A Limerick for New Year's Cheer!

There was an eccentric named Clare

Who despite all had oodles of flair

She penned limericks galore

To confound all the bores

Who were miffed by her savoir faire

Another poet on the Old Year's passing

Good-bye, kind year 


We walk
no more together


But here in quiet happiness
we part.

–Sarah Doudney (1841-1926)

An Instructive Love Story

Two pigeons lived in a cage in a family home. The first one was a terribly deformed rescue bird. This poor little female's head was attached nearly upside down, and if she had not been hand fed she would have quickly died. Later, a male pigeon with two broken wings was rescued and became her cage mate. His wings healed and he was set free. But, he wouldn't leave. He was in love with the unsightly female. Since both birds were staying, they needed names. The family named them Crabtree and Evelyn. Evelyn was the male. Evelyn was completely devoted to Crabtree. He collected a small trove of treasures - a piece of yarn, a charm, an artificial flower, artificial ivy, a string, a tiny twig - which he hid behind a credenza. Each morning when they were let out of their cages, Evelyn went behind the credenza and picked up each one of the treasures and presented them to Crabtree. Crabtree regally accepted each one. This true story demonstrates that animals have a level of consciousness that we are not yet equipped to understand. Love comes in many forms. There is more than one lesson to be learned from the tale of these two birds. In addition to love we can add healing, compassion, generosity, caring, devotion, and seeing beyond appearances.

Source: Living a Noble Life by Rev Joan M Gattuso in the January/February 2010 issue of Unity Magazine.

Winter Morning's Light, a Haiku

After winter rain

Morning’s golden clarity

Stunning renascence

Christmas Night, a Haiku

Night rains melting snow

Reflection comes easily

Luminous darkness

Portraits of Loss 12/23/09

Loss should be painted in many hues,

Not only shades of gray

Failing health is eroding soil,

Relentless,

As lush greens fade into the aridity of sand

And yet,

Psychic trauma, which saps confidence and the

regard of others,

Is the dank turbid water of an abandoned well

Friends disappear in fear and discomfort,

As winter’s freezing cutting rains sculpt familiar landscapes

Into muddy amorphous forms

And yet,

Economic losses descend without warning

like a churning tornado

Its debris, uncertain sterile years of angst and doubt

And yet,

Within each, a transforming seed

Awaits the pure light of acceptance

To germinate

Endnote: Revised on 2/23/10

Longest Night, a Haiku

Longest night descends

Dark void or succor's mantle

A soul's perspective

Blizzard, a Tanka

Blowing drifting snow

Winter's early frigid grip

Bodes a long journey

Through uncertain brittle nights

Labyrinthine paths to Spring

Fowl Communication, a Haiku

Countless black birds

Perch on power lines

Passerine runes

Winter Solstice, a Haiku

Rising from the mist

Stark limbs seek the waning sun

Threshold to rebirth

From W. C. Bryant, a Winter poem

But Winter has yet brighter scenes—he boasts

Splendors beyond what gorgeous Summer knows;

Or Autumn with his many fruits, and woods
All flushed with many hues.

–William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878)

The Fruitful Centenarian

Fruit of a hundred year old bonsai tree

A perfect pomegranate hangs from one of her fragile limbs

Her branches look like the wizened arms of the very old

Yet her gnarled trunk sits solidly in the earth

Whence her deceptive vitality?

Like other wise oldsters she knows that

Fulfillment is renewal

Endnote: I recently took this photo at Longwood Gardens. The little tree dates from 1907.

St. Lucia's Day, December 13

"St. Lucia (also called Lucy) was a fourth-century Italian martyr. Her name is derived from the Latin lux, meaning "light," so she has become associated with festivals and celebrations of light. Before the Gregorian calendar reform in 1752, her feast day occurred on the shortest day of the year (hence the saying "Lucy light, Lucy light, shortest day and longest night"). St. Lucia Day is especially important in Italy and in Sweden, where the youngest daughter dons a crown of burning candles and wakes the family with coffee and St. Lucia buns (sweet rolls seasoned with saffron)."

Source: Farmer's Almanac

A Christmas Haiku 12/11/09

Rolling year passes

New cycle birthed in darkness

Comes into the Light

Endnote: A quote from Dostoyevski's The Brothers Karamazov particularly apt for this season: "... have no fear of human sin. Love people, even in their sin,for that is the semblance of Divine Love and is the highest love on earth. Love all of God's creation. The whole world and every grain of sand in it. Love every leaf, every ray of God's light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery of things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love."

Pinecones, a Haiku 12/10/09

Wind tossed pine branches

Pinecone clusters gently sway

Lissome equipoise

Geminid Meteor Showers

Here is another kind of light. The best meteor shower of the year—the Geminids—will streak all night on December 13–14. Expect a count of 75 meteors per hour. Moonless conditions make viewing ideal.

Endnote: This information comes from the Old Farmer's Almanac. Viewing this natural wonder is a unique and meaningful way to greet the coldest season - many opportunities for reflection and giving thanks for our natural world and some of its immutable beauties. I'm posting this early so you can make a note of the dates now.

In the Mood for Winter 12/10/09

Oh, what a goodly and a glorious show;

The stately trees have decked themselves with white,


And stand transfigured in a robe of light;


Wearing for each lost leaf a flake of snow.

–Richard Wilton (1827–1903)

Endnote: I came across this poem today and love its evocative imagery, particularly the last line.

Midnight Rain 12/10/09

Gently falling rain

In the night's inky darkness

Moonless serenade

From Another Poet

The hills look gaunt in russet garb: 
Against the sky the leafless woods


Are dark, and in their solitudes


The chill wind pierces like a barb.

–Clinton Scollard (1860–1932)

Endnote: I just found this lovely little poem about the coming of Winter. The older I get the more I appreciate its' unique opportunities for solitude, a time to reflect and remember.

Masks 12/8/09

A father playing with his small son

Dons a macabre mask

The child recoils in terror

The mask is removed

And the boy falls into his father’s arms

Adults too fear masks

Perceived judgments, fears, doubts

Dark musings, mere chimeras,

As they fall away

The Beloved is revealed beneath

Endnote: The story for this poem is from the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hassidism

December Sun, a Haiku

Platinum sun

Behind dark gray cotton clouds

Muted radiance

First Snow, a Haiku

Wet sloppy snow flakes

Not descending lightly

Perverse beauty

Pills, a Haiku

Numerous pills

Each morning they greet me

Demanding house guests

Equine Ballet, a Tanka

New experience

An all male ballet troupe

White stallion danseurs

Hooves gliding in unison

Riders seem superfluous

Endnote: I wrote this after watching Lippizaner stallions perform dressage. Their strength, beauty and grace would be the envy of any two-legged danseur.

Afternoon Tea, a Haiku

Starbuck's beckons

Rainy afternoon tea break

Life's intimations

December First

This morning I was greeted by a lone crow

sauntering along my sidewalk

His rolling gate reminded me of an old well travelled sailor

He had the nonchalance and joie de vivre

Of a bon vivant

Winter is around the corner but not a care in the world has he

Hearty companions, assorted trash bags, a communal dwelling and plenty of moxie

Would that I were so well equipped for the coldest season!

Endnote: The painting is by Rudi Hurzlmeir

The Uncommon, a Haiku

Laundry, dishes, mops

Common daily tasks

Uncommon prayers

Senior Moment, a Haiku

Walking down the steps

Pelting rain assaults

Lost my train of thought

Blake's Vision

Two paired clouds in a crystalline sky

Enormous billowing pennons

Remind me of Blake’s vision of two angels watching

Watching over Christ entombed

Their wings are outsized and touching above his body

The sacred triangle formed speaks to me of triune Divinity

Christ at the base ever near to us in the earthly realm

The angels are Spirit, vehicles of enfolding grace

Source fills the interior, drawing in and unifying all

To be ‘seen’ only through the eyes of unconditional love

Winter Brook, a Haiku

Small brook in winter

Rocks, debris, flooding, drying

Metaphor for life

Crow Morning, a Tanka 11/27/09

Crows greet the morning

Floating gracefully downward

Through autumn’s lowering clouds

A chugging small plane intrudes

Paltry by comparison

Grace, a Tanka 11/26/09

What is meant by grace?

The soul’s subtle whisperings

Of transforming love

In mundane situations

The transcendent is revealed

Endnote: Not too long ago I was checking out at the supermarket. A young mother with a sneezing bawling child was ahead of me. She had a very large order. Thoughts of contracting flu flooded my mind along with irritation at having to wait on line. In the parking lot we were parked next to each other in the handicapped section. I also noticed she had arthritis shoes on. As I started to load my car, she came over and helped me. Grace!

Thanksgiving Eve, a Haiku 11/25/09

Time for reflection

Many losses and blessings

Dancing together

After Lunch 11/23/09

A dozen crows perch

Postprandial chatting

Trash pickup today

Avian Requiem 11/23/09

Mourn for the perennial harbingers of the seasons

Canadian geese no longer migrate

They have become opportunists

Finding sustenance in our ersatz ‘brave new world’

Mourn the loss of their evocative calls as they floated above us in graceful formations

Mourn as their implicit promise of nature’s renewal dies

We blame them for fouling this monument to expediency and greed

We liquidate them for our crimes

Habitat loss, pollution, global warming

We compound our depredations by arrogantly casting off our sacred mantle as guardians of the earth

Mourn for the future generations betrayed

Late November Song, a Haiku 11/22/09

Lone cricket chirping

Autumn’s hopeful farewell song

Regeneration

King of the Road 11/22/09

An octogenarian vagabond, my father

Traversing the North American continent alone in both directions

His steed is his automobile

No itinerary, no motel reservations, no calls home

His joyful Whitmanesqe spirit

Relishing life as he enthusiastically sings to her

Yes, yes, I am the King of the Road!

Endnote: This poem is dedicated to the memory of my father, a true King of the Road, and to my favorite niece, Karen, who loved her Pom. His journey reminds me of this verse from Goethe: “Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

Speed Dial 11/21/09

Eating, walking, driving, etc
Cell phones are ubiquitous
People are wired to each other
Yet not connected
Alienation takes many forms

Misty Morning, a Haiku 11/21/09

Soft misty morning
Autumn’s suffusing mantle
My inward journey

God's Dreams 11/17/09

I once heard a poet describe clouds as God’s dreams

Large and billowy, long and slender, dark and ominous, infinite variety

Divine metaphors for our doubts, hopes, fears, and illusions

Revealed as transitory phenomena

Evanescing in the essence of pure sky

Endnote: This poem is dedicated to my sister, Joan, because it's one of her favorites.

Mandala of Compassion 11/17/09

In silence I gaze at the icon

With head deeply bowed

Everyman cradles the globe

First I see the figure as Jesus

Then I see myself and our human family as cradlers of the earth

Absorbed in a love wider than the universe itself

Endnote: The Compassion Mandala was created by Brother Robert Lentz. It is used by many as an icon in prayerful contemplation.

Wings 11/15/09

Two turkey vultures, magnificent wings fully extended

Soaring ever higher in a bright boundless sky

Embodiments of freedom and grace

On the ground large, ugly, ungainly creatures, out of their element

Metaphors for my illness

Physical limitations, pain, angst, despair

Ungainly earthbound birds with leaden wings

Transformed perceptions are soaring birds

Ascending ever higher into the brilliance of wholeness

Where I am unfettered and unbound

Winter Bliss, a Haiku 11/15/09

I welcome winter

Books, cats, tea - such is true bliss

Subtle joys abound

Cat Wars 11/15/09

A new companion appears

My Buddha cat objects

Machiavellian strategist, my Buddha cat

New stepbrother is in perpetual retreat

My Buddha cat has feet of clay (sometimes)

The Didge Brothers 11/15/09

Didgeridoo, O Didgeridoo

Not a child’s rhyme, but a transformative instrument

When the Didge Brothers play their ancient resonant tones

Hearts beat as one

We are transported to archetypal planes beyond words

Endnote: Dedicated to Joe Gentile, one of the Didgeridoo Brothers, and his partner, Jerry. Joe is a Didgeridoo Master, Renaissance man, friend and kindred spirit.

Prism 11/14/09

This human life is like a prism

In infancy we are pristine white light

As we grow, experience refracts our light

Many colors appear, dark and light

At the end of our journey we return to the original light, our eternal Source

Endnote: This poem is dedicated to my brother-in-law, Richard, a kindred spirit.