Sometimes, a poem is a letter
and this one is for you.

Living your open life
under Irish woolen skies,
dreaming of having
a candle shop by the sea.

"It's a dream that'll
never come true."
you say,
and that may be so.

Still, I can see it.

Latticed windows, on either side
of a deep blue door, a myriad of
little candles, nestled in thick glass jars,
glimmer purple, and beckon to the passerby.

Outside, a salty wind carries on
all by itself, about where it has been,
and where it is going.

You smile at the sound, looking beyond
your quiet thoughts. The blue door opens.
A new friend has just come to see you.

Afraid to sleep,
we keep on working.
Afraid to sleep,
We meet the dawn
from either end.

When light comes,
its continuity calms us
and ancestors watch over us,
as we sleep in fits and starts.

Outside the kitchen door,
Señor Romero's own grapevine
says: "Buenos dias!", says
"Gracias a la vida!"

Into this world
of ancient earthen homes
heated by fragrant native wood
comes gentle and silent snow.

Within the delicate fibers
of this newly formed heart
one tapestry is being woven.

Its indeterminate colors
barely visible, shimmer.

Longing, and loving
one presence, dancing closely
finding balance and resolution
in this sound, in this knowing
in shraddha.

Leora,
when you sing,


God comes and listens.



And your father,
red headed, 

red bearded,
full of joy and 

loving,
tender pride,
visits us.



Where he lives now,


in the heaven neighborhood of 

my own parents,
singing this good 

is still special.
Only humans made into angels

 know how to make those sounds.

Leora,


when you sing,


the clouds dance 

above us,


and joy, pride,
nachus,


is all we feel.

In only minutes, surging wind brought rain, then pounding hail into this verdant canyon. The mountain disappeared into the mist, and in its place the full arc of a brightening rainbow. Almost as quickly, the mountain's face reappeared, while more rain poured down, now through brilliant sunlight. The rainbow remains, plunging its feet into the very roots of the valley.

Inter-species dating never had it so good.
Shape-shifting constantly, he could be a man one minute,
a bear the next.
Old as the hills, then young as Apollo.

In her butterfly form she fluttered near his head,
and if he was a bear just then, and had
eaten no honey, this could be dangerous.

If he was a man, and was at peace, the colors of her
powdery wings would delight him beyond measure.
Blowing by him lightly, she would swoon a bit,
and the transformation would begin.

Dark eyes, slender arms, a thick mane of hair,
all the attributes of a woman would suddenly appear.

When they were at peace together, oceans became full
and smooth as glass,
sacred rivers flowed together, and their separate colors
became a new one.

But like some planets, their orbits were unsteady.
Peace was fleeting.

A tremor would go through the worlds,
and the fighting would begin.

Monumental destruction ensued.
Cinders blew by where hearts had been.

Over time, and blessed by journeys through the sky,
a new peace was formed, in friendship.
A new understanding began.
A trust began to build.

An end to this story is unthinkable.