I look at the picture, framed on my shelf
little shorts
big smile
Standing in innocence
he seeks to please
This young image of simple joy
has ceased to exist
My Son
He now has a son of his own
little shorts
big smile
2008, for mothers everywhere
Rare
How rare is the soul come to personhood
Who gives the gift of beauty
Not in a ribboned box
Or a card of well wishes
Her gift is the beauty we feel in ourselves
When she caresses our name
She gently touches the crusty fabric of our lives
Reaching into the center of our being
Revealing the elegance, purity and simplicity of life
Thank you, Mamita, for sharing your life with us
We miss you in the here and now
We know you watch over us
February 25, 2007, for Mamita
Each of us follows the path of our highest self
Filtered down to us as the inner guidance
of our mind and heart
Though we are all connected at the highest, most spiritual level
None of us can use the inner guidance
of mind or heart
To change the path of another
We Love, We Let Go, We Meet Again
2007
May you find contentment as you serve others
and laughter as you care for yourself
May you be completely filled with the Light of God
and find peace and joy in your created memories
2005, for family and friends
From a divine world of angel song and kindred spirits
he chose to enter your being, entwining his soul with yours
A disciple and a master, he comes with lessons to learn
and lessons to teach
Filled now with divine love and human trust
he awaits his birth
May your heart sing with joy on this, your first mother's day,
rekindling in full throughout your lives on earth
2005, for Laurie, my grandson's mother
May this prayer shawl,
filled with angel song for you
Bring you the special gift of knowing
without doubt or hesitation
With the shawl around your shoulders
in the cradle of angel wings
You may ask the greatest questions
and seek the hardest answers
In an instant the inner core of your being
will fill with the divine
light
Shadows disappear, clutter dissolves
a clear path is revealed to your highest self
You will choose the correct path
aligning your soul's mission to divine will
2005, for Wendy
May you awaken each morning
filled wth the glorious spirit
of the Holy Ghost
And retire each night
comforted and cradled
in the knowing of Divine protection
2004, for Judy
Farewell for Now, Dear Friend
We know, from the moment our hearts unzip
and they come bounding in
with wagging tail, clear loving eyes
and unconditional friendship
We know they will share their lives with us
giving joy beyond measure
and taking a hug whenever they can
We know they will return before us into the pool of souls
waiting with patience, as only passed souls can do
for our glorious entry and reunion
2004, for animal friends everywhere
Our paths cross as we wend our way
through this dimension of life
becoming entwined and emerging whole
Shared memories build our foundations and form our days
With each meeting in the here and now and in the yet to be
Our spirits touch in the joyful glowing moment of a friend's hug
2004, ode to friendship
May you be in the now
The precious perpetual now
Feel the gentle wind brush your face
Be deeply filled with a fresh clear breath
Hear the vibrations of nature
Resonate with earth's perfect rhythm
Open your vision to the subtle swaying of trees and water
See with eyes closed the colors of sky, grass, soil and rock
With your thoughts bring your loved ones near
Tug at their presence and invite them
with you to the now
Thoughts become actions
Rejoice together in the reality of peace and joy
yours today
Always today
Always now
2002, for friends and family
May you know you are filled with Divine Love
It sustains you
And know too that when you share it
You are replenished
2001, for friends and family
Come with me, will you ?
To the place where tall grass grows
and red ants battle the black
Let`s climb down the tree and pretend it`s a space ship
'N' let`s climb up the flat rocks and pretend we`re in a castle
Dare we shinny through the pine branches
where a roof gives cover to the cowboys on top ?
Can you hear the crickets in the woods?
and Sir bull frog amidst the pollywogs at pond's edge ?
Can you feel the drag as we drive our trucks through the sand ?
My truck is blue, yours is red
Feel like gathering blueberries ?
better than delicious, plump and juicy
It`s your turn, bro', to lead the tea party
There`s a posse forming and you have time
to saddle the horses while the sun shines bright
Your divine wholesome child within is always there loving life,
way stronger than any shell constructed by its older gruff
Able to shatter the chains of each encrusted layer
to climb, without fear, from the gooster soup
Your divine self is in charge and can form the now
Carry and hold these feelings of love and light
pure and clean, uncluttered, untethered and untarnished
Know without shadow of doubt you are loved unconditionally
and can unabashedly, joyously, begin anew
July 2001, for Greg, brother and soulmate
May you be at ease when bumping into scratchy people
or falling weather
Look past the jangling noise
and the threat of uncertainty
For you are one with the spirit of our Creator
And we are one with each other
at the highest level of our souls
2000, for friends and family
Believing in God transcends saving our soul
for our soul reigns eternal
Believing in God is the gift of knowing we are safe
to live fully in the here
and now
May you tread softly and deliberately
into the millenium
Look around
Enjoy the life around you
Give of yourself
And take graciously from others
Be free
To receive Divine love
1999, for friends and family
How fragile is the part of life that we can hold
How fleeting it seems when we've neared its end
No measure of despair can hold us
for we trust in the promise of forever
Yet in this here and now
there is a heavy in our heart and a hard in our throat
May you be held and blessed in this day of sadness
And may the knowing that all souls soar heavenward
soon erase the clouds
1999, for Doug
Father, Mother, Creator of who we are
and where we aspire to be
we acknowledge our charge and accept with grace
its mass and strength
We are energized by the torrential spirit of Magdalena
who with mere pencil and parchment
strives to materialize our direction and shape our destiny
We are inspired by the clear beauty of Carol
who adeptly weaves nebulous particles and crystal
shards
into the grace of word and color and song
We are comforted by the peace of Sherry
who humbly honors the glory and the divine within
us
and among us
Be with us in the here and now and in the yet to be
that we may continue to receive tools
to transform inspiration to action
and that we may remain steadfast
to the charge offered to us
1998, for Grace
Sheathed in the promised glow of light
Armored with the mighty purple flame
Nourished by gentle feminine caring
Strengthened by each other’s energy fields
With full trust in the integrity of our intentions
And drawn together for a noble task
We reach up this day to gather force
The sudden bursts and the barely tangible
That we may translate inspiration to word and song
That we may be understood
Be with us today, Spiritual Teacher
We humbly offer our full attention
And remain with us, please
Tapping us subtly or stunningly
As we move through the hills and valleys of our lives
Until we gather again to join in this circle of service
1998, for Grace
We have come to know there is a natural order, a divine presence, an absolute truth
We gain glimpses, always clear but oft times brief
of this natural, divine, and absolute light
The confines of our human selves, though noble,
cause us to relate to truth and wisdom in a relative way
We cannot yet hold, or even define, the greater power
Be at ease in selecting your tools of healing
Any thought or word or deed is the right one
when it is given with unconditional love
for the greater good of another soul
1998, for classmates
Your sensitive soul perceives the melancholy
that wafts among us
Once acknowledged it wends its way
through the light and shiny things
until the whole of you is entangled
You need only disallow the tendrils
to make them gone
The light and shiny things, the essence and beauty of you
emerges untarnished
1998, for a troubled soul
The irony is…
Our infinite souls are bound
by a finite shell of chemicals and ionic forces
with no power to see past the universe on which we stand
The glory is…
Our souls, free from Earth’s tangible constraints,
encounter the beauty and love
and peace that is beyond understanding
May God hold you and enlighten you
as you move through these saddest days
Know that other finite souls are with you
to share the mystery of now and the hope of forever
1998, for Bill and Bev
Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Spring
We have been together for more than five decades
for more than half a century of our earth years
Does it feel like but a moment in time?
And so it is…
We met each other in the dark
and you delivered me to the light
Thank you
Our souls have traveled through this
life sometimes touching
But often seemingly unaware of each other’s presence
as we forged through
days and drifted through nights
Our time stands still in the here and now
as I write these words and as you
hear them
We are together on this Mother’s Day
And we have celebrations yet to come
Happy Spring, I love you
1998, for Mom
Neither of us knew
it would be her last
Mother’s Day
You are a master, young man
That is why you sometimes feel so old
You create your own adventures
But you already know that
The greatest joys in your life
come from the little things…
little stones, wee treasures,
the weight of a sleeping bag
or the trajectory of a bullet,
the parts of a whole,
the single branch of a tree
Because you already possess the wisdom
to see the forest
Your adventure on earth is only beginning…
You have much to learn, to create,
to enjoy,
to love
A mighty "Happy Spring" this Mother's Day
to you
from me,
your mom
1998, for Chip
Our prayer for you and yours this Christmas
is that you might take this moment
in the here and now
to travel back through your year gone
past
lingering over each moment of joy
holding again the happy thoughts
feeling again the triumphs
of your tasks well done
knowing you are appreciated by those around you
May you carry these captured thoughts of light and love
as you step through this holiday
season
into your year ahead
1998, for friends and family
May this season herald for you
a new beginning
a fresh start
Be free to leave behind all rusty thoughts
and tarnished memories
the heavy stuff that darkens us
Brush clear your vision
that you may capture the happy side
the goodness and the warmth
Come to know that light enfolds you
protects you
comforts you
Your heart, unzipped
receives wisdom you can not explain
and encounters peace beyond understanding
1997, for friends and family
He thought about that day when he was very small
The leaves smelled so good and fresh
So much to see. So much to touch
Michael was awesome
She could crouch so low and stay so long
without moving a whisker
And then jump so high so fast
He couldn’t do that
He couldn’t even catch a bug
He thought about his Boy,
Picking him up so high his tail curled up to his chin
He remembered the whisker-clipping day
and how noisy the Mother was then
He watches his Boy grow bigger
And he was bigger too
But not so big he couldn’t curl down tight
underneath the covers with his Boy
So many wonderful nights
He saw the White One his People called Lovey
But he knew he was loved best
When Popcorn passed through his mind he cringed for a moment,
but then popped a laugh when Popcorn became so small
from atop the drapes
He was O.K. He was big now
He learned the language of his People
Sit and look into the window...they will let me in
Sit and look out the glass door...they will let me out
Say Meow three times...they will feed me
Always he thanked his People with all of his heart
with two hug rubs and four kiss licks
He is thankful now
He loved to walk with his Boy through the woods
His Boy did not know the way, he led him down every path
Strawberry.
He had almost forgotten
A gift from his heart
He went camping with his People
How could he forget that!
They tied him to a tree and went away for so long
Later it was fun
So much fun to hide in the tall grass and watch the fire
He was not afraid
He was strong and agile then
He could catch anything
When Casey and Mandy passed through his mind
he could only think about
how big they were
He had not thought about them for a long time
Where are they now? And where is Fiver?
Then Peppy
His dear friend, Peppy
For so long he could not understand why Peppy went away
He understands now
Soon he will play again with Peppy and he will snuggle with him
and remember
with him so many mornings
and so many days
and so many nights
He can hear the Dog now
There was a time when he feared Campersagooddog
But soon he learned he still had the reign
What a good feeling
The Mother and the Man love him as much
as a People can
He knows he has been loved
He knows he has loved
His Boy was here
It seems like only
a few moments ago
So hard it was to climb the stairs,
to sneak past the New One his People call Tempe
He knew he could make no noise,
and he knew the door would open
He had only to ask and his Boy would take him in
Together they remembered
a thousand nights
Last night he slept by his fire
This morning he had good food and fresh drink
It is time
The leaves smell so good and fresh
So much he has seen
So many he has touched
1993, for Babain ~ January 1975 to December 1993
Our patient is coming back
It is with love and hope that we anticipate him
Why does he not stay on his diet?
He’s coming to ICU and we’re almost ready dialysis, foley,
cardiac monitor,
IV, NG, and TV
His room is prepared and our hands are steady
On white sheets now, his
dignity stripped
... He is afraid
We collect samples, we monitor, we carefully analyze
all of his parts and
pieces
We add and we take away
We turn dials, push buttons, close clamps and open vials
... He feels alone
Our ears tune in to the beeps
and our eyes to the moving lights
While our hands touch the cool metal, hard plastic and smooth glass
... He is watching our faces
His status is changing and it’s not good
Inject bicarbonate, digoxin and
lasix
Oxygen, trach, and paddles nearby tested and waiting
... He is waiting too
Our care displaced for the moment
Moving from our hand through the machine
and finally to him
... He is still waiting
We find the time to touch him
1985, for graduating nurses
Where to begin?
When we are born?
He entered the center of our world
but with what could we compare?
As we became taller he amassed great power
But then lost a little as our horizons grew wide
Waxing and waning
while we reached for life
But always there in the tender spots
Today we are as tall as we know how to be
And he was friend
There when beckoned
and there, unseen, when not
He has grown taller now
and is outside the boundaries of our hands
But will still be there
in the tender spots
There is no end
1984, for Joyce
He came up the driveway
dangling
With so much pain he was numb
His little life flowing from a gash in his integrity
Put to rest by alien hands
and watched with love
not so perceived
nor believed
by the little creature
Strawberry
Alien love cannot be transformed to bunny love
He joined the pool of souls
1982, for Strawberry
Each of us comes to the place where
time
stops
And where we shed old bones and dresses
Knowing that those left behind are
also
loved
And will come to that place to be
with us
in their own time
1981, for Gloria
Now that you are so very small
How easy to tell you of trust and love
Comfort
is near
Beauty and wonder around you
Soon you will find a tiny bug so precious
or flashing minnow
or dandyflower
To overfill your wee heart with gladness
And overshadow fleeting moments of
sadness
Then as you grow through your young life
bumping into things that hurt
Your dear heart strays sometimes
and forgets the songs of trust and love deep
down inside you
May you then
as now
Lean softly into the arms of God
To feel the peace and be carried
1980, for James Gayl
Little furry creatures move through life
in a natural way
Obeying the laws before them
and around them
Responding to fear with fear
and with grace to love
Creatures in God’s image are natural too
but moving with freedom to choose
They were taught to love, some prefer to forget
and are without grace
Others have chosen to stray to such heights
they are feared
One man not forgetting
is down so low
He is blessed
1980, for Granddad
He gives us a notion of peace, not understood
that eases an edge of the fear and hurt
He gives us love and life,
but only for a moment in eternity
And sadness, too, only a moment
In this moment she has left her failing chemistry
behind her
Sharing now in the fathom of His Being
but loving you still
Knowing that truly He cradles you
1980, for Judy
It’s a rough wind that blows sometimes
And it feels like there is no magic
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly
We too go around
and down
Until we are flat
looking up
From here we can see
tiny things
Miracles it seems
Things that grow and love
and live
Things from before
becoming
Nothing disappears
And from here we can arise knowing
with a peace like magic
beyond understanding
We too are one that grows and loves and lives
not disappearing
It is now and ever shall be
world without end
1980, for Angie
Words cannot lighten your heart
at this time of sadness
But our prayers are with you
that you might find peace in life
And look forward to a time
beyond
Which brings us all together
1980, for Bill
She is down low under the leaf
and she has a long way to go
The same as she has come
Her burden is heavy, she doesn’t
know that
That her mission is vital she knows
very well
As she struggles to carry her bundle
over the tall twig, the long twig
Over the moss, around the nut
to the far side of the leaf
She is ever guarding against intrusion
Her purpose is clear, she cannot be
diswayed by any being – only barely detained
By nightfall she has journeyed into the hill and
placed her treasure by her queen
who neither rewards her nor asks for more
She goes out again in quest of morsels
for the sisters in her colony
She gives all that she has
to achieve and succeed
That all of her charges may live
She was unseen
When my sole moved her soul
1980, for an ant
You’ve cupped the cold smooth steel
in your soul
the bitter sad lonely spots of life
But without them you could never
feel dew on a sun warmed leaf
or travel in love through giving grasses
1976, for Sally
