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

Vanilla Dream

The taste of vanilla in my mouth
from the vanilla flavored tea
makes me wonder what I might have dreamt
were it the truffle oil instead

Underwater

You put a pretty crab in my clumsy hand
I try to set it down gently
almost touching a giant halibut that swims away
startling me
I was supposed to learn to read the compass
but I trust you

Homage to the Tao Te Ching

Heaven and Earth do not exist alone
Rivers flow through them, through us
Without Earth we would be formless
Water with no direction
Without the heavens - air, moon, sunlight
There would be no force to push the current
Coursing through our veins
Without us
The Universe would continue
Unregarded
Wordless

Scuba Dive

The sun sets pink clouds ablaze
I am haunted by dreams of my father
not being in the right place at the right time
as I discover this new underwater world
filled with strange silence and animals
I realize in all those TV shows
I never imagined myself in the diver's body
cold and wet and lugubrious
trying to connect with the magic
through my eyes

Flailing

A protest without an agenda
Spiritual but not religious
Science has robbed us of meaning
And we are flailing about in the dark
Not saints or rebels
But fish out of water

Avoiding Attachment

You wade out in the shallow water
wanting to let go of the ground
as your eyes swim toward me
and we kiss
I wonder now
if you were already letting go
of me in that moment
but it's ok if you get attached
I won't let you drown
though drowning in shallow water is possible
we'll both move on and find other people
because that's the nature of these things
regardless
we're not so important
I love you and your touch and the sun on my skin
and I hope you love something

Sharing Lunch

You know, we are actually having a lunch date
?
I'm eating lunch as we text
Can I have a bite?
Sure
[image of forkful hanging over salad bowl]
Yummy
Thanks!

Up and Down

There is comfort in up
the sun rising each morning
looking up to the boss
of this elite high-ranking firm
even though I stroke his ego
to keep him from falling on me
because up is like sunshine
like light
and I am down here
swimming in freezing cold water
in the dark
there is a crack of light
but I'm terrified
you will close the door
and I'll be left all alone
in the dark
with myself
not even seeing
my own reflection
so I close the door
I don't trust you to save me
I cry because my light will never shine
and my tears drown my torch

Dark Lady to Mr. Shakespeare Sonnet I

He thinks he loves me but he knows not love
For if t'were love he would not so complain
I keep him from himself, be speaking of
My countless faults that he deigns to disdain
If it were love he'd look me in the eye
Our cheeks would redden and our hearts would melt
As our lips fastened and the world went by
The wayside, no more caring how we felt
To me he is a God, a gentleman
More than a God, a kind and glorious soul
A courteous lover and a brilliant man
Lacking but the gift to love me whole
He knows love. You can see it in his plays
Would that this knowledge my poor heart allays

Occupy Wall Street

Money is only worth
what people will pay

Power is only worth
what people will take

So many people
wanting

Seven Princes

Seven princes went to woo
Seven princesses decked with jewels
One gave his bride a diamond ring
Another a diamond mine and jeweler
A third gave his bride a land rich with gold
With milk and honey and fields of wheat
Another an army all equipped
To conquer any land she desired
The fifth gave his bride a university
Where the brightest minds knew no earthly bounds
The sixth said my kingdom is all yours
I bow to you
The last prince said
I need your love

Garden Sanctuary

I wonder for a moment if it was a dream
tall green canopies branching overhead
water steaming off puddles in the sun
trees shaking cool raindrops on my warm skin
the smell of wet leaves and fresh grass
maybe the silence reminded me of this

Second Spring

The plants are happy
this Indian summer
like a second spring
warm sunshine on the muddy trail
cold seasoned buds unfurling
new green leaves
butterflies