Sudden Sorrow

Breath comes in shards
that cut into the heart
and drain the marrow.
Into the gorge rises sorrow.

Like a cubist's painting,
the raw edges of all dimensions
are jagged, exposed at once.

Please show me where
my touch will not cause pain.
Please tell me when
I can embrace without suffocating.
Please hear me say
you are not alone.

Leaving Home: Maunday Thursday

I can't move the calendar
from the day he was last home --
the day he asked me to splash him with cologne,
to dress him in his best white shirt
and the sweater that showed the depth of blue in his eyes
and his favorite leather hat and coat.

The last time he walked was to the car.
He paused briefly, cane in hand, at the front porch,
looked back into four decades,
and closed the door behind him.

Runner's Evolution

I rarely am presumptuous enough to make suggestions to readers, 
but this one's best if read aloud to a steady beat, one syllable per beat.

Lumber-lumber waddle-waddle
lumber-waddle lumber lumber.
Too-much-effort feel-so-foolish
hard-to-inhale lumber-waddle.
Lumber walk walk Waddle walk walk
Walk walk walk walk walk walk walk walk.
Don't forget to breathe breathe breathe breathe.

Walk-walk walk-walk lumber-lumber
walk-walk walk-walk walk-walk walk-walk.
Pleasant-effort feel-so-normal
People-waving walk walk walk walk
Walk trot walk trot trot-trot trot-trot
Don't forget to breathe breathe breathe breathe.

Trot-trot trot-trot walk-walk-walk-walk
Trot-trot trot-trot trot-trot trot-trot
Pushing-limits, I'm-a-jogger
Passing-others, trot trot trot trot
Trot run trot run run-run-run-run
Don't forget to breathe breathe breathe breathe.

Run-run run-run trot-trot-trot-trot
Run-run run-run run-run run-run
Body-streamlined, mind-much-clearer,
Need-to-do-this, run run run run
Run fly run fly fly-fly-fly-fly.
Don't forget to breathe breathe breathe breathe.

Fly-fly fly-fly run-run-run-run
Fly-fly fly-fly fly-fly fly-fly
All-distilled-in-holy-focus
All-unity fly-fly-fly-fly
Fly Fly Fly Fly Fly Fly Fly Fly
I am the breath I breathe, breathe, breathe.

I am the breath I breathe.

Haiku: Tragedy of the Commons

I do best for me,
and it takes more than my share.
I must become small.

Let Us See

One blade of grass is a mystic's delight.

One human spirit is a keyhole into heaven.

One earth is a tapestry of wonder.

One unspeakable I-Am is manifest in all.

Every tree of joy is rooted in gratitude.

Haiku: Michigan Spring

While we were sleeping
she unrolled the green carpet
and hung buds on trees.

Boston Marathon 2013

Hell tore two holes
into a perfect day
of dappled sunlight,
human discipline and
hundreds of thousands of affirmations.

Heaven, its face to the heat,
lifted the fallen,
staunched the wounds,
dried the tears,
hugged tight until the shaking stopped,
fed, clothed, healed, sheltered, listened.

Goodness, an elite athlete,
gained strength and endurance
running the marathon against evil.

The Lord God Almighty

"I am The Lord God Almighty.
Would you like to take my picture?"
he asked.

"But of course,"
said I,
"but would The Lord God Almighty please smile?
Ah, many thanks!  Now I recognize you.
May I give you an offering?"

The Lord God Almighty sobbed,
as if he had not encountered kindness in many a day.

"I will remember you in my kingdom
Because you gave to the poor.
I will remember you."

In the rheumy eyes I saw Jesus.
In the gritty voice I heard his words:
"What you do to the least of these,
you do to me."

Haiku: Reformation

All my bones were crushed
To be shaped and hardened new,
Stronger than before.

Epiphany's Child

Epiphany's child
grew a garden of souls,
planting, nurturing, watering, pruning, weeding.
Discerning the needs of each,
he gave what was helpful,
restricted what was harmful.

He laughed and cried,
exulted and suffered
in the garden
but took pride in his calluses
and bone-deep fatigue.

He gathered spirit like roses,
never minding the thorns,
and danced.

The Gift of Death

When I thought Death was a specter
that sat patiently in the corner of a room
waiting to rip us from all that is dear,
I feared him.

Now, watching him work,
I see that he is a kind nurse,
cleansing,
folding us inward,
anointing our wounds
and wrapping us in clean white sheets
for the journey.

Death prepares us as a beautiful gift
to be opened by our father
in gratitude and great rejoicing.

Haiku: The Color of Death

Death is not darkness.
Vivid colors of life pale
until they glow white.

Haiku: Celebrating a Life

Together we threw
confetti in a moonbeam
on a darker night.