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

a flower's tears

like the flower in Spring

petals in their brilliant colors

display. the leaves are a vibrant 

green and loam at its rooted feet is

dark, from moist of morning’s dew

in Spring she used to be like this

when she’d look my way and would

on occasion seem to be fawning making 

me feel like that flower of Spring

but Autumn comes, some call it Fall,

and colors change to crimson and

russet, although still brilliant in the

aesthetic way yet changing their colors,

a different beauty in their display

she sees me now in my Autumn attire, 

knowing Spring still is her favorite color,

she looks no longer at me the way she used
to but now at another flower whose colors 

of Spring catch her eyes

i am that flower your eyes no longer, of me, see
a sentient being with love in my heart and when 
my Autumn colors now displayed, you look away

and so my petals droop, my leaves fall to my side, 
the heaviness of falling dew, are my tears for you

my soul speaks

my walk today traversed a hillside

through a field of wisteria embracing

a patch of yellow snapdragons and lily of

the valley white bells while busy yellow jackets

and bumble bees buzz, a pollinating dance 

conscious and slow with every step

cognizant of this moment listening to

the whispers of the day noticing its

breath as it swirls and sways a field

of wild-flowers like waves at sea

i listen to the voice of my soul speak

as i search to find my ‘within’

bringing my spirit to a brink

grasping my heart with a calming

asking to be witness to peace

the tales of my soul does tell of pain

hovering over sadness and disarray

while wishing the music of love to play

awaiting trials and tribulations to allay

knowing all this to be mundane that

the transcendent spirit will soon discard

severing the tethers and letting the vibrations

to play in sync and rhythm with the

Universe where together they, too,

shall dance

joy of life and sleep

that waft of lavender or soft musk,

the sparkle of the dew on grass in

the morning and the lust my heart

and soul doth feel the joy of waking

to life’s ebullient smile

warm golden yellow rises and white cottons

soar along the azure powdered face

shimmering off the mirror ocean blue,

a spectacle bringing life to the jumping

dolphin and spattering of fish while seagulls

call and the osprey talons fill

doth my day begins of Summer’s Spring

while cool wet sand invades the space

between my toes, the southwest winds

blow capturing underneath my eagle wings

so that i may fly amidst the day where

i shall play

from dawn to dusk my soul shall dance

give way to the spirit of the universe

of how things should be where chaos

intermingles with harmony as opposites

and the yin yang intertwines as one

a glitter of stars shall prick the black of night

and tease the moon to smile while the roaring

vocals from white nail rolling fingers of the sea

shall sooth my dreary eyes to close and i will

dream the dreams where my soul shall soon

reap their joy along with souls in universal sleep

pondering

this evening i sit alone and quiet

atop an old oak tree's rooted feet

listen to the wind brush the leaves

watch the cloud figurines soar above

as the sky turns orange and crimson

and the sun lies down to rest and sleep

at the feet of mother earth

i ponder the many steps i’ve taken

throughout the days of yore

of faces passing with frowns and smiles

hearts forsaken of love lost and the tears

shed, unremitting, in the lonely nights

missing those now absent in this life

here and now, gathering thoughts

along with memories, how rich my heart

has felt from those who have touched it

both at a distance from human empathy

to the fortunes of a warm embrace, maybe

a kiss here and there or just holding ever so

gently of my hand

i wonder if and when my breath shall cease

in partaking of this earthen bound, my soul

shall be gifted with pockets filled with love

where i can take to share with the souls of others

that maybe weren’t so lucky, filling theirs

with a love that was meant for all

a gentle heart shall rise again

“and the sunlight grasps the earth”…and a new day rises

with rays of hope, where “the moonbeams kiss the sea”…

and the calm and peaceful voices are heard loudly,

for the vitriol and hate has been silenced

the gentleness of an open hand shall touch us

once again and the softness in our hearts and souls

shall once again evince as the whisper of the wind says,

…‘you shall walk again amidst the gift of my

flora and fauna and with it, you shall feed the

hungry, clothe the cold, lend a shoulder to the

crippled and soothe the heart of a sad soul’

death has not been kind

death, has not been kind to me lately

its darkness has invaded my space,

all the chambers of my heart

and the once silken nebulae of my soul

death, its solemn has stolen my smile

taken the Sun away in those moments

when i needed light and warmth and

my breath without labor

death takes the song that once inspired verve

now struggles to find the tune

harmony has given way to dissonance

treble has found a home in the base clef

when once the Sun’s golden hand touched my eyes

and an aviary of life would lift my spirit

in the morning’s awakening loft, now a

dredge prevents my soul to rise

death is, incessant tears leaving folded paths

about my cheeks on unwanted wrinkles

of my face from unmitigated sadness, within,

filling the caverns and crevices in all of me

the eagle within now perched to rest

awaits the sunlight to replace 

the gray of death and it will once again
soar while the call of the wolf’s howl shall

praise the day and at night watch the moon
beams kiss the sea 

when my soul to take

when the pains and pangs of aging

are no longer appreciated because

of so much greater pain and strife

in the world

when the morning’s wake is distilled

by the wailing of sirens going in pursuit

to mitigate anguish or approaching

the hot irons of violence

when the water’s edge is filled with

man-made debris and the fish floats

atop ocean waves strangulated by a plastic

tab discarded, uncaringly, into its abode

when the winds of heaven once of joy

now being transformed into climate storms

from smoke stacks and refuse of those

whose almighty dollar feed but a few

when my swollen aching feet

no longer ambulate a few steps

to check if the turtle dove and the

hummingbird have sustenance

this is when my heart, torn,

my spirit tattered, i thus

can only wish for the goodness

of the universe, my soul to take

they ask why

not many tears are left within

the cries , the wailings of those

left behind, their stars of night

have disappeared and their days

are dark covered in ominous gray

from the sun and day’s array

i lay me down to sleep and my

eyes close but dreams are absent

only reflections of the day fill me

of blood and anguished hearts

envelop my every breath

seeing the faces of those taken

souls have no faces, no color,

and gender, there is none

we’ve been gifted with life where

music and love reside while other

surrounding ‘being’ observe humans

with disdain for our dissonance

the tree and flower reach up

to try and touch the sun and sky,

the fish that swim the seas and tiger,

elephant and wolf that roam on land

as the eagle soars above, all stare at us

with curiosity and asking… why ?

a moment alone

walked, today, among and amidst

many a patchwork field of pansies,

wisteria, asters and clusters

of vermilion wildflowers

i stop and let my spirit intermingle 

as they sway in the wind dancing 

with the sun’s gentle shadows cast

i spin and twirl then lay upon them

to feel the dirt, to touch the land,

to hear their glee and feel the

chest of Earth, inhale and exhale

tiny critters run away at first until

they sense that i lie here to be with them

to taste the breath of the innocence of life

escape the human toils and strife

i too am but a tiny critter laying here

to bare my soul to the sanguine terrain

of my abode, that rides upon the energy

and the spirit of the universe where soon

we shall all abide

and to this end, insanity shall meet sanity

violence shall meet the peace

dissonance shall greet harmony

chaos will accept the synergy of ‘one’

destroyers shall meet creators

and hate will be squelched by love

i woke,

i woke, not from a recumbent state

but from the gray in light, a closed

door, a down shade on the window

that obscure the stars of night

for so long i’ve lived in reverie

where peddles on a white lily

are pristine, the azure sky hides

and dispels a daring hue and thus

darkness is hidden from the blue

i hear the cries of hunger some unheard,

the screams of anguish from death’s hand,

a child is not a wolf left alone in the woods,

the aged all alone on streets of cobblestone

no one sees them, no one cares except the lonely

i woke, not from a recumbent sleep

but from voices of the dark trying to scare

the light. it is i who must not be burdened

by fear, shall lift the shade and open the door

so that light pierces the dark letting ingress 

and egress to be free 

the breezes blowing

the breezes blowing now with a breath of cause,

too long lately, storms have twisted and broken all

as the devil’s thick water seeps through the ground

turning black the ocean blue where our neighbors

of the sea no longer can swim, no longer can breathe

fear has turned white clouds to an ominous gray

where once were kind and gentle souls are now forced

to defend their nature from the angry and the vile

when once they walked amidst the arc of the rainbow

not to look for gold but to wear the colors as attire

sadness now reigns with winds blowing pain like sand

in a swirling storm finding crevices unseen unknown,

whilst left unspoken, hides starvation and the toils of

human suffering beguiled in the dark, not from the

absence of the sun but from an apathy of the heart

where to, shall we human form now take ~

a path of calm gentle peace and harmony,

so Earth can breathe once again, the hungry

to eat, fauna to run and play, flora to paint the sky,

letting the soul, the spirit of Earth to live on ? 

futility of life

moments come and pass,

i stop to think about them,

they’re moments of fondness,

nostalgia creates a memory

i dwell, 'not', upon the memory 

for then i cease creating present 

moments and my heart beats 'not' 

of life but in the cessation of it

i look down and feel the grass

between my toes, i smell the lavender

nearby, my eyes are given pleasure

from the lily, the jonquil, the iris,

cardinals whistle for each other,

blue-jays and black birds caw,

the robins have taken nesting

for the warm has come north

as i breathe this moment, though,

as my heart flutters at this piece of life

the beating heart is fragile, feeling

anguish by the loss of souls too young

taken by angry voices, ugly hands

our shadows touch

seeing my shadow cast by the sun

walking outside today, i thought
…does it cast in the same
by the light of the moon ?

not unlike when i breathe,

never the same air
or my hand dipped in a river,
where and when water sifting
through my fingers, never the same

every mornings’ waft of lilac, rose

and lily, so too their shadows
dance in the breeze, always different
from day to day, whilst their 
movement, the sun's rays conduct

like the osprey flying o’er the black

sea at night, it knows no matter
of its flight only that the wind
underneath lets it soar until its
wings greet the golden eye resting
on the ocean's shore

silhouetted shadow cast upon a crimson sky,

moments before in daylight it could see
its reflection cast in the liquid of earth
below and so it asks itself…
which is truly me, the shadow in the sky or 
the reflection in the sea ?

by nature, in that the osprey asked the same

question as i…are our souls connected
not just in spirit or from the sea and so if they are
when my shadow casts and i breathe,
are we, too, the same, you and me ?