I may not believe what you believe

but let’s hold hands

dance to a song greater than our own

laugh and eat together

knowing that we are larger

than our opinions

today

let’s offer Love

for the common good

build a bonfire of our differences

watch the flames glow and bring light

feel the warmth of our neighborhood

tonight

let’s hold fast to each other

so no one falls through the cracks

of our conversations

while we create communities

of peace, harmony, and goodwill

in this moment

of chaos

Love calls for a pause

and return to the heart

outside my door

listening to Black-throated Sparrows

Curve-bill Thrashers

Mourning Doves

all mixed in with cars beeping

dogs barking

children squealing

my coffee is sweet

pen and paper within reach

the sky opens like an envelope

drops poems into my lap

I sigh

drop my shoulders

open closed fists

shake away the worry

of the world

I acknowledge

I cannot stop

the earth from turning

the moon’s cycles

or the sun from rising

I relax

float like a butterfly

full of faith

in the flower

my chatter mind

speeds along the highway

of my rushing thoughts

here – there

this – that

up – down

each concern creating

a bonfire of thinking

I surrender to my breath

following its flow

from fast and shallow

to deep and slow

I trust my inner peace

soft open spacious

a universe of contentment

What!

She says she keeps all my message.

Does she store them in cookie jars?

Or cigar boxes under her bed?

Perhaps in the laundry room

neatly stacked with the cleaning supplies?

As the sun rises in the east over her house

I imagine my messages

in her pantry

tucked between the honey

and coconut sugar

along with her other sweetnesses!

You are so beautiful 
I ache
Somewhere 
All over
I cannot take my eyes 
Off of you
Trying to memorize 
Each wrinkle 
The smell of you
Warmth of your skin
I ache with our history 
44 years this summer 
Memories dancing 
Some in step
Others so far out of line
I ache in the memories 
In the moment
In our unknown future 
Whispering 
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you

amid the coos of the White-winged Doves

the chainsaw in the distance purrs on and on

I’m focusing on the presence of birds

pecking on the seed cone

that hangs by the mesquite tree

the wee peeps and twitters in the bushes

serenade me as I practice radical trust

and a Song Sparrow lands on my journal

as I write

like a seed that is ripe

slips from its case and

drops to fertile ground,

we change in our own time

I pause

relax

listen

sense

feel

smell

intuit

watch

as my true nature

grows and calms

my anxious mind