welcome, dear one

she trudged up the slope

leaving her car on the clear

almost-flat before the abandoned

house

carrying still warm coconut soup

and crab cakes for my supper

but mostly to see that i was

well

signs that i’d tried to check

for mail but no one had tried

to fight the ice under the snow

to deliver

tracks left visible

 tiny tracks of animals

skittering atop the crusted

crystalline snow

unaccustomed to blizzard

busy yesterday, shopping for food

readying the homestead for storm

for, on our hill, we would soon

be snowbound

daughter took grandson

to his class in the city

caught in traffic jammed

behind an accident hours in clearing

moving feet rather than miles an hour

then, set free, waiting until road

cleared of sliding, erratic vehicles

to gain enough traction to drive home

five hours after starting out for home

our oregon is unaccustomed to blizzard

snow! scurry home

snow! scurry home

to warm fire, hot chocolate

and loving arms

did the sun rise

today slipped into morning

without our golds and mauves

auburns and brilliant yellow-whites

strange to feel the daylight on my cheek

without having greeted the dawn

with due awe

less than the half dozen

six treasured art pieces

selected for my adult children

paid for, shipped, long awaited

the box so tightly secured

i needed my grandson to open

it for me

only to find five, not six

heartsick

we know better

why do we follow

commands to destroy people

when denigrated

this land was our land

 sixteen elk, including a camel-brown youth

and a number of bucks with stately antlers

climbed over and through wire fence

from our lower field onto our front lawn

milling and pawing, browsing on tufts of grass

lifting their heads to stare at my intrusion

as i stepped onto the porch to admire them

tofu seed

tofu in the bird feeder

a new experience

not quite cherished as yet

but evidently intriguing

especially as nearly all else

is covered by inches of snow

gentler selves

gentler selves

more at peace within

accepting of darkness

and imperfection

more at ease in their bodies

and aware of their own skin

as their only true covering

are slower to anger or judgment

quicker to forgive

to allow compassion

which nourishes peace

masterful orchestration

hark! nature’s mastery

of the blend of sound

of all the calls, chirps, growls

grunts and roars in a wilds

few if any overlap in pitch, tone, timing

each communication can be heard

by its others

ah! that humans could learn

their true part

cover

 ‘each person wears only

his own skin’ is not gospel

among fashion designers

but does sum up the reality

of our moment

at the pearly gates

share the seed

seed set out to feed scrub jays

juncos, Steller’s jays, sparrows

California quail, finches

when i’m not looking

is devoured by mama raccoon and kits

unlike the three monkeys

unlike the three monkeys

we have not well shut

our mouths from speaking evil

but we have blinded and deafened

ourselves to the daily unwelcome

and all-too-often peril lived

by more than half our fellow

human beings

as one

an orchestra blends

yet keeps individual

instrument voices

awakening a joyful noise

handbells uncased, set in line

on cushioned tables ready

to be lifted again in easter joy

(after a lot of practice)

the real thing

 electronic meeting is veneer only

not the sturdiness of oak

or richness of mahogany

under the stain

not the warmth and generosity

of supportive friends as eighteen of us

experienced joining in person

for our 6th Writers in the Grove Wintersong

ready to receive

wishing you quietness

to calm your being

to be ready to receive

peace

for we are commanded:

“be still,

and know that I am God”

(un)touched

untouched, we know not we are a separate being

touched, we learn our parts and limitations

untouched, we feel no attachment to any other 

touched, we learn empathy and understanding

untouched, we have no investment in compassion

old hands

chipped, sparkly polish

makes arthritic fingertips

at least fun to see