Grief

Invisible companion
leading backwards
against the forward grain

living just beyond
the present pale
on tightrope of emotion

fierce and friendly presence
exorcising forgotten secrets
of joy and otherwise

returning at random
with each slight twinge
of reminiscence

offering succor
with indistinguishable tears
of sadness and gratitude.

O'Keeffe's Pedernal

Sacred altar to art
carved into space
by sculpting time

naturally rendered masterpiece
ancient, deep-rooted
in its technicolor palette

brightest of brights
softest pastels
mediated by desert light

imposing as the Acropolis
the pyramids and Inca temples
in its solitary glory

her spiritual mecca
its cosmic beauty revealed
to this questing artist’s soul.

Reconciliation

A rabbit and a fox
strolled together last night
across the snowy lawn

companionably it seems
in matching cadence
hops to sauntering tracks

trading important news
mutually interesting tidbits
of this food-starved season

at length, I think, they parted
one behind the forsythia bush
the other back into darker woods

I want to imagine
on that bleak, winter’s eve
a fond farewell between friends.

Window Treatments

Clear-eyed views
uncovered
welcoming sunshine and rain

shuttered, shaded
all days and nights
against nature

unafraid
of beautiful darkness
its visiting spirits

inward focus
away from others
their passing moments

open to seeing
the unexpected
bringing different news

comfort instead
with reinforcing icons
inside four walls.

outer as inner
mirror images
of resident psyches.