Passages

Monday, April 27, 2020

School Of Hard Knocks

With insight gained through the school of hard knocks, such dead weights as confusion, misery and misfortune become necessary stepping stones to appreciating peace and contentment.

Life Unchained
(Holly leaves after spring rains)

Saturday, April 25, 2020

Heavy overcast, whispers of mist and shadowless hush of rain-damp forestlands confuse senses and stir primal emotions. Birdsong and familiar rustle of leaf litter is absent. Gnarly tree trunks come to life and become phantasms in mind’s eye. They mystify reason, arouse awe and sway fascination.

Dusk abides phantasms

Brume bedims treed outback slopes

Plaintive wraith haunts woods

Fugitive Phantasm

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Pixie Dust

Mind’s eye betrays heart

Pixie dust charms vernal wood

Chaos cedes fierce reign

Pixie Dust

Monday, April 20, 2020

Touch Of The Devine

Rain weighs on mood yet shores up peace of mind.

Amid drenching city, field and woodland,

Drops gladden heart akin sound of steel band

And cause taut circles of life to unwind.

Entice senses with freshly vibrant hues

And damp aromas of pine straw and earth.

Let patch of blue sky signify rebirth

And meadow bathed in sunlight be your muse.

Welcome Nature’s breath in cathedral pines.

Watch her shake loose droplets of Adam’s Ale

And spill as grace across pained mortal brow.

See darksome places gleam, dressed to the nines,

With pearls of rain which bespeak divine tale

Of God’s loving hand in the here and now.

Touch Of The Devine

Saturday, April 18, 2020

Life Force

Burst marks birth of light

Age-old dust spins steadfastly

Shadow heeds life force

Life Force

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Sublime Retreat

Chaos reigns supreme

Woods provide sublime retreat

Green mansion stills heart

Sublime Retreat

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Refusing Fear

Of late, trials and tribulations test our patience and endurance as a Nation, while we navigate dark valleys of life in the shadow of death cast by microbes. Make time look deeply into your heart, turn inside out your reservoir of defiance, leave no stone unturned for nothing is more contagious than refusing to live in fear. I shall not be disheartened.

Faded Hugs

It seems forever that we are deliberately behaving contrary to inborn human needs for social interaction in response to fears of infection by a novel microparasite. Although our grandkids and family live just down the street, normally rambunctious, kissy and huggy visits have been separated by backyard fences and downgraded to front porch hellos.

Virtual, social media interactions dim in comparison to good, old-fashioned social media forms of endearment, where people put their arms around neck, back or waist and hold each other closely. We must resist letting fear run amok much longer and insist that humanness rooted in spirituality, reason and common sense prevail. The latter qualities are important pillars of humanity and must not fall victim to undue fear.

Important parameters such as patient zero and origin of the disease, true infection and fatality rates, research-driven vs anecdotal preventive and finally uncertain curative measures remain fluid. There are significant information holes. A collective deep breath as a Nation followed by reasoned actions based on real world circumstances will define our future.

Faded Hugs

Poetry Of Light

Nature provides the palette, light is the paint brush and hearts are the canvas for poetry of light.

Poetry Of Light
(Oxalis striata aka Yellow Woodsorrel or Lemon Clover)

Sunday, April 12, 2020

Hristos Vaskrse - Christ Is Risen

Nature's cool morning breath soaked in hazy sunlight fills the chartreuse sanctum of woodlands clad in spring regalia and causes my heart to brim with joy of the Resurrection.

Each year I find comfort in the millennia-old celebration of Easter and take the opportunity to reflect about my spiritual relationship with God. I invite all people of good will to partake in the celebration and welcome the promise of hope, joy, peace and love it holds to sustain hearts in a world filled with chaos.

Allow me to take leave with a heartfelt Serbian Easter greeting…Христос Васкрсе…Hristos Vaskrse…Christ is Risen!

(

Note: Serbian Easter is next Sunday IAW the old Julian Calendar)

Chartreuse Sanctum
(Path to Old Rock Spring Cemetery Church in Pittsboro, North Carolina USA)

Friday, April 10, 2020

Spring Reverie

Angst inflames passion

Nature supplies perspective

Peace of mind drives bliss

Spring Reverie
(Cooper in woodlands near Pittsboro, North Carolina USA)

Sunday, April 5, 2020

Unfurling Spring

Vernal flush paints breeze in tree canopies

Sounds of creation ring sweet in my ears

Timeless music wrapped in fond memories

Of days gone by beneath celestial spheres.

Unfurling of spring lays bare inner purpose,

Sets free pent-up essence waiting to dance,

Puts an end to reasons for postponed hopes

And comforts troubled heart in verdant manse.

When spring raises voices in field and woodland,

Let them strike heartstrings akin the Great Bard,

Let them rouse good will and kindhearted hand

To serve humankind from town to farmyard.

Make time to dwell on springtide melodies

And embrace their lighthearted remedies.

Unfurling Spring

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Gate To Eternity

Souls pass pearly gate

Winged host shouts hallelujah

Bliss reigns most supreme

Gate To Eternity
(Polystichum acrostichoides aka Christmas Fern)

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Quixote's Nemesis

When heart takes on too much toil and trouble

And life becomes bond servant of despair,

Give leave to mind, shake off weighty rubble,

Let spirit soar and doom and gloom forswear.

Take flight on wings of imagination,

Where space and time fade into nothingness.

While daily life throws down much confusion

Let dreams come to be playful nemeses.

Some of humankind’s most cherished treasures

Thrive when both deep thought and fond hopes hold sway

In worlds where faith tempers mindful measures

To define our essence day after day.

Give due weight, don’t defer chasing windmills

Nor forego building castles in the air.

Quixote's Nemesis

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Songs Of Spring

Blooms beget sneezes

Springtide speaks of zest for life

Repose becomes dance

Achoo
(Pollen on Old Bynum Cotton Mill race)

Budtime On The Haw
(Haw River at Bynum, North Carolina USA)

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Renascence Of Spirit

Annals of humanity hold wisdom

Flush with rosy seasons and despair.

Unlike spring rebirth in nature’s kingdom,

Our hopes and dreams soar on wings of prayer.

Renascence Of Spirit

Sunday, March 8, 2020

Burning Daylight

Today, with the vernal equinox less than a fortnight away, let slip the shackles on life imposed by “daylight saving time” and instead of chasing its illusory benefits give upbeat deference to the advent of spring. Unplug from technology, be less productive, breathe deeply and quiet your mind. This will regenerate your essence.

Heart hails Earth rebirth

Mind takes to burning daylight

Hope floats somber moods

Life In Rosy Hues
(Pittsboro, North Carolina USA)

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Heaven's Gate

A weathered cross with several embedded Chrysocolla stones graces a quiet corner of the San José de Gracia churchyard in Las Trampas, New Mexico. It appears vandals desecrated this modest expression of faith, love and remembrance by removing the center gemstone. I ponder what is on the minds and in the hearts of friends and family, when they consecrated this Earthly remembrance of their loved one years ago.

Known throughout the world, mystics and healers ascribe properties to Chrysocolla which influence communication, wisdom, emotional bonds, creativity, business sense, achieving balance in life and taming wanderlust. It's a talisman of musicians. Blue-green specimens found in Israel are known as the "King Solomon Stone" and valued as the National Stone.