Drawing Forth

Eternity

To be touched on the forehead by your mother,

or to sleep with your child against your breast,

or to feel the little fingers of your grandson nestled in your own calloused hand.

This is,

to touch eternity.

~

~~~

Rejected Goodness

Why did we reject goodness anyway?

Was it that we had bad inclinations or we had the devil in us?

Or was it perhaps that somehow we saw hypocrisy as less than real?

Or that being real had more value

than pretended good ?

~~

~~~~~

~~

Could it be?

Could it be

that I am what I am

because I want to be

what I have become?

First Steps

First Steps

Some time after my first birthday and before my second,

I began to walk.

I don’t remember much of those first few steps but I guess some of them weren’t too good.

I don’t worry too much about those awkward, misdirected, stumbling steps these days.

Sometime after my first birthday and before my death,

I began to talk.

There have been a lot of awkward, misdirected, stumbling steps since then,

and I guess some of them weren’t too good.

Sometime between now and then,

I think I’ll make a lot awkward, misdirected, stumbling steps.

Somebody loves me.

© Steven Fletcher

February 10, 2009

Nuances

Nuances

Nuances pile up:

the subtle breath,

the watched glanced at,

the window looked out,

the “darn it” said with all the venom of “damn it”

all picked up casually like little carpet sweepings from parents,

and older children;

till they become not just a pile of nuances,

but our personality.

© Steven Fletcher

January 29, 2009

Winter Sky

Winter Sky

Silhouetting the Oak and the tall pines,

on the horizon to the north-east a thin band of white clouds,

and on top a layer of deep black-blue absorbing all the light you can see.

To the south the last glimpse of light shines brightly before disappearing for the night.

Something strange is happening and as fast as the thought comes,

pepper corn hail starts to bounce on the deck and

as fast as the bright sun came and the drapes were thrown open it is dark.

Throw another log on the fire – just in case.

© Steven Fletcher

January 26, 2009

Endless Cycles

We learn

and then we teach,

and in between

we have endless cycles of falling.

© August 21, 2008

The Pain

Beaten down so bad,

oh, such pain!

What about humanity,

breaking endless cycles of pain?

Will it ever end ?

Can I be first?

Can I be last?

Let it go!

Yosemite Dream

Was it a dream, this vision this scent of jasmine?

Was it a dream, this heart-beat-pulse of Yosemite, this vision of Muir?

Can we share this space – expansive enough for the RV and the climber, the rich and the poor?

Can this vision, create an understated utopia?