Wondering

I wake to see
a peaceful face
surrounded by comforters
in a heavy sleep
and I am happy.

Minutes pass
and I am still watching;
and like the morning sunrise
her peacefulness spreads to me
and brings me warmth.

As if a master’s painting
I cannot look away
and smile as I take in
the beauty of her face…
a masterpiece.

She wakes
and this picture fills with life.
I relish in the thought
that I will be with her this day;
an angel watches over me.

As the day draws to a close
remembering all we have done
I smile again,
and think, what a lucky man
who this woman would have.

Life in Black and White

So many meanings does this have
of people’s color, of right and wrong…
so set are we, we cannot see
past the surface of things
missing so much

Rose colored glasses add only illusion
a disguise for how we perceive
as we fool only ourselves;
cast in concrete our beliefs
all that could be escapes us

Easels offer what could be…
a sample of what is
if we would only acknowledge
there is more than status quo
a rainbow awaits us.

They Call This Life

Memories
cloud clear thought
better days remembered as
today weighs heavily on our backs

Simplicity gone
common sense erased
as nothing new makes sense
we lie at the bottom
of the hill of muck
unable to make progress
the few determined pulled back
for no one wants to wallow
in the pigsty alone

The new philosophy…
let the few keep the many down
that they have all
and the rest have nothing
to squabble over.

Listen to the Lion

Unlike a pack of wolves…
a long hard winter behind them
they hunt for any free scrap
taking from wherever they can
for they know not of ownership.

Like the bear and the monkey
taught to take handouts
feeding on the poison offered
they have forgotten how to feed themselves
forgotten… the ways of hunting and cooperation
their world out of balance.

Now lazy and lackadaisical
they eke out an existence
bare minimums met, the
smell of impending death
permeates their dens, leaking out
into the surrounding air
telling all others of their plight…

There is nothing left…
all has been taken and consumed
yet knowing offspring have no chance
litters are dropped at increasing rates
and the lion lauds the animal-welfare state.

 

 

Falling Way Behind

Gardens at 2 properties; picking wild blackberries by the thousands; canning peaches, blackberries, green beans, wax beans; finishing projects on 3 properties; it’s all I can do to keep up with e-mails.  Hope to be back in full in a few weeks.

The Things We Do

Actions always speak louder than words
all leaving messages
from the flagrant to the finite
from the rough to the gentle
careful we must be when
speaking with our actions.

There is a time when our actions
are thought out and deliberate
leaving little room for misunderstanding…
a show of feelings and emotions.

Searching…
to find those electrodes
setting of uncontrollable pulses
leaving nothing to chance
with intent to please our partners
a show of love and closeness…

The things we do.

Life is the Same Yet Different

This is Maine, weather will change in 10 minutes

We judge from what we see
without rose-colored glasses
within our tiny world
that which does not affect us
things that do not impact our lives…
invisible to most.

Nor-easter building

Our life’s routines have dug trenches
walls blocking our view,
we are unaware of our surroundings …
those things far off beckoning us to dream
some close enough to reach out and touch…
if we could only look up, look out, and see.

Early morning at camp.

My view of life is always the same
yet it is always different…
each morning changes from day-to-day
month-to-month, season-to-season.
I have shed the shackles of mundaneness
breached the trenched walls
and see there is life to live.

Fish are waitin’, my tip-ups I’m baiten’!

The Box

Like a prized possession
I kept it in a shoebox
away in a corner
hidden out of sight…
but without checking
how could I know
that like a fine brandy
it would grow richer with time.

Remembering her
I dug it out
handling it so carefully
blowing off the dust
wondering what I might find inside.
A quick peek
to satisfy my curiosity…
now I am blind.

Like a huge explosion
white light saturates my eyes,
my mind vibrates from concussion,
deaf, I cannot hear
making clear thought impossible
yet I press on
in a callous and thoughtless way.

What damage have I done…

Sight, sound, and thought
slowly return.
I see and understand
what I could not before
and tremble at the thought
that all might be lost.

My thoughts
like a broken record play;
what damage have I done…
what damage have I done…
what damage have I done…

A Bad Mix

I stir the pot of relationship
at a slow speed at first
not wanting to cause further damage
and notice
when I stop
I can still see the layers
that keep separated
the parts of the whole.

And I realize
there is more to blending
then gently stirring things up.

Not understanding fully
the chemistry of relationships
I apply the mixer at a higher speed
wanting to bring things together
into a silky smooth batter, and find
the stirring only conceals the problems
by hiding them in the whole
spoiling the untainted.

Waiting for Winter

Winter gone a few months
already I look forward to its return
those snowy months marked
with cold days and freezing nights
hotter than summer sun

A comforter and flannel sheets
insulation from the cold
as we wrap ourselves together
arms and legs intertwined
bodies against each other

Winter…
so much heat…
hotter than summer sun