Balance

At the edge of the avalanche
I balance between
airless ground
and groundless air.

Fluttering
like a butterfly
about to take flight.

Waiting
as the dream is just forming
and I don't know how large
my wings will be.

Meditation

Stay here
my mind
who wants to wander
on her own.

Stay here
sit with me
Enjoy this place
that houses you
and nurtures you
with food and wine.

Stay here
in silence.
As thoughts arise
let them pass.

Stay here
drink in gratitude
for your lovely life
cool breezes
and streams that run
over your toes.

Stay here
while the moon shifts
stars explode
and crickets claim their ground.

Stay here
while the sun gently rises
shedding light on your eyes
so you can see
there is nowhere to go.

Lunar Love

Another leap of faith
forms out of the mire

Don’t dissect it —
it wants to be whole
Don’t tear it apart —
it doesn’t need to be figured out.

Pushing through all the stories in my mind
I see they are only stories
blockages
time machines to nowhere
Vestiges of the old
while the new
make whirlpools in my stomach

The moon joins us full tonight
in ceremony.

Sailing Away

I dreamed I didn't have to be
cold again.
I could leave
cut the ties that keep me here.
Clean up a little every day
get rid of my clutter
methodically, carefully
so no one would know my plans.

And then I could
slip away
like a ship pulling out of harbor
guided by the light of the moon
anchor already on board
sailing to some distant land
where I didn't have to be
cold again.

Arriving Again at Ghost Ranch

The place of arrival
Where all time stops
I smell the air
feel her dryness in my bones.

The place of return
Of knowing
coupled with pure expectancy
of the newness of this experience.

Visits with old sage and dust
heat
Music of cicadas dotting the path
Mexican food, margaritas.

The return to stillness
amid doing
Acclimation, renewal
colors, creative abandon.

I was young here
Sorted through crises here
I slept here
woke here.

I am here.
Brought back time and again
for my soul to come home
to peace.

The road is always long
and worth the effort.

The Dancer

You
want to be danced
through me.

You
want to release into the trance
of tall gods and goddesses
gracing the air.

It is you
who wants to dance through me
write through me
make love through me.

Countless times
I stopped you
laid forth other plans
but your vibrancy finds its way
through the cracks and crevices
of my shield
and thank God I cannot seal it all

for without you
I'd be hopeless.

Holding Space

 

Eye to eye
I see you
wrapped in your blanket
hiding.

Finding comfort
in the care of others
a story, and another
unwrap the pain
hidden in layers
peeling away
till your core
restless and old
beams forth
and the single moment
of truth arrives
unhurried and welcomed.

Free Flow

The deep stream
flowing through life

under our rocks
and walls
and bridges

flows buried

till we dig deep enough
and find it
lurking
in the shadows
in our dreams

waiting to teach us
how to be free.

The Wishing Well

What is a wish
but a wish for something else
For what could have been
might have been
if only...

For the dark side of life
to not show its face
or to unravel like a dream
For joys lost
to be found
or what's found
to be lost

For the nonexistent
the lofty, the cure.

What is a wish
but a space for us to enter
to look it in the eye
to delve into the source
where wishes come from
and find that golden coin
buried inside
glistening in the silence

waiting for us to listen.

Skin Deep

Sunrise in the mountain stream
flowing by
as life does

every second
counts
every road not taken
lost
every sight unseen
a fantasy

yesterday's nightmare
a dream

and you move on
searching
seeking higher ground
or you get lost
in the crack
in the pavement
man-made and crushing
like the pressure in your chest
when you're about to break though
and out
longingly into the next dimension

where the only road
is transparency.