the lavender blooms in a shadowed instant
while we stalk past along the path
its fragile strength surpassing ours
breath with no lungs
food with no mouth
as blessed as we are with eyes,
we pass over them, unblinkingly,
free beauty ignored.
no sparkling mist of smoke,
no flick of a wand,
but the progress, the process of  life
is a magic, the likes of which
we barely know.

Late was the hour of becoming
those zigzagging cracks up the faded plaster watched like little snakes
calm witness a resurrection akin to biblical import
alone  secondstory bedroom filled by  distant company
heiroglyphs miraculous sudden translation speaking the sacred tongues of fire
our hearts beating the miles away shortened with every word
an offering blessed and given by minds touching fingers touching keys to invisible locks
turning turning rusty engines purring cats smug smile
yes and yes and yes lost islands bridged by joint effortless task
a torn off mask and a question asked
eternity snuck into momentary clouds parted with blooms of lightnings flash flood food for the spirit
children laughed where they couldn't be heard
the earth sang along with tropical birds
this welcome radiant gift in my chest cavity spreading quickening enlivening
a sturdy reminder recalling vigor not found in any common tonic
simple conversation a conversion of salt water to diamond sparkling fervor
rejoice drank its sweet juices staining the lips drips warming two hearts
a chance found true its mark
bullseye
it will be unstolen saboteurs tricked submitting their swords to strong hands arming guardian angels
this joy travels well past all hours
comforting dreams that sleep undersea in gold spiraling towers
wanderer heat old bones leave the cold leave all pains
pouring out poisons to make bows out of rain

Woman lies flat in
worm-eaten earth,
rain battering
gnarled spine,
cold stones bind
barren *******.

Small stones,
but jagged,
shaped and shined
by time
reshaped by wind
unearthed by man.
A hundred million
years might grow
a mountain.

Rain stings bare hide,
fills and pushes
babygirl streams,
rushes and forces
ripewoman rivers
but the ocean it is not.

Woman lies
face down
in fruitless loam.
Hands clench rotten
roots and slick
vegetation.
Hands shaped
then reshaped
by time and tasks
become
touchless husks
growing smaller still.

Woman lies quiet
worm eaten soil
broken back bent
against the torrent.

Worn feet twist against
the ground,
seek footing.
Small feet they are
however mighty.
Stepped vigilantly and
sometimes stomped along
stayed still to be stepped on
and stomped ******.

Shaped and reshaped
by pathways of
caution and fury,
sometimes fear.
Woman lies flat
in worm eaten earth.
She wished to be a stone
to cut rather than be cut.
To be the tide,
to push rather than be pushed.

But she is only a woman
and she thought
raw earth might taste right

so she opened her mouth.

so many issues i have
yet to confront fully.
i have yet to commit my
thoughts to a stark pessimism
that will prevail.
i do not hope to fail,
but follies follow me often.
soften the stance and
lay back your casual.

My peace, O my brothers and sisters, is my solitude,
And my Beloved is with me always,
For His love I can find no substitute,
And His love is the test for me among mortal beings,
Whenever His Beauty I may contemplate,
He is my "mihrab", towards Him is my "qiblah"
If I die of love, before completing satisfaction,
Alas, for my anxiety in the world, alas for my distress,
O Healer (of souls) the heart feeds upon its desire,
The striving after union with Thee has healed my soul,
O my Joy and my Life abidingly,
You were the source of my life and from Thee also came my ecstasy.
I have separated myself from all created beings,
My hope is for union with Thee, for that is the goal of my desire

**** air eyes words soul like new world silent sky faces death food humor home  space children regarding deep holy thought joy left slowly stars dismissed untitled attitudes endless cast lights dead known broken moment

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet,

And whither then? I cannot say.