Sunset Rendezvous ~

I top the hill and meet the glory 
of the sinking sun _
that marks the ending of the day
and shows his race is run _
The sunset flings a crimson curtain 
above the smoky darkness of the hills _
and that flaming beacon on the far horizon 
my restless spirit stills _
Then an aeronautic wind floats from the northward
as he sinks in an obscure sea _
all is gone except the twilight 
the purple trimmed hills and me.

When from that magnificent realm 
King Sun has fallen _
and has lain down on his pallet of gold 
the murmur of rills to the woodland is calling _
fairies their bedtime stories unfold 
and the soldiers of dreamland come over the hill _
with bugle and drum sweet dreams to thrill
hanging the heavy curtains of night _
upon an evening twilight.

Then tucked into bed my day-dreams sleep 
as the wind blows loudly down the steep _
there's nothing but darkness on earth's great lea 
for all is gone except night voices _
my enraptured soul and me!

Mountain Time ~

The long hours come and pass away 
A hundred years are as a day _
In mountain solitudes like these 
Where stand the ancient lonely trees _
That have survived so many men
As kingdoms fall and rise again.

The thunder of an avalanche 
A squirrel chattering on a branch _
The canyon wren with plaintive call
The rain and whispering winds are all _
That break the silence of this place
Where I have lingered for a space.

To be a small, unnoticed part 
Near to a mountain's unspoiled heart _
And now I must return once more 
To houses where each has a door _
And windows one must lock 
And minutes dripping from a clock!
************************************
"Chasing angels or fleeing demons, go to the mountains." 
 -Jeffrey Rasley 

(photo was taken by my husband.)

Afternoon Tea ~

Sleet spins down in an endless way
slivers of cold, a bleak-filled day
Wood burns with a crackling spark 
curtains drawn against the dark.

Tea by the fire _ fresh-baked bread 
marmalade - honey _ jam to spread 
orange cake with a sugar-rum glaze 
muffins _ buttery scones on a tray.

English porcelain _ antique spoons 
leaf-shaped cookies _ macaroons 
the fire burns to a soft warm glow 
sleet spins quietly into snow.

(Tea, anyone?  ... all are welcome!)

(photo is from Google.) 

To This Day ~

Goodbye, sweet day _ O, Day of Days!
You've made my heart glad and you've made the world fairer: - 
The shadows fall faster _ the sky is rarer, 
And low in the west lies a golden haze . . . 
When in the years I shall know less of gladness, 
The thought of you, day, shall drive away sadness:
Oh, that I might keep you  -  the endless of days!

(Photo was taken in Moab, Utah.
 spent last weekend there with my husband.
 the days were beautiful as were the nights.) 

You Were!

You were my alpha _ source of life 
My nourishment and comfort _
Your gentle touch and soothing voice 
Assured me of a presence.

You fed and nurtured _ reassured 
Compelled my very senses _
The stimulus that made me grow 
Was You above all others.

You made my being come alive
Like water on a flower _
I drank your love and baby bloomed 
In gardens that you watered.

You were the tender loving cup 
That made my own runneth over
You were and are my fountainhead 
Forever _ dearest Mother!

(my mother died in 1998 ...
 she is always in my heart and on my mind
 and a source of daily inspiration!) 

Rough Winds, Be Kind ~

Rough winds, blow lightly _
over this mound 
here lies our dearest _
in hallowed ground.

Springs rains, fall gently _
gently to bless
snows, fall as softly _
as a caress.

Let her be covered_
lightly as foam 
warmly as love _
for love is her home!

(for my dear friend, that recently passed on.) 

Blueprints ~

Here on the bridge to Dreamland _
Life _ just as we have always pictured it 
A home with a room for all, not too grand _
Family and friends about, who value simple realities 
Loyalty _ sincerity _ old-fashioned devotion _
Treasures upon which depression has had no effect 
Those who love us for ourselves _
Not for the accidents of possession and accumulation.

    A cottage, or a large estate _
    Spanish, French or out-of-date
    Rose vines? _ Yes _ and fragrant, too _
    More important _ You and YOU!
    There to share it all with me _ 
     Five or ten or fifty-three 
     Voices, laughter, movement, life _
     And an end to useless strife  
     Time to catch the sun's last beams _
     As I cross the Bridge to Dreams.

(my home is my castle ... 
photo was taken on a very wintry and snowy day.)

Lest I Forget ~

Let me feel this heart break open to sound 
to music playing everywhere, in everything 
from birdsong to baby's cry to laughter 
to the bursting of seed pods, suck of the bee _

the footfall of deer eating my garden 
reeds sipping water on the banks of sheltered ponds
waves slipping over the bar drinking sand 
the rustle and scrape of you dressing in the morning _

Let me see cloud feathers turn pink, the moon's wink 
trees blazing in Autumn, the gray of distant rain 
out over a freshly ploughed field, dirt kicked by wind 
pain in a young man's eyes when misunderstood _

see the way a smile carries everything higher 
tears catching light, the tiniest of flowers radiant 
your hand holding mine when life is too heavy or wonderful 
and words have shed their meaning _

Let me know the secrets, the doubts, the hidden 
inside of burrows, the nightlife of foxes 
grace in the wing, a sweet chord
blended to a voice echoing the ache of life, the joy _

reveal the pattern of desires, the weave and woof 
of change, growth of a cell, the give and take of love 
lest I forget 
the very source of my never-ending thirst for life, for love _