Category Archives: Poems

August

Posted on by learning to live like water

August

Sensuous, relaxed, vibrant.

Hot summer days

that become cool evenings.

Lovers holding hands under a canopy of star showers

Secret caresses carried on a summer breeze

Concealed in the shadows.

Time spent with friends

sipping cold drinks

on familiar porches.

Laughter heard across the still air,

the sound of children playing

And a screen door slamming.

The grass still green,

it’s growth subdued,

though the smell of fresh cut grass still permeates the air.

Farmer’s markets full of the summer’s bounty.

Reds, and oranges, and greens

Full of life,

Robust.

We know the days will get shorter, soon.

We know that the cold weather will send us inside

Wrapped in blankets and layers of clothes.

But not yet.

Not now.

Now, let the last days of summer

Fill my senses.

Let me be forever mindful, and hold these days close in my heart.

August…

Safety From Within

Posted on by learning to live like water

Have I ever been safe?

Or just at times oblivious to the danger?

Have I let my heart wander into territories

pockmarked with quicksand,

Or have I willingly walked through,

Knowing where the danger lay?

Have I slid into the pit on purpose,

Believing it to be a warm bath?

Or was I naive

Just wanting something so badly

That I would risk everything for it?

Safety, like joy, I am beginning to realize

Comes from within.

From mindfully staying with something

until it is fully known to you.

This morning, I am content.

Not afraid,

not projecting or expecting promises

that haven’t been made

Or even implied.

This morning,

My life is my own

to share with those I choose.

The incessant longing has been satiated

For now.

Safe and content, for the moment.

Brilliant Planning

Posted on by learning to live like water

The rain poured from the gray leaden sky

All day yesterday.

Quenching the thirst of all living things here.

This morning,

I sit in a fresh clean world

sunlight saturating everything,

including me,

As the moisture rises

through golden shafts of sunlight

back to the sky from whence it came.

To become a cloud again,

And carry the moisture to another place

In another time.

Transforming itself,

over and over again.

An ancient and timeless cycle.

What brilliant planning of the Universe.

Things Are Not Always What They Seem

Posted on by learning to live like water

Things are not always what they seem.

Day may seem like night,

When the sky goes black

and the sun can’t be found.

Night may seem like day

When the moon is a full golden orb

Casting long shadows across the lawn

Under a canopy of 10,000 flickering stars.

Sometimes words can heal,

when they are hard,

When they don’t feel good as you hear them.

Sometimes they can hurt

while creating great beauty as you listen.

Sometimes love can exist

Unspoken.

And sometimes the most ardent declarations of love

Feel empty.

Sometimes, there is more in less.

And less in more.

Sometimes, when you are most confused,

You find the most clarity.

Just a Kiss

Posted on by learning to live like water

He kissed her that first day,

Sweet and tender.

He held her, and she him.

It held so much promise.

She looked for it, anxiously

every moment they were together.

But it became elusive.

She searched,

She waited.

Small kisses goodbye

but not like that first day.

With passion and longing and desire.

Then one day he thought he would lose her

and he kissed her again

with longing and desire.

There it was.  Out of the shadows.

Finally.

But then, inexplicably, it ran back to lurk in the shadows 

She knew it was there,

She reached for it

She could never find it.

In fact, after awhile she couldn’t even find a hint of it.

Not a clue.

It was just a memory,

Slowly receding from view.

Soon it was gone,

and he was gone.

And so, in the end,

She was gone too.

Looking for that elusive kiss

From someone not afraid to be seen.

Or to feel

Or to take the chance.

It was just a kiss.

It will be just a kiss.

Just a kiss.

A Small Glimpse

Posted on by learning to live like water

The heat from the sun transported me today,

From my deck outside to somewhere past

the tiniest of stars that might be visible in the evening,

as I listened to the quiet soothing music

of waves curling and exploding and receding along the shore

in some eternal, inexplicable rhythm,

in some remote, exotic place.

The sky became purple,

with glittering golden clouds,

flashing brilliant colors

not known to my small human psyche.

As I fell asleep, content,

knowing that somewhere in the universe,

This exists.

Now, the summer wind cools my flesh,

And my heart

To a peaceful reality of this time and place.

I smile at the universe who has carefully

given me everything I need,

and the smallest of glimpses into eternity.

Whispers

Posted on by learning to live like water

I heard my name whispered

in a thousand breezes,

as the waves lapped the shore,

as the moonlight illuminated the night.

I thought I recognized the voice,

But it was a whisper,

Who could be sure?

Perhaps it was someone I know,

or perhaps,

someone I don’t know yet,

but whose soul searches for mine

as mine searches for theirs.

The whisper is lovely,

And allows me to dream the peaceful dream,

Of laying beside someone who won’t let me go.

Contentment

In the knowing that I can hear it.

Safety in Silence

Posted on by learning to live like water

I spoke,

But told nothing.

I listened,

But offered nothing.

I held my own counsel,

And shared not a thing.

I took my heart off my sleeve for a bit,

And closeted it in my deepest soul.

Safe from the demons that wanted it for their own pleasure,

No words, no laughter, no tears,

Just silence.

I’ll put it back out again,

When I’m safely away.

The Mimosa Flower

Posted on by learning to live like water

The Mimosa flower
like a light-hearted starburst
on a clear starry night
A thousand tendrils of purple and white
reaching for the sun.

I want to dance with a Mimosa in my hair.
To sleep with tender bud in my hand.
To make love with the blossom between my breasts.

And dream of the man who grows
the Mimosa outside his door.

How could you be anything but happy
If you’re lucky enough to see one?