 

which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.”
~ Henri Matisse