Friday, February 12, 2010

Valentine's 2010

Do not look
behind the curtain
but within where
if you can find God
you will also find
courage,
wisdom,
and your heart.

Share them.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

regrettable
when yes
or even maybe
cramps
your neck
hands that
were tangled slip apart
like knots coming undone
you slip away from your mooring

Monday, February 8, 2010

Midwinter

Even shadows
are more welcome
than silence.

In the enveloping
dark of 3 a.m.
the pulse of the living pauses.

Scattered are the leaves of
thought upon a frozen ground
of wonder and confusion. Snow itself freezes.

Oh the clawing of the cat
who thinks it's time
for canned food.

The whisper of her fur against my face.
The wound once again open.

Risk is courage, courage risk.
And the lover is the love.

Thank you Keats, and Yeats, and
oh sister, mother, lonely Emily,
who showed me that finite infinity
lives between words.

And yes, thank you those
who sat around the fire
spinning epic like a hooded cloak.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Purring

The controlling metaphor
went on too long
like a scarf around the world
or a sweater with one sleeve
still in the basket.

See? I stretched it.
Then I gave it up.
It makes me look so uncommitted.

But to other things I am devoted.
Brownies. Chocolate chip cookies. Apple pie.
Hope.

Every morning the cat expects
a bowl of canned food
before she dashes out the door
for just a minute.
Once she is fed she loses interest.

February

Thankful we are
that February is the shortest month
that of cold to which we have at last
become accustomed.

In heavy ice storms
the newest branches
snap as fragile as new love.

And inside February's roses
die as we clothe ourselves in wool.

But when snow falls
it blankets us until
we dream of promises,
of springtime.

By the river where I walk,
the winds are scathing.
At night they howl
like lonely wolves
who wake the children.

Despite the bleakness
we have not forgotten forsythia.

Let no day pass
unkissed into the night,
and no slumber silence
the diamonds in our eyes.

White out

MEMO To: Readers

From: Lisa

Date: 2/6/10

Re: Gratitude

Life is hard. I am grateful. Life is joyous. I am grateful. Life is sickness and death. I am grateful. If we try hard enough, we grow. I am grateful. Doing the next right thing can hurt. I am grateful. Doing the next right thing guarantees no like return. I am grateful. Giving love to others, though, brings love from everywhere. I am grateful. I try to love those who try. I am grateful. Good people love me. I am grateful. Good people trust me. I am grateful. Laughter eases me. I am grateful. I am giving. I am grateful. I am honest. I am grateful. I make mistakes. I am grateful. A huge February blizzard covers the gray of our world. I am grateful. The blinding white is a reminder of purity. I am grateful. I remember how to pray. I am grateful. Love, real love, can be killed. I am grateful. Love, real love, can be fed, nurtured, held. I am grateful. These things make up my life. I am grateful. Life is a place; meet me there. I am grateful.