Out of Darkness

Brother between worlds,
 Substance without form
Save in how you touch things.
 In all things giving;
 Giving the color,
giving the elemental force,
 You warm me, you burn me,
 You seep into me and run through me
Cruising along my viens.
 I take my hat off to you
So we can be joined.
 John declared you Life; God – Word – Lord –
 Life And not understood – or misunderstood By Darkness.
 But why should we understand as long as we love you;
Let you take us, thrill us, own us, move us, and then slow us?
Even with my eyes closed, even in that little darkness,
I feel you, I know you And when I open my eyes you are everything I see
 Surrounding me and embracing me,
 In all I perceive.

Any Day

We sit in light and center
Could there be a more perfect day,
Except any other?
All days are equal here among the bird song
And the Green light that means “go”,
But go softly and with perennial peace, go softly, silently, in stillness, nowhere
Yes, I love the still calm and the soft friendliness of the translucent green
tulip tree leaf, like a tea cup in a saucer, hanging in the air without a single motion
But I will love it too when the raindrops descend upon it
Yanking it a little way from its hold on that still spot
Forcing it to bow, bowing before my Father’s world
I will love it when it turns to yellow and the color drains into it
As the light drains out
I will love it when the yellow browns and crinkles and the wind begins to toss it
Turning it from side to side working it away
In a motion like the sway of a cradle
Until all the stillness of the summer is broken off and it flies
A little way from the branch to the earth
To go scraping and creeping accross the crusted snow
In the glory of the Father’s world it flies gracefully, without fear
Joyfully free to its little death
To mingle with the common earth
To lie beneath our boot soles
To be covered by the blanket of snows,
Warm in the embrace of earth
Where I still love and will love any day and every day.

spilling apology

I would say, “sorry” on behalf of BP and the industry
I would say, “sorry” on behalf of the government’s failure to regulate
As we all seem to say
But I should instead say “sorry” from myself, for myself, to myself
Sorry when I covet that extra space
Sorry when I want to drive carelessly in the distance
Sorry when I want to see Paris again
Sorry for all the greed we call bad and all the greed we call good
These are not easy choices
In my defense, I try – I do drive a hybrid – I care, I love
I do want this to be a lesson to us all
But above all else,
I am sorry I am not content
With the still small voice
In the quiet of the wood,
Forgive me.