We mapped our trip on GPS, packed hopes and snacks for miles— The radio humming smooth jazz, our faces wide with smiles. Yet clouds rolled in, lightning and wind, rain blurred the exit signs, And what we’d planned unraveled fast in unexpected lines.
The roadside diner’s battered booth, a refuge from the storm, Served laughter we had never planned, a different kind of warm. We found new stories in the detour, soft comfort in the change, The journey’s gift: a gentle shift, our spirits rearranged.
Though what we set out for was lost, we gained what couldn’t be charted— Friendship, found in winding roads, and memories uncharted. Sometimes, the best of what we have comes not from what we planned, But from the turns we didn’t choose, and holding someone’s hand.
The marrow of my bones Began to vibrate Before the sun came up My heartbeat began to Keep me awake Thudding in my left ear As I lay on my pillow Before the first bird began to sing Then, awareness of the morning train Far off low sound with a staccato high-pitched accent Reverberated through the still air My heartbeat quickened The train announced its presence From 90 miles away across the rolling hills Closer each minute with a steady hum That began to dance with my heartbeat In and out of step Until it crossed the nearby street just east of me I rolled over Knowing that all my life the sound of a train Had worked its way into my bones Like all the ticking clocks Like the phrase “peace be with you” Like the phrase “and also with you” And the low thrum in the pre-dawn Was as constant as my breath
A veil of gauze drapes over us. Bare branches claw At the sky, But green is coming along, Pushing through brown leaves On wet ground. Wake up, wake up! You’ve been sleeping too long. O, Robins and Cardinals, Send urgent clear songs To our Mother, Gaia. Wake up, wake up! We have waited too long.
Three cups When I babysit - Two cups at home. One cup of tea in the Afternoon, Suggesting a fight Against the 3 pm slump. Transformation starts with pause. Some days are extra, And smiles are required. Patience and kindness -- You need all the fruits of the spirit When tired. Three cups will do it, Coffee or tea, Plain or with sugar, Makes no difference to me. Coffee bold and tea serene -- They hold the key to who I long to be.
A peaceful village wakes up under a golden sunrise with misty hills in the background.
The night, which held its breath, gives one last sigh. And muted stars are melting from the sky. Rooftops wear a lingering silver gleam And dreaming windows keep their lanterns nigh
In hedges, frost collects in quiet prayer. The streets lie hushed, as if they too can sense The first pale yawn of morning in the air -- Not yet a dawn, more hinted in suspense.
Time loosens laces; black begins to thin, A soft surrender at the eastern sky The world turns gently, letting morning in With sunlight creeping forward with a sigh.
Then Sun, unmasked, arrives—so close, so new— And dawn steps forward, rinsing night to blue.
Marble Hill Press 