tranquility

in this busy season

take time

to slow down

on the inside

and let tranquility

find you

on a wing and a prayer

hawk and sparrow
came to my window
one flew in
one flew by
the hunted and the hunter
one seeking shelter
the other a meal
ain't that the way of the world?

little girl on a golden isle

i'm a little girl on a golden isle

running the halls

of that old hotel

tasting an exotic kind

of freedom

that haunts me

to this day

you asked the boy

with the surfboard

to give me a ride

in the deep end

of the swimming pool

the morning water so cold

and i was so afraid

but more afraid

of disappointing you

you hated to fly

and yet you hired a plane

to take us over the island

i felt the mix of

fear and butterflies

until i saw them

the wild horses

running on the beach below us

and i was enchanted

never wanted that ride to end

thank you for that gift

was that your secret

to feel the fear

and do it anyway

i learned to swim

in the deep end

now

i'm learning to fly

over the rainbow

the wizard of oz is on tonight! don't you just love a movie you can watch a gazillion times and it's still as entertaining as the first time you saw it? there's a short list of movies like that for me...to kill a mockingbird, tootsie, gone with the wind, yours, mine & ours, chariots of fire, driving miss daisy ( you know that scene at the end where morgan freeman is feeding jessica tandy her pie - omg, i cry every time.)

heart's desire

you are my true heart's desire

happy anniversary my love

intricacies

i think i found the faith
you lost along the way
the one you said
you didn't believe in anymore
it was so fragile,
corroded with rust
still i knew when i saw it
that it was yours
it made me sad
to see it laying there
discarded
like so much trash
i had to retrieve it,
but it turned to ash
in my hands
i scattered it to the wind
the way i did your remains that day
but the wind has a mind of her own
i stand now
as i did then
covered in your dust

transformation

looking down

i see the ground

i crawled upon so long

husks of waiting

are everywhere

and the sky is full

of freedom

dancing in the light

i've always been something of an extremist, so while you might think this mandala, dancing in the light, is a departure from my typical style, it's actually just the other end of the spectrum that resides within me.

i love ballet. as a little girl, i took lessons at madeline walker's school of ballet. i was odd girl out in a mirrored room full of smooth haired buns, pink tights and black leotards. i still remember the excitement of recital nights...the pastel hues of scratchy, stiff, sequined tutus...the intoxicating smell of spray painted ballet slippers mingling with the musty smell of the heavy velvet auditorium curtains. for a few magical hours i was cinderella at the ball.

then, as now, i inhabit a body built for comfort not for speed. but inside of me there lives the long, lithe body of a dancer...a ballerina girl dancing in the light.

dreaming in color

i love to dream in color

vivid, bold and bright

i dream in living color

almost every night

my pillow becomes a canvas

my dreams provide the light

as the colors from my dreams

find their way to waking life

a three legged chihuahua

we're having pancakes this morning, and my history and discovery channel-loving 15 year old son says our three-legged chihuahua, jimmy, wants to do the iditarod. we laugh good naturedly at the thought of our beloved jimmy out there mushing with all the sleek sled dogs. actually, jimmy has four legs, but only three work the way god intended. as a puppy, jimmy had been abused and neglected. he came to live with us through the wonderful work of the chihuahua rescue league after we saw a picture of him in our neighborhood paper.

what does this have to do with making mandalas? well, that's how i feel sometimes - like a three-legged chihuahua in a highly competitive race. admittedly, i have my own list of "challenges" - some might call me a late bloomer to be picking up a brush at 48, but, hey...at least i'm blooming! this mandala is called the journey. yeah, this artist-life is my own personal iditarod...i'm not "in it to win it" - but i am enjoying the ride.