Saturday, December 6, 2014

The Character of Leaves

Bradford Pear Tree
Brilliant leaf gems will glow when the setting sun shows through them,
gleaming their red green and gold.
As the daylight grows short, orange dancers cavort at the tips of the twigs that they hold.

They float on the breeze, parachuting from trees which can no longer hold them aloft.
Leaves rattle and quake, crisply they shake in cold Autumn gust or winds, soft.

They whirl and they glide and spin as they ride on even the gentlest puff.
Streaming down through the air they warn us "Beware, for the winter winds soon will be rough".

They gather and meet, crunching under you feet.  Nature's gift is their spicy Fall scent,
Kid's squeal happy sounds, when leaping in mounds of them, wrecking hours of raking time spent.

Needles of pine are a leaf of a kind, though they don't all turn sepia tones.
As the Solstice occurs, scents of cedar and fir, remind us of holidays home.

So you see, there is glee in the heart of a tree, in the traits of the leaves at great heights.
Such beauty unfolds til the nights get too cold, and the North wind beckons "Take flight!"                    







                               






Saturday, January 4, 2014

The Candle

There is a tiny candle glowing deep within my soul.
It speaks to me and lights the darkened corners I behold.
To some its music, others brushstroke.  For authors it is prose.
But when we recognize it, its flicker grows and glows.

The pen, the brush, the instrument - utensils of the light.
But also there is guidance that lets your mind take flight.
Brilliance hides beneath the fearsome, shadowed cloak of night.
Illumined inspiration flows from tiny sparks made bright.

The candle’s waiting, ever present, ever out of view.
For centuries its light has been there, lit for those who knew.
This secret flame is in you too.  I’m certain this is true.
And if you give attention to it, it will guide you too.