The Jealous

How strange the wicket twists and turns

Bringing change and desperation

And life revolves upon the wheel

With harried, dark elation.

Yet we observe, who chance to study

The ingrained, bold reactions,

And costly steps both forth and back

Of each beleaguered factions.

The heart grows weary from the test

Today, tomorrow and on

Should we succeed, will we be blessed?

The story lends a tear, a tear

And still there is no rest.

Life be bold, life be told

We cannot always choose

Sometimes the choice is made for us

As we accept, we lose.

But, “close a door and open a window”

The sages always tell us

So take heart and be bold in faith,

No worry of the jealous.

On Us All

When I was little it became an adventure

To be able to see over the edge of the kitchen table

I would sit and have coffee with my grandfather

And he would let me sit on his leg, bouncing like a horse might do.

I would have tea with Grandma, though,

And we would play peek-a-boo behind the stove

And bake cookies that filled the air with their sweet scent.

But that was long ago, and no longer do I feel so content,

So easily amused or safe in a world that totters

On the edge of exhaustion for the misuse

Of its very resources as we have only each other

To keep our numbers in check

And while it is tragic that even one life is lost

It is nature’s harshest reality

That the weak and the meek are conquered

And the strong get to impose their beliefs on us all.

All That Is

I open myself to the blue of the sky

Its sweet, infinite breath all around me

Lifting me up, up, up beyond the chaos

That shuffles the people in their cars and homes

And I slip into the Light, absorbing and reflecting

All the good and gracious gifts that smile through me

So I remember how it is in balance, perfect balance,

That keeps all the world safely stirring in harmony.

And I let the Light pass through me to the needy,

To the hurt, the injured, the sick, the hungry, the poor,

So that they can have what they need right now

And I let love fill me, work through me,

To chase away fear and arrogance

So that the infinite good of the Creator is all that is.

Beginnings

Eyes catch in a chance glance about the room

And suddenly the heart beats faster

In two previously separate individuals

As one begins to concoct an introduction

The other focuses on the possibility of life-long love

Both leave the safety of their circle of friends

To get some air, stretch their legs, say, “hello,”

To a friend, intending someone they’ve never met

Before their hearts beat right out of their chests

Perhaps a little ringing in the ears, a little sweat,

This feeling of butterflies in the stomach

An awkwardness not common to either one

As fate would have it, they meet in the crowd

She blushes, he trips, they fall together

To catch each other and begin a love

That no one can separate, no one can stop

Then conversation and acquaintance

A smile so sweet that honeybees are jealous

A hand held so supportively from the start

And cementing it together a kiss no other can compare.

Deafening

The sound of a breath filling the lungs

The imperceptible flutter of butterfly wings

The hum of the television with sound muted

Living in a world beyond silence

Vision takes on a special value

Each color and texture more delicate

And touching becomes a greater luxury

So that every edge, each plushy softness

Creates an enormous wave of excitement

That is deafening in proportion.