In the calm of a lakeshore afternoon
Even the gulls fall silent
Light breezes reveal in relief
Where ripples swath the glassy smooth
Warm exhalations condense in the chill
With measured breaths
Close eyes
Breathe in the peace
Distant buzz grows
Hull thuds against the lake
Casts sprays of white noise
Laughter rises in several tones
Then slowly fades away toward silence
Until the wake finds the rocky shore
Splash
Splash
Another splash
Now stillness
But for the breeze
And my breath
A seductive rock
On ocean’s edge
Half the day
Surrounded by the tide
Attracting thousands
Nature’s iconic monument
To a monumental coastline
In time with the waves’ ungentle caress
They saunter near, then scramble back
This flightless flock of sandpipers
Photographs and selfies
Arm-in-arm and hand-in-hand
A deep breath in, a longer one out
The calm that comes on any shore
Where the surf rumbles and sighs
Some may say it’s the rock
But the rock is a draw as any other draw
A pier, a lighthouse, beach chairs and gazebos
It is the sea which helps us remember ourselves
My presence in this moment
Is but a wisp of a cloud
In a windswept sky
A drop of rain
In the eons of torrents
Which gouge a canyon
From a plateau of stone
Try as I might
I cannot grasp
The monumental meaningless
Of my own existence
Leaving me to acknowledge
The incalculable significance
Of drawing a single breath
Here am I
An infinitesimal ephemeral wisp
In the cloud-strewn sky
Of existence
Claiming my glorious place
In the magnificence
As if a passing moment in eternity
Were eternity itself
In a moment between breaths
Clear my lungs
Clear my mind
Clear my heart
In this realm
Of sunset otherness
The heavy sigh of engines
In smooth air
As a world of cares and worries
Slides by far below
Soon enough to be rejoined
I take another breath
Feel the gentle decline
Back to Earth
Take another breath
Close my eyes
Imagine myself
In flight forever
Concerns and attachments
All suffering
Spread across the surface
Of a small globe
Above which I can choose to float
So when I choose again
To walk the Earth
I may appreciate both
Its suffering and joy
Its love and discontent
Its beauty and ugliness
Its hardship and kindness
With another breath
Empty my lungs
Empty my heart
Empty my mind
Of attachment
To one state or another
For it is the attachment
To a state of being
Which creates the suffering
Not the state of being
“Cabin attendants prepare for arrival”
An oppressive weight
Waiting to fall
My mood becomes dark as the sky
Until I realize the low grey cover
Provides an atmospheric parasol
A gift to soften harsh desert sun
Diminish the heat of afternoon
An invitation to step out of the car
I breathe deeply in sage-scented air
While my mood becomes effervescent
As sage drifting in the desert breeze
The long exhale
Following the deep, deep breath
The moment which moves
Between the change
And knowing
There is no going
back
Breathe in this moment
Breathe out the past
Breathe in this moment
Breathe out the future
Breathe in this moment
Every inhaled breath
Overflows the alcove
Expands into every aspect of mind
Every exhaled breath
Empties the mind
Allowing the moment to flow into it
I breathe
Until all that I am
Is this single moment
Runway clears
Now aloft
Miles high
Above the smog
Crisp blue sky
First in weeks
Smogless air
First I’ve breathed
Laden with history
And regrets
Lofted by hope
And purpose
Levied by love
And compassion
Most days I carry the weight
Lightly, aloft
Some days I cannot leave the berth
Tethered, grounded
So I touch the Earth
Am grateful for its stability
That I always have a place to land
Rest, and free myself of burdens
Then breathe deeply
Filled and empty
I take to the skies again
So I close my eyes
Breathe in deep
Until all that is fills me up
Pix to Words 