The sky
Wanes to night
While I
Rest on cliff’s edge
Above the serenity
Of calm waters
Allow the last vestiges
Of daylight
To dance
Their vibrant death
When I
Turn for home
And the solitude
Of a lonely highway
No taillights
But my own
No headlights
But the moon
In the rearview
All the way
To bed
Where I
Sleep the deepest
Of sleeps
A ribbon of light
Winds along the valley floor
Swallowed by the mist
Is it paradox
To find this cascade of water
As fascinating
As a campfire’s billowing flame
Elements in contrast
Matter and energy
Opposites
Yet akin
Falling or rising
Beauty
In the flow
Of nature
I tumble and fall
Down cascades of white water
Dreams of tranquil pools
I watch the hummingbird
Sipping nectar
Its wings but a blur
My eye cannot find
I watch the river
Cascades over rock
Imagine a smoothed blur
For an eye much slower than mine
The hummingbird sighs
Slows its speech to my pace
Time, you see
Whether stopped or a blur
Is a trick of the mind
The tumble and tumult
The cascade and chaos
All of it is pain
My being rent
By forces
External of choice
Until I realize
The flow of possibilities
Converge on a single channel
Even small choices
Alter my course
Through the rapids
I can navigate
Even the roughest water
Toward the serenity
Of a gentle flow
There is some beauty in this
The discovery of peace in turmoil
River of light
Flows along the shore
Red and white hot
In the sky
An amber sea
Stars washed up on its shore
In my heart
In my spirit
The warm glow
Of love
For all that is
For all who are
For all I am
This amber glow
To end the day
In just repose
As glories fade
Now soon the night
Will bring its peace
This wintry light
A shortened lease
Though night be long
December chill
The fire’s song
And downy fill
Warm my soul
‘Til slumber comes
Pay dreamy toll
Returns the sun
On the cold days
I’m reminded
That most days
Life is a struggle
A struggle
To stay warm
And keep fed
To love
And be loved
A beautiful struggle
I squint into the sun
And existence becomes
A blackened vignette
With a sparkling path
Leading directly
To a burst of light
In a cloud-strewn sky
A vision I recognize
From those times of connection
When I was one with everything
And the knowledge of all existence
Seemed not only plausible
But within my grasp
Heady times
And I wonder
Was I mad then to believe
The epiphany was real
Or mad now to have let it slip
From experience
To memory
Now a personal myth
Pix to Words 