long term project

push and pull of commitments

unsettle toward anxiety

learning to find peace within self

needs self-discipline

and acceptance of failures

how much more difficult then

peace in the world

theron

i asked for help understanding

from a man raised in a different

culture, a worldview i do not grasp

for my characters are men

of that tradition and i want them

to be true to what they believe

not caricatures from my prejudice

my friend answered with a book

of his own with depth of finding

self in the tradition of battle

so foreign to his own sense of being

december’s first

white bits so small, not qualifying

as flakes but mere sparkles

but persistent

white bits joining, growing, falling

as snowy individuals causing

raised eyebrows in surprise

then frowns of scrutiny to be sure

then smiles and whispers of discovery

as neighbor tells neighbor

“It’s snowing!”

bereft

the ache of old friends dying

surrounded by love and family

how can we console young men

who have watched comrades

torn apart in distant battles

and pretend they should return

to ‘normal’ without our understanding

not above question

at 34000 feet the clouds a fleecy blanket

moon-enchanted to pearly gray-white

Mt. Jefferson a looming black triangle

penetrating the woof and weave

occasional eerie glows haunt the pattern

as cities’ fear to yield to night’s darkness

pierces what Nature had enjoyed for eons

human ingenuity using energy against

what has long sufficed for uncertain gain

unico resort

 rounded brown agouti

supper-handout-seeking raccoon

sneak-under-napkin, snack-snitching crow

torpid, reminder-of-dinosaurs iguana

many non-paying fellow guests

here south of cancun

moment seized

bird of prey sharp brown-black

against incessant blue Mexican sky intent in flight, seeking life

in the varied green-blue waters below

dives suddenly from outspread wings

to compact missile hitting the water

and rising, dripping, with fish in talons, heavy, writhing prey brings

the bird nearly back into the gulf

but, shuddering off excess water

strong wings carry off trophy  

moment of struggle spelling life

and death, repeated endlessly over eons

pelican over Tulum

angular hieroglyph above Mayan ruins

juts forth its distended jaw

extending in sharp angles

then compacting again as though

it will dive on unsuspecting prey

but, deciding otherwise, stretches

out once more and flaps full wings

devouring a path in the sky

a Swedish Proverb

 I'd like to share with you a Swedish proverb that I found inspirational. 

"Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours."

A simple recipe for a better life. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

aj’s haven

a warm home

welcoming grown children

and extended family

to potluck and skilled baker’s pies

chatter, love and laughter

and our lady, newly happy

o’s

 slender hope in oregon

to see leonid meteor shower

our night skies in november

are nearly always misty

if not pouring down rain

but the wet beats

shoveling snow off the roof

as we did in ohio

welcome barrier

toughened bare feet so the cold

is recognized but does not, for a beat,

spread through my being when i step into light snow

i can dash to do what needs be and hurry back to shelter

without chill if i am quick

how i wish my anger knew such a buffer before erupting

skill within one’s realm

trucker handling triple trailers on a windy day

chef adding a pinch of this and a dash of that

seamstress taking the one tuck that perfects the silhouette

salmon homing from ocean to single stream that spawned him

eagle finding invisible spiral of air to climb without moving his wings

Include more text here to close out the blog, or just delete this box.

if only Leonid

memory of riding in the bed

of battered pickup out  of the Maine

woods to a sloped field to gather

bundled against the cold to watch

Leonids slap dash across the night sky

if only Oregon would yield its

November mist and fog for the annual

streak show

comin’ and goin’

computer systems got me - automatic renewal without notice

hours of chasing how to opt out - clear directions, only i can’t

do it that way because i have a subscription and need to downgrade

only there is no downgrading until the subscription runs out only

it is on automatic renewal without notification because

they want to keep the nearly $300

but i want to keep it, too

moon and particles

 pollution can be beautiful

as when it scatters

the rising moon’s rays

enhancing illusion on illusion

that our satellite is huge, orange

and shining

unwarranted conclusion

unwarranted conclusion

full moon and frost on pine limbs

stubbled lawn glints blue-white

convincing me just after midnight

of the season’s unpredicted first snow

glitter that is gold

only mount hood ghost-like on my horizon this morning

chill, pallid fog has muted the blue of portland’s west hills and pale

more distant cascade range

until flakes of burnished gold and snippets of vivid pink spurtle

like pinprick explosions of color to vouch for the coming of day

interpreter

to honor Daphne Clifton, poet

daphne watches nature

captures chickadees and titmice

in their daily, eventful little lives

with gentle words of compassion

and understanding that even too busy

humans can comprehend

banister to wisdom

at the head of the flight of steep stairs
i climb up and on, my right foot dangling
fifteen feet over the narrow hallway below

i close my eyes, afraid, but determined

i’ve seen my uncles and my older sister do this

but i wouldn’t try when they could watch

my palms are slippery as i try to grip

the dark, polished wood

slowly i ease my near-prehensile toes

from around the uprights

and let my bum first begin to move

i lift my left foot from its final anchor

the slide begins in earnest, balled red-plaid dress

and white cotton panties against the lacquered railing

i clutch at but cannot grasp the smooth, wide rail

i swoosh faster and faster, gritting baby teeth

to keep from screaming

a gasp escapes my mouth as i descend

but grandma doesn’t hear me until

i’ve reached the round, decorative curl-end post

swished near sideways off it and clattered to the wooden floor

i’m not crying, exactly, but mama would have rushed to pick me up

and coo sweet assurances

but grandma, mother of three boys, stands arms akimbo

come over here, she says, and I’ll pick you up

I’d have come to you but I have a bone in my leg

i stagger up, blinking, to check that i’m okay

next time, don’t come down so fast, she says over her shoulder

as she returns to the kitchen

i feel so bad about that bone in her leg

i hold onto the banister as I look back up its height

so much to learn