The scent of the lilac bushes
Floats softly in the darkness
The day coming gently to an end
Landing quietly on our senses
This is our sanctuary
A sacred place of rest and restoration
The gardeners quietly transforming
This piece of creation into paradise
The light of the crescent moon
Peaks through the tree branches
The shadow of the gazebo  its mantelpiece
And love holds me and envelopes me
Places its arms around me and kisses me
Hushes my fears and gently strokes my spirit
It was here the foundation was laid
In prayer and faith and promises
So it is only fitting that you are here
In flesh and blood and grace
You name the flowers
And talk of wonderful things
Of adventures yet to come
So how can I not be thankful?
How can I not have hope?
For goodness has come in
Through the door that was opened
And now it is here to stay

There are days
That are turning points
A line crossed
No turning back
Relationships cemented
Friendships born
A choice
A decision
A commitment
Made
Looking back
It is clear
But at the time
All is uncertain
In that fragile
Fault line in time
That decides  the future

You look at me
With windswept eyes
So blue beneath
The brooding skies
Emotions like
The storm front brewing
Flit across your face
Your voice now hueing
Fragile beauty
Rarely seen
The paradox
Of what is/what’s been
It’s in the transition
That we meet
Painted skies
And feelings deep

(After a seven day hike in Pacific Rim National Park, British Columbia)

The wilderness is a beauty
Unforgiving,
She’ll take your breath
You glance deeply
Through the forest
Hear the waves
Crash through and crest
This land has not been conquered
It barely has been tamed
There’s many a spot unspoiled
And many a place unnamed
And life is all around you
The way it’s always been
It’s as if the world’s forgiven
Just this once, all of man’s sins
So you tread carefully on the footpath
You pay attention to each step
Cross canyons and each precipice
Scale the granite cliffs
This place, it is rewarding
For those who are aware
You see life teeming in the ocean
And eagles in the air
You live in the present
Your senses re-attuned
Whatever else is happening
Is suddenly consumed
You get up with the sunrise
Build fires when darkness calls
You pay attention to the tides
And sleep by waterfalls

I am listening to Leonard Cohen
And thinking of you
You know it seems like ages
Since we’ve talked things through
Our thoughts were once so in sync
It’s like we simply knew
Everything the other would say
Almost too good to be true

But it’s glance in the wrong direction
And just a single misstep
And we’re left only with memories
And a hint of regret

This constant need for closeness
This moving of the spheres
The mysterious pull of gravity
Whenever you are near
For we’re hurtling through time and space
Into the black unknown
And we never know whom we’ll meet
Or where our hearts will roam

But it’s glance in the wrong direction
And just a single misstep
And we’re left only with memories
And a hint of regret

So I’ll smile for you once again
And say a little prayer
You led me to a better place
Pulled love out of thin air
Can’t say I had the roadmap
But I was happy for the trip
You taught me to value what I have now
Not the things that I missed

*But it’s glance in the wrong direction
And just a single misstep
And we’re left only with memories
And a hint of regret

May the truth come to you gently
Not stabbing your heart
And bolting you awake at night
There is enough drama
In your life already
It’s hard enough for me
To accept what is
But I know one day
All will be revealed
I wish that day will come to you
Like a sudden panoramic view
Of rolling countryside
That opens up for miles
Before your eyes
With verdant green forests
And fields of long, waving grass
And in the distance
Galloping horses
With chestnut brown manes
The wind blowing softly in the trees
And the clouds scudding along
In silent, graceful procession
The insight granting you
Understanding and acceptance
The means of finding your way back home
The way to healing and peace

Shadows of a different season
The past and present entwined
These emotional memories
Transcending space and time
In the sacredness of this second
In this truly hallowed place
I brush the tears from your eyes
Caress your lovely face
For it’s the sorrow of what has happened
The pain for what can’t be
Can’t turn back the tides of time
Rewrite our history
It catches us unawares
When we’re looking the other way
But the important things will surface
And will always have their say
So it’s in the beauty of this silence -
The healing of this pain
That comes only with divulging
And the world becoming sane
What’s repressed cannot be hidden
These soul splinters that remain
Will only be put to rest
Once they have been named