Wild God

We tame the wild dogs

and shoot the wild deer

we cage the wild lion

for wild things we fear

They make us see the truth

that we are weak and chained

plagued with insecurity

labeled, boxed, and named

We crave control and safety

and so are kept instead of free

that's why we took our wild God

and nailed Him to a tree

Cardinal

Boldness born on a barren branch

red flame in a sepia world

herald of spring enliven the landscape

stoke the coals of nature's imagination

sing the tune of what will be

gone with a rustle of a strong breeze

but your absence does not undo

your presence, you were and are here

your vibrancy a relief to hungry eyes

the world warm beneath your wings

Wind dance

The bare trees bow

to their queen the Wind

unable to resist

when she bids them Dance

arms lifted in exultation

whirling dervishes

whipped into frenzied adulation

of the force which animates them

and gives them Life

Snow fall

An afterthought of flurries

lighten the dusk

just a whisper of winter left

and even though they'll never

amount to anything

still they fall

because that's what snow does

there is no question in nature

of purpose, of meaning

they are one in the same

here they are, there they go

it is a wondrous show

Same sky

February has proved

that peace will elude me

as long as I exalt the snow

for its gentle lightness

while reviling the rain

for its harsh dreariness

serenity is understanding

they are two sides of one drop

falling from the same sky

Breakthrough

Maybe it doesn't always happen

like a dam giving way

water crashing through the cracks

with irrevocable certainty

Maybe it is more like the carving

of a great canyon over time

atom by atom the winding river

erodes the stubborn rock

revealing a path of patience

Maybe awakening isn't

the scream of a bedside alarm

and we are meant to linger

in the in-between a little longer

so that we can remember our dreams