^

I gathered the fallen petals
and held them to my chest
The slightest hint of fragrance
tempted a smile which never came
And as they shriveled in my hands
becoming hard and brittle
I crumbled them into tiny pieces
then sprinkled the remnants
on my fractured heart,
as they wilted away in the
now empty vase
of my life

As a kid I would see
a bird and wonder if
I could fly too.
I wanted to fly to
fill my heart with
excitement,
spreading wings
seeing beautiful things
Now I feel change of role
the small plant has grown old
even as I sit inside a plane
it does not feel like flying
outside the window pane.
Now after all these years
a bird flying high means
to run away from my fears
to drop off this heavy drape
and fly just to escape.

Sitting in silent bliss,
absorbed in the Absolute,
that perfect smile
so at home
on your beautiful,
radiant face.

Regal as a queen, laughter
busts out of you
suddenly
like tropical rain.  

A colorful flower opening
in time-lapse magic.

Hands of finest delicacy,
refined by teaching
the pathless path
to infinity.

A mind as clear and wise
as the heart is kind,
strong and loyal.

Infinite tenderness is
the Unity within you.

One early morning,
first of your birthdays
I was to celebrate,
watermelon juice whirred
to completion while I cut
two huge banana leaves
on which to place my gifts
before your door.

In the yogic flying hall,
just a little later,
there you were, transformed.

A Balinese angel wearing jade
green wings sat amongst us.
Soft dark hair swept up into a
sanyasi's top knot, and that
same eternal smile of bliss.

You were wearing the love I had
given you, making those giant leaves
into wings that would carry us into
decades of friendship, through
passages of loved ones, and
life's hardest challenges.

Unfathomably,
wherever we are on
Mother Earth,
we are always we,
even as you are you,
and I am always me.