Category: nature

Strawberry Season

Strawberries ripen, their scarlet-red sweetness staining the cheeks of students whose bodies, unripened, rail against the conformity of stiff backed chairs and bolted down desks.  Spring has dared to don the cloak of summer – green emboldened fields trampling over delicate beginnings; and we are splash pad, motorcycle revving, boom box crazy, ready to plunge into the swelter, restless.

Strawberries ripen
Spring’s sweet offerings foretell –
Summer games begin.

(Image my own)

Forest Walking

Wish I could converse –
one harmonic voice blended
in a symphony of birdsong –
but my tongue stumbles
reveals me as interloper

As much as I tread
softly over forest floor
my missteps crackle
alert the denizens
danger is about –
no imploring
can reverse the impression

Nature’s sensitivity is finely tuned
and I am urban-scented,
barely tolerated,
seldom trusted –
must bear my reverence
for this sacred space
more deliberately.

(Image my own)

Unexpected Delight

The wind subsided
momentarily
and the river stood still
and I caught your reflection
memories flooding back

When days were warm
and innocence nurtured imagination
and you held me in your arms –
a creature no different than
the squirrels and birds
who shared a branch

I loved you like a mother –
your steadfastness
the drapery of your foliage –
hiding made sublime

Oh, how my heart swelled
recalling the simplicity  –
how easy it was to believe
that trees had spirits
and the wind could talk
and the stillness of the day

To climb, to ascend,
to know that sacred ladder
that lifted me high above

The moment passed
the water rippled
but the inspiration remains

Your roots hold the promise
dear Willow, I am sure –
thank you for the reflection

(Art my own)

Whale Dreams

Exposed are we,
voyageurs crossing
this great expanse-

One tiny vessel
bearing life’s weight,
two oars to navigate

Unknown depths below
and shadows murky –
we push on. Row. Row.

Sights set on new land
uncharted possibilities –
pray the crossing favours us

Then a shape emerges –
great hulking mass –
parting waters,
rising and transforming

Is this a caricature of our fear?
I am mesmerized,
project a divine presence
look for mystical signs

He shrugs,
pragmatically notes that
the St Lawrence is home
to such mammals

I dream of whales,
crave communion –
yearn for their certainty
their knowing

Just as I wait for a sign
from the departed –
inviting a simpler life,
inspiring hope…

A shore life,
from which I can observe
the numinous.

(Image my own. This is a rewrite of an earlier post)