today's sacred task

today

the

sacred

task

has

been

to

work

my

knotted

chain

of

thought

into

one

smooth

strand

of

contemplation

spider watch

round and round

i watch her traverse
the circuit of guy-wires
like an aerial acrobat,
she moves gracefully
from one radial line to the next
a slender leg stretches out
creating tension on the thread
as her abdomen deftly tucks under
lightly touching spinneret to web
another sticky strand successfully attached
and on she goes,

round and round
each movement made with
careful, rhythmic precision
her morning work is almost done now
she slows down
making her way back to center
weaving the final milky puffs of silk
that come from her body
into the tell-tale zig-zag
of a garden spider

verdigris

resist the temptation

to shine things up

the beauty is in life's patina

between two worlds

every night a portal opens

between two worlds

a curtain rises
but which side of it

i'm on remains unclear

until morning light

claims me for the waking one
yet how real and dear the other

elephants on parade

elephants on parade

inner light

in silence,

i wait for

inner light

that i might

see god

in the face

of foe and

neighbor