Fall

Fall into autumn,

let each leaf 

gently down

Or lift the tiny

leaves aloft

and fly them forth

However you let

things go,

open your arms

Surrender the dead

with your heart

tender and wide

Winter won’t be

quite as cold

then, with love

Answers

Maybe life

is just a big bunch

of answers

to random questions

like the romance

of the dusky sky

with the gentleness

of the evening

or the sun sinking

into the embrace

of the horizon

with one last burst of light

or every smiling

shadow

that follows us

under the sun

or the shining awe

of your face

whenever you laughed

soul deep

Maybe life

is just one answer

to the question

Love?

Working the River

Nature-made, the river

jumps the banks to curl

the earth in and under 

and down,

just as the sea 

reclaims its land

from that very first rising

out of its depths

Here, our house stands

bravely facing 

that watery uprising, 

and so

we work, bringing thick stumps

that once held 

towering trees aloft,

to edge the sinking earth

And then come boulders,

rough and heavy, to hold

the banks back, and hug

those former trees,

now stalwart soldiers

standing river guard,

while in between, 

the water seeps

Water always finds 

an opening,

and we invite it

to flow 

beyond our permitted

work, and the house,

man-made, sighs in relief

at its reprieve

At its best, work

does not destroy

but shores up, respects

nature’s pathways,

employs the labor

of man and tree and rock,

and preserves the life

of water, and of land

8/15/20

Lion Stars

Somewhere,
a constellation
of lion stars roar
in pride light
across the night sky,
“We are family!”

Sky

The sky hears
the musical movement
of every v-shaped stanza
of migration

Baby Blanket

My colorful quilt

of many-toned skin,

is different from yours

and covers me

covers me well,

can you tell?

It keeps me warm

as the earth

when the sun shines down

in olive tones,

a Mediterranean-

Middle-East-kind-of-blanket

I got when I was born

What kind did you get?

Every Flower

Lavender roses last longest,

deep red have a scent of perfume,

the peach hold their colors the longest,

the white ones are largest in bloom

Yellow roses gather the sunlight,

multicolored ones mimic the dawn,

black roses glisten like midnight

with their leaves shining green as a lawn

To Nature, all people are flowers,

her palette of colors in skin,

the gift of this beauty is ours-

to love every flower as kin

Long Evening

In this time of the light,

end of day but before night,

when sun begins its evening sprawl,

our shadows barely show at all,

outlines grow ever duller

while blossoms, serene in brilliant color,

scent of violet, rose, and musk

perfume the air all cloaked in dusk

Under nature’s beauty spell,

we stroll about like all is well

though we wear masks and watch our spacing

knowing the risk that we are taking

may be low, but nonetheless,

a danger that we must address

as day comes to its nightly close,

a colorful palette in repose

We head home from our long walk

passing tree, leaf, blossom, stalk,

houses rimmed by bushy hedges

that may be rounded, or have edges,

other walkers keep their distance

in mutual respect for existence-

if only this had always been

for friends and strangers, lovers, kin

Appreciation for all that nature is,

not sacrificed to human biz,

oceans, mountains, valleys, lakes

clear air and water, for all our sakes,

creatures that swim, fly, crawl, and run,

everything beloved under the sun

from trees and plants, to bees that buzz

let’s keep it all as is, not was