I try to write a poem a day, sometimes more than one, but mostly just one. Sometimes they follow a theme and at others the brainstorm is all over the place, kind of a reflection of what’s going on in my head or in my life. So, here’s a selection from the past week that I hope you will find interesting or entertaining or provocative, or all three.

The photo, by the way, is of a recent Las Vegas, NM rainstorm.

THE QUALITY OF LIGHT
How can we not be in awe
of God’s creation?
Grass shot through with sunlight
paints a variety of green
in each blade.

Listen to the trill of a hummingbird
in search of sweet nectar.

Our world is alive with beauty.
May we look at those we encounter
with the same wide-eyed wonder,
seeing in them God’s hand at work
in the beauty displayed by each soul.

LEAVES ALIGHT
Have you seen
how light streams
through leaves
making them nearly
translucent,
as if each leaf
is lit from within?

 NATURE
Trees weep with wonder,
raindrops bead like crystal gems
the shimmer of life.

LIVING THE DREAM
When you’re 17
you think living the dream
is to be popular and pretty,
your size itty bitty.

By 27 you come to realize
happiness isn’t determined by your size,
or looks or being loved by all,
such thinking leads to a fall.

37 arrives and the stunned face
that is your reflection shows no trace
of the hopes you had when you were young
your songs of happy ever after left unsung.

Time marches us toward tomorrow
never knowing if we will face joy or sorrow.
Wins and losses clutter the road in our wake,
and we hope we give back more than we take.

Where did time go?
This is the truth I now know
to live each day with kindness and laughter,
is to be remembered fondly hereafter.

FRAIL
The thing about age
is that it carves
into my body and brain
the impression I am frail,
which to a degree I am,
and feeble-minded,
which I may be,
things don’t stick like they use to.

But… that isn’t who I am.
I have earned the right
to be skeptical about politics
–– not leadership, politics ––
of every stripe and brand.

I have gained wisdom
at the hard school of life.

Silence doesn’t mean
I am addled or not with it,
but that I’ve learned
the sure way to show
how much I don’t know
is to open my mouth
and start talking.

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PHOTO: SHARON VANDER MEER