Ode to a friend

May I define you by what you add
to my life
The joy I feel knowing you
see me
As I wrap your love around
my shoulders
As a warm blanket
A shield

Do you know how your love
empowers me
The courage I find at hand
Because of you

I know you don't have
any idea
how powerful you are
What is accomplished
because of your strength

You empower me
With a full understanding and
graciousness
that astounds
You are a whirlwind
I am a leaf

Shelby

A lovely young woman died today
Her fight could not be won
Her pain and suffering is at an end
Ours only just begun

We knew this day was coming
We knew what was at hand
Yet tears stream from our memories
Our lives a tragic land

How do you move along life's path
When darkness shrouds your mind
You ask yourself, what would she want
Yet tears have left us blind

The senselessness of this cruel life
Has hurt us beyond reason
Yet we all know Shelby would say
To everything, it's season

Joy

I'm bringing the joy I feel today
a gift from those around me
I know that life is wonderful
It's depth and breath
astound me

I feel as if the very air
is sweeter still than ever
the lovely sky, the dappled hill
each one a separate
treasure

I know that life can bow
your back
At times the pain unending
Yet each new breath enlivens me
The joy a lifetime
spending

Daybreak

Birdsong from which
Joyfulness is drawn
Heralds in the dappling
Light of Dawn
Bringing with the day
Sweet melody
Dancing lightly comes
The break of dawn

Sparkling jewels
Made from
Drops of dew
Scattered on the velvet
Blades of grass
Shadowed crisscross patterns
Lightly drawn
Sunlight tiptoes in
The break of dawn

Serenity

I don't know that
ever in my lonely lifetime
I have ever felt
the peace
the stillness
I feel now
now

Not certain what
has brought this calming
sense of tranquility
pulsing
so gently
eyes closed in
peace

Does it matter
is life not lonely enough
difficult enough
without
questioning
this amazing
gift

So I choose
to embrace the miracle
inexplicable
joyful
journey
that life has
become

Dancing in a Whirlwind

Today I took on the monster
In the closet
He wasn't so fierce

Today I danced in a whirlwind
Of my own making
For the sheer joy of it

Dancing in a whirlwind
I could feel the freedom
Pulsing through my soul

Pummeling my body
Challenging my heart
To let it all go
And dance

This Love

Softly falls your breath
Upon my shoulder
Wrapped around each other
As we sleep
My love for you is
Unlike any other
Lovely as a rainbow
Ocean deep

You capture all my love
And hold it gently
Living in your care
Has kept me sane
This life we share is all
I ever dreamt of
Intense as summer sunlight
Soft as rain