shelter in Love's abode

Love keeps me resilient and strong

and my partner, my friend has been

the conduit of love within, so i

wish never, of her hand, to let go

like perennials, dandelions, daisies, we

awaken by the fingers touch of the Sun,

the breath of the wind, the gentle tapping,

soothing of raindrops, resplendence to the land

when the day comforts after a restful sleep,

a calm embraces the heart and the universe

shares our smile when all is well
...our souls to keep

but recently a gray cloud has hovered

over us, my love and me, descending onto

moments of solemnity, rearranging the rhythm

of our spirits from that comforted place

into a disarray, a disheveled attire, a sad face

Sun’s gentle warmth now beats in a scorch

the gentle fingers of the wind now swirl about

pulling petals off, tearing leaves from their stem 

and the drizzle of rain now falls in torrents,

our resilience and strength is tested by that

ominous cloud woefully hovering 

but our hands hold tight day and night

weathering the gray and stormy skies

though trickling teardrops come like a

waterfall display as our intertwined hearts 

take shelter in Love’s abode and our souls

shall together journey, forever, into the ‘light’  

*we were recently diagnosed with the ugly ‘C’ . in two weeks will go under the knife

removing a tumor/cyst and find out whether cancerous or benign. 

prayers or positive energy is welcome

resistance

transcendent of an Eagle

from two lives before but my

soul remains the same although

now incarnate is the lair of my spirit

i am here now, as a descendant

of Toltec/Aztec lineage which makes

my spirit strong with defiance

to fight the evil’s ware

the spirit of Eagle is still within me,  

the choice of this my transition, calls for

me to sharpen my Eagle beak with patience, 

must preen and pluck these unneeded feathers

and hone my new strong talons for the battles ahead

awaken with a smile

today, i awaken with a smile

breathe the air of life

hearing its song

tasting its sustenance

i step one foot at a time

into the day because today

i’m able to walk

if you see me in passing

and return my smile

i'll know that your heart,

your soul is in the same place

as mine

i'll pass mine on

and you do also

and our smile will

go on and on and on

be kind to one another
for that is how joy begins
such to be the make-up
of the soul within

set Anne Frank free

there’s a demon that has robbed our souls

he wears a mask and a self-made crown 

spewing his flames through his mouth and nose

and we the victims are but cartoons in media

as we smolder in charred black and smoke

how did we close our eyes and let him in

to pull us down into this abyss where there’s

swirls of fire and pain as we stood holding

hands in complacent and comfortable bliss?

a garden we once had sowed where the daffodil

and sunflower ‘growed’, the rose and the tulip

sharing the soil in the rain, the sun breathing

in the wind and they dance under the moon of 

night and starlight in different colors of attire is

discerned, only, in the gatherings by daylight  

too many souls have now taken to hiding and

writing their notes, like a million Ann Franks,

in their attics quietly under candle-light and

their scripts read of anguish and angst knowing

in their heart, if they cease from watering the lily, 
the rose, the daisy and tulips, the garden 

will be no more

shall we take shelter from this dark cloud rolling

in with this masked demon at the helm or shall we

fill our water jug and quench the thirst of the tulip,

the lily and daffodil, re-till the soil with seeds and  

saplings so that they may grow setting free the

Ann Franks of the world and their souls  

solemn of today

my eyes open this morning,

breathing hastens with desire

and my heart heaving at a pace

only my soul can understand

of this embrace i will have today

for tomorrow may not come my way

tell me, you, who also awakens

with such love for this day in

the same way, of common desire,

to reach for another open hand

that perpetuates with risk what

is good, amidst an insidious hate

i witness the smile of a sunflower

this morning when walking between the 

pines where acorns and cones have fallen,

fodder for the chipmunk and squirrel whilst

their world also enters with the sun as

the breath of wind attends to their being

soon the barren limbs of trees shall

be wrapped in a white linen of Winter

and the blades of grass will be crisp

with the cold, the light of day will yield

to a veil of gray and the night shall glisten

with a shimmy and glittering of lights

solemnity abounds underneath the Moon

and stars where once the cricket and owl

could soothe one to dream, now the wolf’s

howls are mourns with trepidation for

 the river, the tree, the fish in the sea,

the Eagle’s eyes welled with tears for

all the likes of you and me

be kind, be life

the vestibule of life is the forest

there, all things roam freely

without the mire of human unkindness

or his hate-filled destructive manner

in the ocean life resists the prejudice

of judgment or segregation of kind

swims about in joy not noticing tumult

of tsunami waves or storms, above

the sky embraces the light of day

and darkness of the night is the

cover of sleep, to rest and conjure

the dream of calm and peace

when we lay our heads upon the hem

of Nature’s dress we give a moment

of 'relax' to the Earth’s unrest from a

clenched fist of an evil ‘man’, a life’s test

let’s embrace the forest, the ocean

and the sky for our souls to reap the

goodness of life, without disdain

let the deer run free, let the wolf howl,

let the dolphin swim, let the eagle soar

life for her and me

little white flakes have arrived

in a fury with a restless wind,

a Winter’s day of bluster, t’was

green and warm just yesterday

it came so quickly with such cold

of hand in an unwelcoming pace

with a frigid grip on my heart, my soul,

a sadden gray upon my face

i sit here in my quiet cove listening

to the howl outside my window pane

as it bends the tree with an ominous

slurry of an angry wind and icy rain

my heart is broken, a subtle anguish

engulfs my every pore and my lungs labor

to breathe as my soul threatens of its

departure, a loneliness battles within

the nature of my being is in tumult

knowing my ‘love’ is being challenged

not by the frigid Winter’s touch but

by a more insidious vermin in her blood

if i could lay my hand upon her breast

and take away the pangs of distress

i would gladly wear the thorns of her pain

so that her smile will be welcome

come the next Spring rain

oh spirit of the Universe, let this be so

and i will praise you loudly everywhere

i go, every step i take, every waking

moment with an ‘alleluia’ and dance on

Nature’s dress for all to see, all to know  

intertwining hearts and souls

‘las estrellas’, above my reach,

traverse the expanse of sky

as i lie here with incessant tears flowing

from my eyes, a darkness wanting

to take away our vibrancy of life

i lament, the heart, not of mine

but of hers, whose rhythm is restless

amidst a rose and orange sun whilst

resting upon a calming sea

   

the dusk now gives way, settling

afar, into the twilight of the night

as it waves adieu in a somber silence,

to sadden news and an unforgiving day

she’s always maintained a stoic strength

not unlike ten well-disciplined equine 

riding up mountainous trails as she now

walks with a backpack strapped, burden filled

in this journey is an added laden of uncertainty

she now bears upon her shoulders of an angst,

a cancerous growth, that has reared with contempt

in her blood and decries the very health of her soul

we will lean upon each other in this journey on,

despite this added weight, as we walk through life’s

path of jagged thorns, shards of shattered glass,

shall climb over the challenging large stones

love is; the tempered steel of the blade that

carved our walking stick, the leather of our soles

on our mountain shoes, the life cells of our two

hearts, the fabric of our intertwining souls 

flower

a Flower blooms in Spring,

the Sun’s fingers tickle its petals

and the rain drops bathe it

as the Stars and Moon care for

it in the quiet of Night

its calm and brilliance draw other Flora

to gather around it, brushing up against it

as breezes blow, nudging them to coddle

so the Autumn storm cannot besiege it 

with a jealousy and envy for its ebullience,

as Fall and Winter bring virulence and fear

when the Day awakens changing from its

night’s attire, there’s fauna child like play

in and out of Trees and Turtle Doves coo in an

orange and yellow Morning hue casting a

sprinkle of gold, the glistening beads of dew

resting on its petals, on leaves of her Friends, too

oh Flower,  t’is  true, when my eyes capture

the colors of your dress, it puts a smile upon my

face in spite the storm that tried to furl your leaves,

tried to scare me too, but being here amidst your

friends assuage the angst, mitigates the pain

in my Heart, my Soul, when i sit here next to You

Love is;

when my eyelids open and the world

appears to have remained within my embrace,

when my breath unveils a gasp of freshness

inhaling the verve of a new day,

when my ears can hear the joyous sounds

of songbirds just outside the window pane,

when the whistling of the wind calls the

voices of the trees swaying to and fro,

when i rise and my legs can move to walk

and my arms can swing, hands can grasp,

when the waft of lilac entices while a warmth

of shelter encases my mind, my body, my soul,

when i look around and see my little girls

of canine descent curled in their space, their abode,

when i see the joy of my heart laying next to me,
the light of my soul whose spirit is one with mine,

when we've walked through life’s travails gently

holding each other’s hand through loss of love ones

and knowing that love, our love, prevails    

what color is the wind

what color is the wind,

when blowing through the forest,

the flora, the fauna, the trees? 

what color is the wind,

wisping across the ocean,

over rivers and over streams?

what color is the wind,

soaring above with clouds 

and riding the azure sky?

what color is the wind,

i breathe as it flows through

my lungs, my veins, my heart?

what color is the wind,

that gives verve to our souls?

is it not the color of everything,

the color of all ?

finding to be

in my search, i found my eyes,

how they can look and see 

the color of what beauty is

in my  search, i learned to breathe,

to smell and touch and sense

the intrinsic fiber of life

in my search, i found a path

where flora and fauna gather

filling me with Nature’s embrace

in my search, i learned from

the owl, the eagle and the wolf

to observe while listening to the wind

in my search, i witnessed

a stone and a tree and how both sit

quietly and still, becoming one 

in my search, i learned not to

seek but to embrace all that is

for that is what it is to be

welcoming Autumn

bright red petals of roses,

yellows blue and purple

flowers, the vibrant green

of leaves, so quietly they change

from their ebullience into their

more Autumn hues of orange,

brown, black and russet   

warm winds cool, blowing the

cotton whites now misty and gray

as Robins and Hummingbirds

cease their play, pack to journey
south-bound where the sun still

heats and breezes still are warm

the blue-jays  and crows remain,

they caw in competition as they

sneak and steal the nuts and seed

from chipmunks and squirrels

not of starvation but to store,

preparing the arrival of ‘old man’

Winter’s cold nights cold days

houses now dressed in a fancy of rustic,

colors from pumpkins and silhouettes

of black witches on brooms, spiders

in webs, that hang from gutters and

eaves as white pillowcase ghosts

swing to and fro while the piercing

eyes of goblins, their incisor teeth grin,

to welcome the myths of Fall 

my shadow cast

a towering challenge stands before me

on this path to home in my traverse 

with every step towards it a shadow 

casts larger and larger

the days before me have dwindled

in number while behind me they've grown

with every step and my pace now slow

while moving closer toward this mountain 

the shadow i cast behind me is becoming

smaller as i stroll onward when earlier

my shadow embraced many a wildflower

as they sprouted vibrantly on my path

i am near the base of this promontory 
as it stands before me with its shadow 
hovering over me and all where i have been 

the sun can only wink, now, from behind it

moments have come that capture my breath.

wanting to turn around, run back away

from this worrisome angst but life's gravity,

inevitably, draws me closer and closer

droplets tickle my skin, they fall from a rainbow 

while a calming cool breeze whistles a melody

in my ears of an elegy longing for lasting years 

and the love that has dissipated into this mist

step by step my heart and soul avail

to what is to come, where i may go

i ask only that my eyes be given pleasure

of beauty, that of blooming flowers

while cool breezes lay their kisses upon

my cheek, the love that embraces me

on this path, let not unclench my heart

and i leave behind my shadow cast 

until

not until my later years, now, have i

truly looked into the eyes of love

did not see it in my innocence,

still pure and in youthful attire

not having felt its warmth of heart,

its soulful value

not until i saw tears of another,

seeing their open hands reaching out

unkempt and empty,

pacing back and forth, talking to a darkness

only their eyes can see and knowing

no one feels them, unseen, no one cares

have now observed the lowly last flower bent over,

leaves brown and drooping, hanging by its sides,

and its bonnet with fallen petals hangs downward

in lamenting with the others already lying down

upon the Earth’s chest as Summer’s sun moves

farther away and a cooler air replaces warm

as the day grows shorter causing Mother Nature to

put on a coat of browns and orange, yellows and russets

until i saw an eagle feed its eaglets in the nest,

a mother wolf lay with its pups at dusk to rest,

tall trees sway in the music of the wind

whispering to each other the day's events

and the running streams flow into rivers and the

rivers into oceans while the stars wink at the waves

and the vane moon looks at its reflection, the

seagulls and the egrets fly across its face to find a

settling place until another dawn arises and my

heart swoon by the love of a new day

tell me

tell me

how the gentle wind touches your skin

how the gold of sun rays pierce your eyes

when you hear and watch the fish gently slap
the water around the river's bend

ahh, and there's the waft of morning dew

tell me

how your heart flutters when feeling love;

your breath becomes rapid in excitement,

soft bead sweat shimmies from your hands,

how peace and calm envelops you

at the sight of stars and moon at night

tell me

the soothing of violin strings upon your ears

whilst reading words of Shelley and Shakespeare
and how they resonate into your soul

or as i sing to you a song formed

of love verses, i've written

tell me

that your love for me is true

the reflection of my heart, too

like new verdant leaves of Spring

with their brilliance in their color hue

my heart speaks~~~ there’s no truer love

than me for you

just enough

i wish you to have just enough morsels

to eat and have some left to share

with others who are hungry

just enough water to quench your

thirst then share with those who 
also thirst

just enough to warm your hands and feet
and still able to feel the cold as others do

just enough shelter to rest your head and

room for those with less, letting them lay 
their head upon a pillow next to yours

just enough anguish to understand sorrow,

just enough pain to appreciate its absence

just enough love to last until tomorrow

behold living

my body recently experienced physical pain

constant throbbing, deep and incessant.,

i breathe in, exhale slowly and it separates

me distantly from  it

now it has subsided, the cause ameliorated

i tarry in my focus and think of those

whose pain never subside and so much greater

than mine, so i breathe for them

souls being connected in a universal spirit

shall be then, but for a moment, the assuage

of this feeling, usurped by a calm and rest,

shared by the link of our souls

i shall amble about amidst life, today

i shall not forget the pain for it will be the cause

of me savoring the tiniest of things, littlest of moments,

cherish all  around me while breezes sing

in my ears and mine eyes behold, living

onto this new day

onto and unto this new day

when first comes my morning’s breath

i shall smile and laugh upon the tangles

and tugs in the face of death

i hear the melodies of my waking friends

the cardinal’s whistle, the melodious wrens

they’ll lift my body from recumbent dreams

to amble out onto Nature’s streams

a 'sol' of warmth,  a breath of soft wind

shall start my waking day, the night on end

naked feet will be tickled by grass and dew

and my spirit brimming with life’s anew

bring all the pain and angst you can muster

for i’ll still dance amidst a daffodil cluster

the song of a robin and a finch

shall lift my spirit in a pinch

come, share with me, embrace the day

for all too soon this will give way

to the moon and stars in night’s abode

but that too is dream filled, so, i am told