Tag Archive: nature


Serenade


The silence of twilight

is broken by

a raucous chorus of

– croaking –

full of a joy

untouched by peals

of thunder

or threat of wind.

Glorying under

a gibbous moon

singing unencumbered

while night birds

provide counterpoint….

A cacophonous melody…

the sounds of home.

Emotional Weight


Sometimes my heart

becomes exhausted

by the tremendous

weight of this

– grief –

And every new

pebble of pain

hits the bottom

like a boulder

sending tidal waves

instead of ripples.

Thrown by the

destruction, I ache…

but I recover…

Now, sitting in the

night air…

peace finds me

once again…

hesitant,

tentative

but alive.

The White Tree


There is a white tree

in the woods

near my home.

Its skeletal bark

a stark contrast

amongst the

near blackness

surrounding it.

Its light leaves

screaming out

against the silence

of dark pine needles

all around.

It rises stubbornly

reaching bone-white

fingers toward the

sky…palms upward

full of an offering

of peridot…

kissed each night

by moon and stars.


It is an odd thing

to live in the space

between…

I am a woman

mid-fourties.

I have no children.

I have no mother.

No one knows what

to do with me

on Mother’s Day.

Sometimes it feels

like the space between

is supposed to be shameful

or somehow

less than.

But I don’t feel ashamed

or lessened.

I feel loved by the wind

comforted by the dance

of leaves against

a moonlit sky

and I don’t shy away

from the lonely hours…

Songs of frogs

and night birds

bid me to dance

-barefoot-

among them…

I feel wild

and alive.

Don’t pity me.

I don’t pity myself.

Come…let me teach you

the dance of the dark

and the glory

of the night wind.


While on my walk I noticed this sap… it caught the light and shone like little jewels.
This tiny snake tried so hard to be perfectly still and hide in the grass by a pond I found on my hike today. He was so pretty, I took several photos of him, but this is my favorite.
I saw this fallen tree covered in these woody fungus and the colors and the perspective just struck me… so many things on my walk today made me stop and take a closer look.
I have some days that all I see are thorns and the lush green and soft browns fade into the background… I used to call it “The view from the pit.” I am glad to stop, now, and look at the thorns… It is how I survive…how I heal.
Thank you for taking a walk with me. I hope you find unexpected beauty all around you.

Peaceful Walk


I went for a walk in the woods with my best friend… I loved all the beautiful colors and textures… I adored the almost blue gray of these.. the brown rings almost seemed like brass in the sunlight.

The pinks and greens in this one were so beautiful they looked painted on… especially when compared to the deep, glorious browns of the bark and the pine needles carpeting the forest floor.

The sunlight through the tops of this grass was beautiful, sparkled like starlight…

This perspective really speaks to me… Sometimes I just cannot see the sky because all my focus is on the thorns…

This Question Mark butterfly made my day! As soon as I saw them, my heart lit up… they were beautiful and so whimsical and felt like a kiss from heaven.

Going under this overpass was actually creepy, but I did adore this perspective of the columns…

And finally… I loved seeing these little footprints in the mud… Loved seeing them disappear into the woods and wished I could follow them… There was a kind of whisper to them… an invitation… and I love that feeling.


Deep in my soul hums

the song of night creatures…

How I had missed

their singing…

After so many years

of pain

of fear

I began to believe

this horrible

breath-holding silence

was all I would have…

their voices silenced

by a predator. 

I am not sure when

they began to sing again…

tentative notes of hope

springing forth…

now a near-constant

song of joy…

unafraid and alive

at last.

Symphony


There is a wistfulness

on the air

and the trees are dancing

to a symphony 

…unheard…

yet I feel the notes

thrum through my soul

and settle on my skin

like a lover’s touch

inviting me to dance…

to take his hand

and trust…

so now I dance…

one with clouds

with treetops

with birdsong

and falling stars.

I dance to the symphony

I now call

freedom.

Lazy Morning


The birds are out today

singing to the sun

and darting on the wind.

I can see the leaves dance,

though I cannot hear the

song of the wind…

It must be a gentle song –

a love song – whispered

instead of sung…

The softest of kisses

A lover’s carress.

I don’t know what the day

will bring… but for now..

Peace.

Answers in the Silence


I shout into the wind

the full volume of my pain

and listen for the answer

echoing back at me in silence…

my hands fisted at my side,

my soul reaching for hope.

Even on the most hope-

less days, the night wind

comforts, loves, caresses my side

and gently lifts my pain

offering me peace, silence

and hints at the answer

I have been searching for…answers

to my desperation…this subtle hope

sings to me in this silence,

accompanied by the whispering wind…

the balm to my soul’s pain..

wind’s fingers tracing the inside

of my open collar, along the side

of my neck.  What if the answer

to happiness, is embracing the pain?

Could that be our hope?

Pain danced away in the wind,

twirling in the dark silence?

Slowly the raging cacophony falls silent

and peace settles gently inside.

My mind still on the wind’s

Embrace, no longer looking for an answer

just awash in that elusive hope…

for the moment, a reprieve from pain.

I look into the eyes of pain

reflected in my mirror… silence

all around me… hope

slowly growing deep inside.

Questions forgotten, unanswered

for the moment, healed by the wind.

Despite the pain always inside

Despite the silence, years with no answer

I will forever find hope, waiting on the wind.