Smooth places made
Turbulent
Delighted smiles turned
Strained
Vulnerability is
Compromised
Intelligence used to
Detonate
Childlike innocence
Smothered
Wisdom sown
Uprooted
Voice of justice
Silenced
Creative forces
Unglued
Elders presence
Ghosted
Protest voices
Dispersed
Shed a tear
For all the years
Silence
Made things worse
Counting down the years
Unknown
Warning signs gone
Nest of softened fears
Like feathers fallen
Lay our downy rest
...until the end of time
Each year I gift myself
A new year calendar
Full of native flora
From my chosen homeland
To tempt myself
To go out and explore
To fill each day
An unwritten space
With wonder
A plastic Christmas tree
Or ailing pine struck
From side of road
Does nothing for me
Summer draws you out to
Parade through tracks
Winding into hidden
Vales to find
Berries and blossoms
Winged creatures calling
You into the forest
A place of miracles
Magical moments
Creating new traditions
Out of thin air
For clues I peruse
A loved one's mother's
Poetry book
Counting down the days
Till Santa's sleigh
In haiku
Tickled pink my toes
Wriggle in bed
Family stories never told
I buy the books instead
There's a time not so long ago
It still plays in my mind
Like the little girl who giggled
Hung her monkey arms around
Your neck and made you laugh and smile so much
Across the crowded venue
Now the size of an adult
She sits squarely at me and stares
Just like my girl does
I stared back too
Masks up to our eyes
What does she want to know?
A silent reply
Yes, I love her too
Moments like these can be found on the brink of never after
They live on as an image that can never be erased
Come what may
Flourishing
Open space growing
Cut down
New life showing
Forgive oneself
For not knowing
Content with flow
Words in verse
Like a fire hydrant
A spring flood cascade
Filling easement
Into wild yonder
Equal to task
The raging fire
Quench its thirst
Rise quickly
New life
When words are few
Each worth a thousand
Times more
A short verse
Font on white page
Reveals a heart full
In your presence
Depth of silence
Means the world
Count the stars of heaven 