there are days

when the greatest adventure

is noticing.

While sitting with the heartache tonight, I realized that I have been given gifts I will never lose…

his laughter.

the way her eyes would crinkle just so when she was up to mischief.

the sound of her voice lifted in joyful song.

the gentleness of his weathered hands.

the scent of her home on a cool spring day.

Tonight,
I gather my riches
and sit with the heartache.

today,

I held a brief spring moment
in the palm of my hand.

delicate sunlight,
feather-soft,
gone too soon.

maybe I need the wild
to survive
ordering the chaos.

On the ground beneath trees
there are worlds you pass a thousand times
and never notice.

But if you kneel,
if you lower yourself to meet them where they live,
you find wonder waiting…

tiny galaxies of moss,
a whole country folded into the curve of a fallen leaf.

World upon worlds,
a secret chorus that only reveals itself
to the one who lingers.

And many times it is the sun that shows me where to look.

One sudden ray breaking through the limbs,
touching down on what most would call a weed.

And there it is…

ordinary transformed,
edges lit like a candle.

And it whispers the old truth,
the one I nearly forget in all my hurrying:

look …

see the beauty of creation.

And in the seeing
my heart can only answer
with three quiet words:

I am alive.

Some branches hold jagged edges,
some quietly bow,
and others move with graceful sway.

I cannot help but wonder
if this is how they mark their days.

This season was too heavy to lift,
so I swayed.

A time of fierce storms,
so I learned to harden.

Missteps came,
so I pivoted,
leaving jagged edges
where I tried to make things right.

And then there were days
of gentle spring breeze.

My heart,
filled with grace,
danced through them.

the words fell from the sky
like stars.

my heart gathered them
into a bouquet of beauty.

an offering to
the gentle waves,

letting them carry me
softly down the river.

I am in love with those precious moments before bed.

the day is over.

there is nothing more
that can be done.

time to lay my burdens down.

the shield and armor
I have worn all day
finally removed.

and for a little while,

I can simply sit
and be.

the sheer curtain over my window

is magic, I think.

draping the softness
of the world
over my heart.

a whisper of light and lace

quieting what aches

as the evening light
slips slowly away.