without the swirls, draping sheets
and dancing colors
this time I was less captivated
by the eerie magic of aurora
but more impaled by the raw power
of these stiff probes of hazy light
that arch from horizon to horizon
battle-strength powers enclosing me
as earth’s magnetic field defends
its helpless life forms
should a weakness or break occur
within that spherical shield
the sun’s tantrum would – will –
engulf us in fiery fury unimaginable
funny what people choose to admire
physical beauty that requires
face lifts and tummy tucks
perfume and make-up
to try to sustain
or money which is which is a paper
promise easily burned or stolen
or conned or lost to greed or failure
to mend unseen holes in pockets
when, all around us
is a wealth of beauty maintained
by mother nature and geologic time
flora and fauna richly varied, colorful
beyond our far-flung imagination
waves gliding or pounding
into shores smoothed or carved
or gouged into wondrous cliffs
or dunes or caves resounding
with joy abundantly shared if
we would only be still and listen, look
touch, taste, smell and welcome
skin of tranquility
fragile barrier between busy-ness
and quietly being in the world
consciously brought about by will
and concentrated emptying
of distractions to focus on what is
like derm, thin envelope only
not shield of iron or woven mail
of copper or steel, but, unlike metal
living membrane that allows passage
exchange of sustenance of soul, senses
texture of the rock i sit on
smell of blue-purple violets huddling near my left foot, imagined delicate pealing of the lilies of the valley wafted
by placid breeze and truly heard faint
whimper of newborn cub or kitten
left long alone while mother forages
taste of earth’s renewing cycle of life
and death and enrichment of new life
skin we need to nurture to find ourselves within the wholeness
of what finally matters over time
haiku
brilliant pink-orange east
dawn reclaiming from gray mists
moving sunrise north
waves sweeping in for a bow
with quiet grace or flourish
shawl or cape whipped white
as raindrops splat on metal roof
or plummet onto furrowed earth
and trickle into gurgling rivulets
streaming toward roaring, gnashing
rivers to the sea to full circle
as pounding waves or lifted
by evaporation to cling to tiny particles
and fall again as rain
each role and costume enhanced
by sound that reach our souls
dreams in the night of mountains
snaggle-toothed and gray with
the mixing of complementary colors
eerie of purple muted in yellow
blue warmed by sunshine orange
earthy with flora and fauna
green and red, tinted by generations
of life and reprocessing of minerals
upheavals from depths and layers
of existences over eons
mountains explaining time
as we seldom pause to comprehend
except in dreams where busy-ness
at times distorts back toward reality
Bluffo the clown, nose scarlet
bloated, threatening to burst
with the frustration of failure
to silence multiple sources
of accusation demanding accountability
incredulous that his outrageous
impropriety yields not stuttering
agreement as it has always done
but reasonable further leverage
against him, calling it justice
no clown is above the law
—poor Bluffo
white-out this morning
but merely from fog, not snow
chill from the dampness
yet i know from experience and faith
that what lurks next to me will dissipate
and the familiar objects and colors
will emerge as though regrown
what i can only barely imagine
is the terror in such conditions
of those who do not have
such self-assurance
there is a whole, a vastness
that encompasses what we can know
only in part as it exists on a scale
beyond out comprehension
a pattern, a tessellation, a tapestry
that we—weak, small, limited, mortal
as we are—yet remain a part of
a segment of a thread
that contributes to the design
and the entirety
self-worth, knowing i am loved
that is what i work to have all children
take within themselves to enable each
to respect self and those other uncertain beings struggling to find place in
the enormity of unsure relationships
and hints of danger
to have strength of foundation
to be able to respect us all and see
fellow humans with caring
and compassion
MJ blathers