*
*
Bow to your partner, cuff her ear
Pounce on her tail, circle to the rear
Dos-si-dos, dodge and bite
Allemand left, kick to the right
Swing your partner upside down
One leap forward, turn around
Break apart, hiss and glare
Lick your fur, crouch and stare
Flick your tail, prepare to run
Then–
Stalk away as if you’ve won
*
*
Awaken before first light
Consider:
cat asleep between knees
Disturb her to pee
or try to sleep again?
*
Awaken before choosing:
surrender to stormy skies?
Trust the overgrown path?
How to know right,
left to the light
*
Awaken before dying:
Is it possible?
warm in honeyed amber
puff of cotton fiber
breathe in waves
*
Awaken in the present
where cats live
Now eat now sleep now
Climb the windowsill,
make holes in the screen
Can you see?
*
*
She took it all out
the good doctor did
baby-making equipment
inactive for years
now a threat of disease
*
gone—those parts
that connected me
(forever)
to a boy and girl
parents themselves
*
Who am I now?
*
She took it all out
hoisted up the sagging bits
with sutures and ligaments
curving this torso like a shrimp
pink, bruised purple and green
*
seven short incisions
only one gives the pain
that should accompany
such a loss
*
What am I now?
*
*
my skin shone smooth and brown
I moved with thoughtless ease
grew my hair long and frizzy
wore skirts that skimmed my legs
sensuous as ribbons
*
When I was beautiful
I thought sex might be love,
and love was elusive
my feet danced in circles
with an ignorant heartbeat
*
When I was beautiful
I thought backward
to a slim gray cat
in a motherless home
holding a stone of grief
*
When I was beautiful
I lived within the sound of waves
winter sunlight, summer fog
a harpist played next door
each morning a revelation
*
*
Feather silk sigh
Grass-scent wild
Rose petal snow
Lift heart lift breath
Hum becomes skin
whisper sing in air
Time windfall
Nothing time
Spark of light
Blue spark black spark
No need
all given
*
*
Your life-being is a garden.
Your spirit is the gardener.
*
Build a fence around your garden.
Imagine it: curling wrought iron,
split rail, chain link.
Make it unbreakable.
*
Be sure to put in a gate.
*
You choose what to plant:
vegetables that nourish the body?
fruit trees for life’s sweetness?
flowers to pleasure the soul?
*
You decide who can come in.
*
Will you open the gate
to Fear and Doubt?
They may dig up your seeds.
*
Will you let Worry
Into your garden?
She may spoil the flowers
and chew up the leaves.
*
What about Criticism
and Judgement?
Like a hailstorm
they can destroy everything.
*
Others you may invite to stay:
Joy in her bonnet of fireflies
Love with its scarlet ladybugs. Peace,
sleeping under the squash leaves.
*
So, beloveds, remember:
You are the gardener.
You
choose
who
comes
in.
*
*
O my beloved
you waited so long
for me to open
my heart’s door
*
I didn’t realize that
I held the key
to let you in
*
yes
*
*
the airy fairy
flies between earth and sky
her wings are unrolled parchment scrolls
her breath sparks the wind
she knows the holy spirit
she navigates the realms of light
*
the airy fairy
believes in subtle signs
she converses with trees
tells jokes to the sparrows
scents her tree house
with spikenard and sandalwood
*
the airy fairy
reads the earth with her fingertips
speaks the language of stars
she is made of sunlight
her creations effervesce
joy is her birthright
*
*
I have a new kitten. She’s half Bengal mom, half undetermined dad, and of a sweet disposition. She’s only 8 weeks old, just a baby, but she’s adjusting well to her new home here. I can’t say the same for my older cat, but he’s coming along.
It’s my practice to chant OM with a recording of Tibetan monks before I meditate. This morning I sat down to meditate, and the new kitten, Zuri, was also on the bed playing in her cat cave.
When I started to chant, she came and lay down next to me. After a few rounds, she closed her eyes. A few more rounds went by, and she crawled into my lap.
I’m wondering what drew her in. Was it the power of the syllable OM, the first sound? Was it the vibration of the deep voices? Or maybe she just thought I was purring?
It was a high moment of spirit and connection for me, that an animal would react in such a way to chanting and meditation. I’m curious to see if it repeats tomorrow morning.
*
*
green worms
gossamer free fall
drift windblown
leaf-anchored
*
trust the process
they call to each other
grow where you land
grass, cement, shoulder
*
profligate nature
tiny green caterpillars
weaving, waving
measuring hope
Tangled Magic 