i am you, you are me

 

i’ve seen so many faces in my life and time

grateful for smiles but too many frowns

with enough pain to go around

 

have sat in silence to witness and listen

to the whispers of life in attempts to

understand why i think, why i breathe

 

the tree that hovers o’er me has shared

some of its wisdom imparted by the gentle

breezes of the wind only if i sit quiet, still

 

the running stream waves at me to catch my

attention to tell me of what it has seen

through its bends and turns

 

one day i shall put into words what mine

eyes have seen, my ears have heard, my

hands have touched and my heart has felt

 

whoever shall read the writ of my words will 

look up from them, breathe in deeply and sigh

for they will then realize they are not alone

river runs without me, still

 

went to sit on the river’s bank

where i used to more frequently in

earlier days when my spirit needed

to be healed, be rejuvenated and

needing to understand myself, my

place in Nature and the universe

 

sat back on the incline of the bank

listening to the running water clash

upon stones and fallen branches and

the chorus of feathered friends perched

on branches of weeping willows that

hover somber o’er the river and me

 

i look down the one side of the river

bank and notice a pair of empty shoes

skillfully placed together and asked

myself…where and I hope not, that

whose shoes they belong, they did not

decide to leave them behind forever

 

sauntering up to go look closer to the

shoes i feel cool grass blades between

my toes and looking down and i have

no shoes on then realizing i had dozed

off into a spiritual trance forgetting I’d

removed my shoes to feel the earth

 

am grateful that the river doesn’t have

a foreign interloper swimming lifeless

with the catfish on the bottom with the

muck and so i walk over to pick up my

shoes to stroll another day amidst the

somber willows, the river and sky above

love of calm

 

again, i’m feeling a calm, a restful spirit

though the years are running hurriedly past

and my reveries are filled with memories

as i sit here still pondering life

 

the wind is blowing with the years

and the leaves dance about while the

now golden sea of grasses sway like

waves

 

the clouds soaring by now grey in the sky

and denuded trees of their leaves,

the now bear limbs no longer give shelter

to the squirrels or blue jays

 

at dusk, the sun lights the sky with fire

and the moon arrives early making haste

of the presence of Orion and Polaris careful

not to fall into the pan of Ursa Major

 

so in this elderly abode where i reside

i am grateful for the years on this ride

and when it comes time for my everlasting

sleep, i wish my spirit to remember Love

just a stroll

 

i found this path i wish to walk upon

and i would like for you to take my hand

let us stroll amidst the radiance of colors

life is sharing with us

we may step on a stone that is sharply edged

or come onto a large boulder or fallen branch

must be maneuvered around yet we know this

path continues beyond these challenges

with us holding hands while traversing on this

path we feel each other's support and more

importantly sense our pulses, hearts beating

as one and together carry on

let us look up and around, witness the russets

red and gold of Autumn, listen to the orchestra

of singing feathered friends and fauna rustling

about snickering and watching us

there is much to be said about a quiet stroll with

another spirit to share a moment, being present

while gathering visions of Nature's dress, consuming

memories that feed the heart and soul