i love the brightness of the morning,
the image of dew resting on forest leaves,
love the songs of nesting chicks,
and the silence of the butterflies.

i touched the bark of trees.
heard the voice of a gentle breeze,
bathed in a rapid stream,
waters whispered they knew me.

i talked with grazing deer
fed with them on grasses,
drank the waters of  Lurien lake,
purified with the forest creatures.

i saw the glimmer of starlight,
imperceptible smiles,
uplifting my heart,
dolphins rode ocean crests

(c) Erik Standswithtrees, 23 March 2014, 7:05am

can i be happy with you
and walk the bright coloured leaves?
.
are there smiles on my face
when i see there is joy on yours?
.
will winter snow feel warm
as we share glare of the sun?
.
will i sail on blue waters
with you at the helm?
.
i am fighting harsh winds
that i may never defeat in my dreams.
.
(c) Erik, 27 Nov 2019, 6:29am

thoughts of a princess in the east,
plays with leaves,
friend of of trees,
her heart warms summer winds,
gentle as a new lamb,
.
i thought of a princess in the east,
most loving of all woman kind,
she flys while walking,
and delights in the smallest things,
there is a throne for you... in my heart.
.
(c) Erik Standswithtrees 07/15/2016  18:54

On the Eminence of Indigenous Nations
(n204)
.
lost under a full arc'd rainbow,
was found on the highest hill,
rode on a huey through tight canyons
and threw shells on a peaceful village.
.
accepted the love of a wanderer,
said she found her home at last,
we rode on a huey above mountains,
and threw shells on a beautiful dream.
.
on a train through great wide spaces,
i sang to the chief of the buffalo,
my eyes saw a thousand tipees ,
the white men rode with sabers.
.
mother earth raised a patch of grass,
seated me upon its softness,
i railed at her with angry voice,
"be still dear knight, i am correction".
.
she shred the cloaks of merchants,
and cut the tongues of errant priests,
i saw spring come to winter winds.
the tipees were raised again.
.
(c) Erik 2020-01-28  01:36pm

i lost my life one day,
she took a course in error,
and flew away in sorrow,
i was my ancestors,
fierce and unmerciful.
.
i lost my life one day,
and lived in anger,
in a dark cave,
demons on the walls,
then, a small glow...
.
i lost my life one day,
a light grew in my heart,
it was the song of love,
piercing my thoughts,
tearing at my blackness.
.
i found my love one day,
living in an abyss,
war broke out within me,
hate and love with swords,
the battles were many.
.
i lost a war one day,
the glow kept growing,
her fear still swelling,
love resumed the fights,
and won.
.
i want my love today,
my dreams are paradise,
i rode a horse name Hope,
and wrote tender pages,
my tears never ended.
.
i want my love today,
my happiness,
i want to rest in her,
that she may believe again,
i threw death away.
.
i want my life today,
i've thrown death away,
i ........... please
.
(c) Erik Minas-Gilkes, 11-22-2019

there, before the waters of loch Tummel,
now, between the highland hills,
i look to the sky, see written on the clouds,
my life as words reversed.
.
there, on the brilliant green shores,
now, as i think of gentler ways,
i touch rims of gray frosty mists,
(my reflections skip the horrible).
.
i see the past as what it was,
i dream the lush of future times,
my prayers are beauty in themselves,
i had but one love, it was you.  
.
(c) Erik 19 Jan 2020, 7:28 am

when the hour of my time visits me,
when i feel the fullness of the empty,
when life's meaning is but to die,
when all feeling abandons my satchel,
......i think of you to restore me.
.
if i were to fold time inwards,
if i were to match the old with the new,
if dreams were the second life,
if i were to sing again,
......i would sing to you.
.
now as i prepare for my departure,
now as i reflect on fallen moments,
ever as i walk under moonlight skies
and am indifferent to the cold,
......i think of hours lapsed, wasted in the void.
.
this moment is my offering,
this moment is my forgiving prayer,
it is my reformation
that i might journey with but one thought,
......i loved you greatly the only ways i knew
.
(c) Erik  Standswithtrees 24 Sept 2013, 8:20 pm