I appeared
eyebrows frozen
radiator red ears
only to be surprised by you
again.
Again your eyes
crystallized
their tundra beauty
warmed my face into a smile
ear-wide.
But you surprised me
again
with your sparkle, your snap
your cold command
to freeze my eyes upon you.
Christmas
is in the simple joys of living
It’s in reading a story to the kids at bedtime
and having your neighbors over for dinner
It’s in a good bottle of wine
and a mug of hot cider after two hours of shoveling
and eggnog in the morning while still in your robe
It’s in black and white movies
and old Frank Sinatra records
and waltzing in the living room when you’re sure nobody’s around
and playing penny poker with your cousins ’till two
It’s in huge turkey dinners
and hundreds of relatives
and even more hugs
It’s in crystal glasses
and ringing bells
It’s in a warm roaring fire
Christmas
is in the lights of the city
It’s in cards addressing your mailbox
It’s in calling old forgotten friends
and making new ones
It’s in leaving work early
and shopping all night
and spending more than you can but knowing, somehow it will work out
It’s in seeing your sister on her way downtown
and stopping for lunch
and setting aside differences
It’s in “The Grinch who Stole Christmas”
and Chia pets on TV
It’s in friendship and love and all the good things in life
Christmas
is in a newborn’s gripping smile
It’s in playing with puppies in a fresh fallen snow
It’s in watching your breath drift away in great clouds of white smoke
and throwing a snowball at your brother when he least expects
It’s in a field of birch trees
and how it feels to run among them
and playing tag in the snow when you were eight
It’s in streets lined with giant trees
and houses like gingerbread frosted with snow
and the smell of chestnuts from the wood burning stoves of your youth
It’s in here. . .
and it’s out there
It’s the stuff that dreams are made of
Christmas
is in standing on Nicollet mall and saying to yourself . . . (just barely out loud) “Maybe, just maybe it’s worth all the cold and the snow and the heartache” because for a brief moment you realize that:
Every snowflake that falls has just a little touch of love
and every degree the thermometer drops is just a reminder to hold someone a little closer and a little longer
and every time your car won’t start and you have to walk six blocks to the bus stop it’s just a chance to experience and explore and realize how incredibly beautiful and awesome nature is
‘Cause it really is a Winter Wonderland out there and everything is… pretty cool.
Innocence
Capture the winds of innocence
shades on the moon
glowing soft in the distance
The swaying trees sing and dance
among the rustling leaves
and send their love about in soft pastels
Experience
Exuberant, they raise and dash the waves
Ireful in their stormy rage
Whether fading or growing
They shape all with experience
Wisdom
Through cavern and gorge
whisk the winds of wisdom
whistling of civilizations past
and dancing on the fields of eternity
A voice rose to greet me in the forest
as if it came from nowhere
It seemed to surround me
pervading everything
It echoed
in the crackling twigs of my footfalls
the rustling in the sunlit leaves above
and the rumbling brook by my side
It came from the meadows
the animals
the sky
and the Earth
It swept over soul
like a mist rolling through the trees
and softly spoke
It wasn't a voice
in tone or sound
but it bade me rest
for the tree
and the brook
the wind
and the rain
and the earth
stood and embraced me
with the warmth of a mother's love
An old cottonwood stands jauntily outside my window
I sometimes watch it as I lie in bed
when the cool smell of rain is on the air
I can hear the wind in the distance
but the tree stays quiet
while I speak to it
Later, I will watch the rain drip from the leaves
and listen for its response
This morning I went down to it
its trunk still wet from the rain
I walked all around it
As I touched the bark
rough on my pliable hands
I looked up
it seemed to surround and protect me
I am alone today
I'll be alone tomorrow
but my loneliness has a place now
a purpose which I share each night
with the jaunty old cottonwood tree
as I sleep
Leaves moving like waves on the wind
and the sunshine filtering through on the breeze
to spin the spectrum on a multitude of greens.
The trunks, stoic and brown and still,
tower over the stairs diving down to the wide
waterfront with a whispering rush
over the shifting breeze.
A mast passes slowly beyond and beyond
the distant tree line the blue reaches beyond
the changing white sky drifters to stretch
beyond to colors of imagination, passion and
togetherness.
bring me
strength
of talons and flight
Earth Spirit
nakai
i float
on your flute
you, Shaman, call
the canyon mouth
opens
to breathe
to sing
fly
ancient arms
open
wind high
canyon breath
star chant
nakai
i float
on your flute
high
Eagles Feather
you sing
in air
and float
in notes
to dance on hearts
you dress
my head
to bring me
strength
of talons and flight
Earth Mother
eagles call
"mother"
echoes
on the plateau
coyote whistle
strains
across the canyon
tan
ancient chant
long
across the night
in starlight
eagles call
"mother"
reaches
from earth to sky
Like an orange note
of
plaid youth
carried on the low hang
of mist
rolling across the veiled
lake,
wakefulness returns.
An owl swoons.
A high swell
peirces the bedreamed veil
of morning
of fall
of home.