Morning in the woods

An ochre leaf floats along the gurgling span
The moist scent hangs over clear waters
Glimmering with little flecks of the golden sun
White foam splashes against brown boulders

Pale yellow butterflies dance in mid-air
Lucent wings fluttering without a sound
Purple and blue wildflowers here and there
Look up from the glistening grass around

A leaf clings to remnants of the night
Beads of dew waver on emerald edge
Nearby a flock of parrots takes flight
Dusty babblers cackle on a waterside ledge

Zephyr over the water ruffles the feathers
Of a blue kingfisher on the brink of a dive
Pheasant chicks and mother totter together
And forage for the bugs on which they thrive

The willow tree observes the landscape
For long years it has stood there
Along these waters it has taken shape
As the woodland stays alive in the stream’s care

Eternity

The loneliness of eternity

Makes me thankful for mortality

For eternity is a sad irony

The briefness of life pitted against infinity

Comes forth victorious

For brief as it is

It promises wonder and joyousness

It is merciful even in sadness

For it assures respite from the sorrow

And though from eternity we must borrow

Time, the most precious notion ever realized

In living out our small days it is utilized

Eternity receives nothing, while we

Exhaust our treasured cache and cease aptly

Endless days would be the worst

While others come, then fade to dust

Eternity must be tiresome, bitter and cold

While though our life is short, we get someone to hold

Void

Wild wind and lashing rain

Listen to me, I run again

Against you, and you sting my face

But I run on, to that place

Where I find myself, my essence

My peace, my penance…

Under the dark gray foreboding sky

I stand alone and wonder why

I'm wrapped in its ominous presence

Yet upon me falls such a sense

Of calmness, an odd stillness, immobility

A bizarre impossibility…

I come to a standstill, and you keep pouring

Hear me now, what's this that you bring

With you, that eases my soul of its restiveness

And helps me to think through the mess

That's become my life, chaos and confusion with traces

Of bitterness…

The wind whips across my bare arms

It hurts, yet it can do no harm

The hurt inside is raw and deep

This shallow ache can never seep

To those depths, so there's no reason to complain

Yet again…