*Holly and Oak*

Lay me down
Beneath the forest floor
Between holly and oak.

Lay me down
Where snow and rain
Will wash my soul,
Will speed my atoms
On their way to
Resurrection
In holly and oak.

Raise me up
In fire and smoke,
Speed me to heaven
In the arms
Of holly and oak.

(this sums up my ideas of immortality, heaven, afterlife…a matter of conservation of matter. materially, we all go on forever. our ideas, more important than our corporal selves, are another matter.)

*Snow*

From the sky
They come-
The geese fall
To open-armed earth.

(I love the haiku form, no hidden meanings here)

*I want…*

to be remembered by someone younger than me.
people to be respected for who they are, and not what they have.
spring to last a few weeks longer.
to always be thankful.
to wake early.
to be aware of the world around me.
to see beauty in everything.
autumn to last  a few weeks longer.
to appreciate the wonder in all.
summer to last a few weeks longer.
to help someone smile.
someone to call me friend.
everyone to be kind to children.
winter to last a few weeks longer.
to write letters to those I love.
to listen the voice of inspiration.
to always smile at the moon.
to never forget you.

(We should all make lists like this: we should make them often, check them often and be on the lookout for changes!)

*When God Whispers, Listen*

Listen when the butterfly
Settles onto your hand,
Feel the footsteps.
Marvel in the paper-thin
Jewel that has flown to you.

Listen when the bird finds you
In the middle of the ocean,
Chooses your boat as it’s island,
Allows you to carry it’s ounce-heavy
Body, it’s heart-beating life to safety.

Listen to the ebbing lifetime
Of the old, the ill,
Those who don’t fear the next step,
Those ready to take the next step
Away from you and toward themselves.

Listen to the smile in the eyes
Of one you love,
To the sure grip of a child’s hand
On yours,
To all of the messages
Of love.

When God whispers, listen.

(I’m happy to say that all in the above are based to real-life experiences. We should all be so lucky…but, then again, we are!)

*Giving Thanks*

Let us give thanks for all that we have been given, for
the things that didn’t come wrapped with bows, for things
not asked for but given freely.

Let us open our eyes, open our ears, open all of our senses
to all that there is, and we will see that we’ve been given so
much more than what we need.

Let us not pray for more, but give thanks for the all we have.

(Here I’m expressing the Deist ideal for prayer: thanks-giving.)

 

*As I Walked*

As I walked across a field today
in the afternoon winter-light
I saw a fox, red fur afire,
staring back at me.

As I walked across a field today
in the afternoon winter-light
I saw a man, glowing golden,
staring back at me.

It was the Winter sun,
it was the afternoon light,
it was the fire within all,
within fox and man and tree and
grass and insect and god and….

(There are those of us who go looking for our animal spirit, and most often decide on the nobles: Bear, Wolf, Eagle. Well, Fox found me.)