Love

Sometimes it's not easy
to say what you mean

Heaven and Earth and everything in it
My sons and my parents and my brother and friends
Humans and other animals
The stars that I know and don't know

Everything limited and limitless

Words that I have and don't have

And what can't be put into words

That is sensible
and cannot be sensed

The sun setting behind the Golden Gate bridge
Geese flying overhead in formation
Wings flapping together like clockwork

Like the Subtle Blue

Like the subtle blue
of the sky
between me and the mountain
snagging the sunlight
words trip
between the edge of my mind
and the page

Ten Things That Will Make Your Life Happier

Smile often
especially when
someone is looking
they might smile back
especially when
nobody's looking
and it's your secret smile
that you smile to yourself

Dance as though nobody's watching

Don't judge
when you judge others
you are really
judging yourself
There are no excuses

Make someone happy
Pet a dog
Stroke a cat til it purrs
Give your friend a big hug
or a stranger
notice something nice about someone
to them

Let yourself be loved
it's not who
it's how

Don't worry
decide
you can change your mind later

There is a subtle difference between
thinking and worrying
think things through
unemotionally
from the perspective of
a stranger
sitting at the end of time

You are not so important

Open your mind
be curious

Be a creature of change
and habit

Hike

At the end of our trail
a waterfall roars
into the shucking waves

Others continue
beneath sandstone cliffs
risking the tide

A small bird
comes right up to me
begging for cheesecrumbs

It doesn't care so much
about the view

Haiku

The shapes of birds
right outside my window
fly across the setting sun

Turkey Mass

The turkey now a formless mass
of meat and stuffing in a tray
that fits in the refrigerator
a deconstructed holiday

Winter Trees

The grey of winter trees
that glasses can't resolve

The trail a river of fallen leaves
hiding slippery roots and rocks