quiet time

looking
spending a moment
I try to find a silence
beneath my skin, calm

It is a test sometimes to find that quiet
while all around is chaos
but it does not have to be physical silence
I find it in the light and shadows beneath the trees,
in clouds full and white, perfect as a painting
the horizon—deep, endless and still
even as it rushes forward
greeting me as a lover
with silent whispers
of longing

just notes

Just one today.
I find more balance
when I mix the physical world with the abstract.
Too much time spent on either place
leaves me feeling unfinished/incomplete/bereft
though I must constantly reign in
my wandering thoughts
as they travel dappled paths
into deep, ink filled valleys
up, to white, sharp peaks

expanding in

thin air


clear
gentle morning clouds
slowly waking up in blue
eyes clear with sunlight

1 hour

I walked out the door....and the words kept coming.
This takes a walk from start, to finish.

unattainable
with each step, closer
to the horizon of myself
life is the journey

(hang on, they get better)

warmth
filtered through the clouds
the sun finds my cool shadows
my heart radiates

sunny...again
desert in winter
nature holds no surprises
suspended animation

snagged
with notebook in hand
I take my thoughts for a walk
words caught on the fly

?
how many haiku
can surface in one walk
I am finding out

side-step
writing and walking
do not comfortably mix
dodging a cactus

breeze
pine, smelling like snow
removes me to a forest
no cactus in sight

game
blue skies and warm sun
bring out the smiling golfers
their fountain of youth

close
mountains grow with light
the shadows lock them to earth
I am close to home

invitation?
smells of a hot meal
far better than what I plan
uninvited guest

end
my key in the door
I end my walking haiku
I am warm with words

(Wow, I had no idea I wrote so many. And the walk was only an hour long. Believe me, I do not plan on doing this on a regular basis!)

not square one

construction
words drop in the dark
and try to land on firm ground
forming new bridges

large
standing tall, I walk
stretched from the earth to sun
I can fill the sky

You can struggle, yet still move forward.

nameless colours

how to put into words what I am feeling
don't think I can tonight
at least not in a poem
or even poetic words
but I will write anyway.....
I am changing, uncovering parts of myself
I did not even know were there
reluctant to cover them back up
I wear them, a little self-consciously
bright, deep, rich, colours
that I show in bursts, flashes
to those who wish to see

fizz

rising
early this morning
the sunrise, light as champagne
drawing out the sun

that's it, others tried to push their way to the surface today
but that image stayed with me all day
reflecting how I feel inside
reflections of light...life
drawing me out
pulling me in
I rise also

peace

search
I heard you my love
in the quiet of twilight
softly calling me

waiting
my path lies ahead
in dark valleys, on gold peaks
I find you are there

...
the air is clear cold water
I am submerged

stars dance in my hair
while the moon shines
straight to my soul

riding the dark blue waves of night
all doubt has vanished
...
(Trying to find the words,
but choke behind what's proper and expected.
"the truth will set you free",
there's something to be said in that.)

stirred up

landing
the evening rushed by
while the glow left the mountains
and rested in me

...

the pot is being stirred—

stars swirling in amber

as liquid thoughts
glow from the depths

melting the need
for acceptance

...

waltz
we still dance the dance
one circling the other
eyes locked in wonder

and hunger

(I also wonder where these come from. The words approach, and are insistent. clamoring for attention. They are not still until they are where they need to be.)

seen

sun reef
clouds gather at dusk
like a school of fat pink fish
swimming through the sky

There is no reason you can't laugh with nature.
I saw those clouds, and felt the colors effervescent within me
and I swam with them

morning

Today
I am the sunrise
the sky filling with soft light
the horizon smiles

anticipation

I wrote these Dec. 22 '08, while waiting at the airport for family.
An airport around the holidays always has surprises.

waiting
coming back from war
the road that leads home is long
strangers make family

Gate A6
a soldier walks in
we are reminded of life
spontaneous joy

(there was also spontaneous applause, from every person in sight.)

sprouts

away
slowly and gently
the light leaves the dreaming sky
and my fears with it

see you in the next round

I just found out today that a friend died. We had shared many dreams, thoughts and hopes. We shared a love of nature, wild things and wild places. We questioned beliefs and ourselves. We had found each other at similar points in our lives, then drifted apart as so often happens. Always too busy. Why do we let that happen? We look back and always regret. She fought a hard battle, always looking ahead, making plans. Though I didn't often see her these past years, she was a part of my thoughts, my life. I will miss her. She was 45.

for Kris
walking in sunlight
the stones sang deep to her soul
while the mountains danced

opening

unfettered
the silence is deep
and I am free in the night
my thoughts travel long

how strange, even in the sunlit desert
winter brings out night in my thoughts
this is not unwanted
but rather necessary
a need for balance
to explore and find answers

as my thoughts search out and in
words form in twilight
suspended between night and day
like a silver thread of purpose
that is woven through my soul

(Maybe coherent only to myself, but that is what's floating around
up there. For reasons unknown, I am compelled to open this door.)

...and on

solo
deep dreams are sent, on
the back of a shooting star
I sail into night

on....

overflow
anxious and waiting
I watch the light leave the sky
fill my open heart

eyes met

in vain
I knock at closed doors
looking for pieces I've lost
silence greets my ears

reality has a hard gaze to meet,
the face familiar, the look hard and sweet
yet we choose to be blind
looking deep into dark eyes
we see our own reflections
and look no farther


(I am feeling fractured tonight
losing myself
the pieces will join together again
I am not meant to be so scattered about)

1am - adrift

why is it so easy to lose ourselves in the middle of the night?

...we are greater than the expectations
of who we are thought to be...

do we continue on our path, without explanations, without reasons
without apologies?

do we ever truly see the people around us?
or is our sight coloured with our
needs
wants
desires

eve

connection
I had lost myself
down roads of obligation
and found, in silence

I am one that needs quiet
a bit of silence
to hear the sky change colours
the light find the edge of a cloud
or to hear the song of my being
I need that stillness of soul
to feel the currents of my thoughts
and go where they lead
the people I feel most comfortable with
are the ones that can be there with me

silent night
starry night
in between
dark and light

[try and figure that one out...they come, as they come]

maelstrom

tide
the power inside
found buried beneath restraint
rises in my eyes

the wait
elusive and still
my words hide in quiet places
as I find my way

scattered impressions
a waiting time
while thoughts/words
mix and move
beneath the surface
I am not able to...
even now
so close, yet
out of reach
they dance
in and out of shadow
and brush against my face