hi everyone! i know its been an exceedingly long time since anything was posted so i thought i'd say a thing or two. first and foremost, life is generally good! my parents still work at their same jobs, and jordyn and i have both started high school now. we still live in sunny Santa Barbara ca. Jordyn is playing for our jv water polo team at high school and i was recently in a sketh comedy in a talent showcase at our highschool. we recently attended homecoming (quit different than Holden prom!). other than that life goes on as normal!

White Suspended Between the Blue

At the waters edge she stands
Upon reed legs
Snowy white reflected
In the blue and brown of the slew
Her legs stretch and bend slowly
With purpose
Her movement sends tiny ripples across the water
She is watching every movement under the surface
All at once she lifts up her regal head and spreads giant cloud wings
She leaps and lifts on unseen currents
Into the sky
Gliding
White suspended between the blue
White suspended between the blue

Frost

Frozen in time
Etched onto the path with white feathers
Each line traced
Perfect and lovely
The silver leaf sparkles in the afternoon light
A quiet reminder of attentive love
Bringing death into the likeness of God

Holy Rivers

I woke with a start
To the sound of heavy rain outside my window
And lay in bed thinking of all the things I did not put away
The cushions on the outdoor furniture,
The dryer, all of my wooden baskets,
The towels that were “Drying on the fence”
I have to admit, I panicked a little…
I got dressed quickly and went out into the downpour
Rushing around in the middle of the night
Putting the already soaking things away
With my trusty dog following me from one task to another
Both of us getting wholly wet
Then I paused
Tasks done
And felt the rain on my upturned face
Delicious and cold
Patterns on my cheek
Tears that nurture this brittle dry earth
And waken autumn within me
What a way to awaken in the middle of the night!
With Joy spilling out of the sky
Kissing parched ground
Running Holy Rivers all over town
Filling my soul
To the brim

Clouds and Self Pity Lose Their Appeal

It shown
A small light
In the grey mass of clouds
That distorted and surrounded
A glimmer
A sparkle
Shimmering
Waiting for me to take a step forward
To receive the gift
I had been avoiding all day
While I sank into the darkness of my own making
It stayed lit
Occasionally flickering in the breeze
But otherwise unfazed by my attempt to ignore it
So I walked forward
After fighting with no one but myself
And received the simple gift
Of light
Somehow when the golden flame is near
Clouds and self pity lose their appeal

Moving Blue

We meandered along the green
The last days of summer
Slipping through fingers like sand
We made our slow way East
After an evening meal
Walking along the cliff edge
Overlooking a field of moving blue
We paused and talked along the way
Stopping for moments of silent gazing
Taking in the mysterious depths
Where unseen
The starfish cling to rocky ledges
Where fish and seals roam
Through yellowed fields of kelp
Dancing with the current
The dolphins moved in the water below
Along the base of the cliff
And the moon hung silver in the sky
Leaving silver patterns
Sparkling and laughing
On the moving
Blue

Reflection

I have been thinking about Jordyn's weekend. It all went by so fast and yet we did hold an honoring of change and movement. Not just for her, but for each of the Women who came or wrote, we took the time to pause and acknowledge the passing of time and share the sacredness of the journey. I was amazed by what some of the people shared both in letter and in conversation. The wisdom imparted was inspiring, connecting, vulnerable, and full of thought. In our culture we forget to stop and be present in the here and now in the changes, with growing flowers, and with each other. The gift of the weekend for me was the depth of connection in the space of laughter, tears, and silence. We were able to stop and be present...with a word cut out of a magazine, watching the dolphins, taking a walk, resting on the porch, swimming, or engaged in conversation. Those moments that often pass us by are our life, and we are living it.

Spiders

Spiders
They weave and crawl
In hidden places
And make jeweled patterns
In the trees and in my classroom
Outside on bench and table,
In doorways and across the expanse of our windows
On drain pipes and coat hooks they hold cottony white
And stick to passers by
The patterns shine with dew drops in the early morning
And capture the unsuspecting
Today I swept away a summers worth of work
Home and Table
Caught on the end of my broom
I pushed the workers out once again to the periphery of my world
Wishing them well and gone all the same
They made an eight legged escape over the brush and up the hill
To begin a new Pattern in the trees
Far away from prying bristles
That destroys a summer’s work in a moment

Dolphins

The glide silently beneath the waves
Giving only a glimpse
Of frolic and fun
They gleam
Dark bodies
Sparkling with silver jewels
Then disappear from sight
I find myself
Tense
Standing on shore
Holding my breath
Waiting for the magic
Of gray bodies
To suddenly pierce the vast blue
To catch a glance
Of liquid hope
Dancing,
Dancing,
Dancing
In summer sun