Sunday, September 15, 2013




 Autumn Morning Sonnet
Yesterday's leaves that crunched in crackling alarm
fold softly now, awash in morning dew. 
I may surprise a squirrel along the way,
or sparrow startled I may chance to view.
And if I pause in perfect silence there
the leaves begin to whisper and to sigh,
the distant geese draw near, fly swift and low,
full songs and whistling feathers cross the sky.
Somewhere nearby a woodpecker gently taps,
a magpie raucously declares the news.
And always waves of whispers and of sighs
wash over me more peace than I can use.
The sun pours through the leaves its shining light:
its warmth remembered in the woods at night.

Thursday, September 12, 2013


 Foam on ditch water, and red osier dogwood leaves.

Today, because I was worried for someone I love, I tried to pray like I used to pray, with words that I trust God to hear. There was only silence and absence. I am patient.

I floated out into empty air
a prayer.
Can anyone hear me?
If so, are you near me?
I felt no arms around me
so I let nothing surround me.
And yet
in the emptiness fullness abounds;
full is the silence with endless sounds.
I seek because needing,
my need itself knowing:
the seeking is the showing.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

I saw a low but broad-leaved grass,
Its blades were all ashiver.
Vibrations humming soundlessly
The Song Beside The River.
Captivity there is, and pain,
And loss beyond reclaiming
But there is One beyond all things
Ever raising and renaming.