Another Summer’s Day

Another summer’s day 

will settle on still waters

to rest in the heat.

“What good is the warmth of summer, 

without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”

~ John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

Stillness ~ 2

Eyes opened to 

blessings of stillness

from an uninvited

expanse of time.

“Among my stillness was a pounding heart.”

~ Shannon A. Thompson, Seconds Before Sunrise

Frosting

 

When there are 

vast frosted spaces

between words

and ideas

it feels empty

until stillness

fills me up.

“Frost kills the flowers that bloom out of season….”

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Michael Angelo

Snow and Silence

Dallas Road, Victoria, BC Feb. 2017 

It was Kelowna, Dec. 13, 2000. I found this poem in one of my journals from 2000. Reviewing my journals has become part of my personal archaeology. Looking for any highs, lows or in-betweens of my life so I can really feel my transitions. That short time in Kelowna following my return to Canada from Texas became very chaotic in several ways, not to mention that Christmas was only days away. Those are stories for another venue and another time. Needless to say, my heart was pretty sore and was desperate for relief. I found it with trusted friends and with pen to paper. Both are little tricks that calm my soul and offer a pause when all around seems to be crashing around. I have edited this significantly but the feeling it still invokes in me has not been changed.

Snow and Silence

I walked last night with two friends. 

Lake Okanagan was still.

It was -7C.

Lights lined the waterfront and 

climbed through the city 

spread into the hills.

Snow fell delicately

crystaled white flakes

against a darkened sky.

A light breeze persuaded

these sparklets of ice to

slip sideways through 

dried leaves and drifting

golden willow branches.

Veils of steam rose in

fine clouds that hovered

inches from the lake’s

glassy black surface.

Crunching, matched footsteps of 

three bundled up women

broke through snow and silence,

covered ears and crisp footsteps 

quieted any words wandering away

on puffs of breath into the snow drift.

An ever faithful flock of ducks huddled

 ~ warm to warm ~ green and brown heads 

tucked under shining wings out of the cold.

Water blocks stared at the marina ~ 

glossy, black and empty ~ 

spaces beside the dock

where few boats wintered,

blanketed with snow and

resting in the stillness.

I walked last night with two friends. 

Lake Okanagan was still.

It was -7C.

"Silence is a source of great strength."

~ Lao Tzu

Outside of the Pack

Tattooed legs pumped in

the passion of cycling.

Multicolored spandex 

covered a lean body

leaning 

into the cool morning 

black curls 

fringed his black helmet

eyes alert and facing forward

clicking of gears and wheels 

underscored the cry 

of wheeling gulls

the only sounds in the stillness.

“Learn to ride a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live.”

~ Mark Twain

A Red Walker

She had a red walker.

A flat frame style without racing stripes.

She stepped on the bus.
She folded her red walker neatly,

tucked it beside her seat.

She folded herself quietly 
beside the red walker

while teens and young adults around

laughed, joked and texted.

A serious face without expression

but aware of those around her.

She sat in her stillness until

the bell rang for Stop Requested.

Rising, she unfolded her red walker

and stepped down from the bus 

as quietly as she had come,

mindful especially of her red walker

and returning home.

 “I always try to check my motivation and 

be mindful and present in the moment.”

~ The Dalai Lama, 

The World of Tibetan Buddhism

To Be Still

Kids off for a fun weekend

Papers to review

Forms to fill out

Grand-dogs to care for

Grand-kitty too.

Plans to design

Fridge full of food

Rainy day weather

Online learning to do

My weekend set up

Stillness deepens and glows

“The inner is foundation of the outer.

The still is master of the restless.”

~ Lao Tzu

Waiting

A silent postcard from

an ancient graveyard

on a gentle winter’s day

with a depth of stillness

matched only by heavy fog. 

A calming city scene melted, 

 ~ green, shining wet, cold.

A lone bench left in waiting.

“It is very strange that the years teach us patience - 

that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting.”

~ Elizabeth Taylor, A Wreath of Roses

Stillness ~1

Stillness

Electrifying was not the word I would have used for the magnificent scene below me. Grand. Awesome. Even the much overused word amazing. Watching the rolling mist crawling  up the mountain side, threading and weaving it’s way through old growth forest green was a scene that reminded me of prairie clouds pushing their way across the land. The sky had always fascinated me. It’s very blueness and broadness. But when the clouds began their silent march from a very distant horizon to cover and hover over everything, I was transfixed.

Jim and I stood frozen to our skis, clutching our poles and breathed in the stillness. A stillness that matched the trees around us pillowed with the snows of yesterday and yesterday. We both knew the science behind the winter mists in the mountains. Arctic air. Moisture from warmer areas trapped in valleys. Blah, blah, blah. Only in pencilled side notes of the oldest dog-eared texts were there hints that there was something much more. Something so very soul stopping that wordy description failed. The glistening silence was broken by an eagle soaring higher than mountain tops and clouds. And then another sound interfered. My growling stomach. Accepting that our basic needs could pull us more strongly than the glory around us was difficult but necessary.

Whispering as quietly as possible, I breathed 'Jim' 

‘Shh’

Still whispering I said. 'It’s lunchtime. Let’s eat.'

“When there is silence one finds 

the anchor of the universe within oneself.”

~ Lao Tzu

Stillness ~ 1

When I let myself be still

close my eyes

face to the warm sunshine

songbirds twitter and chirp

crows call raggedly from tree tops

a cool breeze caresses my cheek

When I let myself be still

I feel my heart beat

blood flowing through my veins

muscles relaxing in softness

bones settling weightlessly

there comes a chance for my soul to rest.

“Within yourself is a stillness and a sanctuary to which 

you can retreat at any time and be yourself.”

~ Hermann Hesse

Free Fall

Respect the power of noise outside
 When the noise inside grows
  Louder and more insistent
   Shaking your very being inside and out.

Move away from the outside noise
 Move into quiet and stillness
  Time to give mind and heart space to settle
    To grow quiet once more

Like a seed floating down from a gnarled old tree
 To be planted
   To root and 
     To grow

“Peace of mind arrives the moment you come to 

peace with the contents of your mind.”

~ Rasheed Ogunlaru

Holding Stillness

May, 2008 Hornby Island

Hold still ~

stillness smooths sharp curves
softly stretching worries,
perceptions of great sadness in clouds adrift in open skies

~ Holding stillness

“There are seasons when to be still demands 

immeasurably higher strength than to act.”

~ Margaret Bottome

Author's note: Edited January 14, 2024

Go Deep

Go deep

recognize that gut feeling 

let it bring you to a halt
feel the stillness
in time to divine the next step,
a perception ~

inside your heart and soul.

Go deep ~ 

feel the feeling for what it is.
Only you know its meaning.

“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart.

Who looks outside, dream; who looks inside, awakes.”

~ C.G.Jung

Author's Note: Edited January 14, 2024

The Sound of Stillness

Gauzy grey clouds in early evening drift.

Lone wind-chime tings and falls silent.

Eaves drip.

Distant traffic fades.

“The greatest revelation is stillness.”

~ Lao Tzu

Should there be Stillness

Stillness within

Calm uncertainty

Shouldn’t there be more?

Vibrant busy energy

Explosions of words

Shouldn’t there be work done?

Shouldn’t I want to do more?

But stillness is still within

Certain calmness

There should only just be.

“We all have within us a center of stillness  surrounded by silence.”

~ Dag Hammarskjold