The ladybug glides softly
Over the garden she protects
Carefully caressing
Each blossom she inspects
She’s such a loving miracle
Yet folks rarely know she’s there
She keeps a watchful eye
On the garden in her care
Her work and efforts tireless
To see these flowers bloom
Her spirit always cheerful
And never filled with gloom
The blooms they love the ladybug
For all the ways she cares
The flowers stand up tall and bright
Fueled by the love she shares
The warrior stood
On the edge of the bloodied battleground
Where she once raged
With the dark grey sky above her
And crimson black earth below
In the distance a battle still raged
And the slight hint of longing
Turned her eyes towards its cries
With a heavy heart she turned away
Knowing that nothing would ever compare
To the victories she once knew
But time and life moved on
So she carried her battle scarred body back
To the gentle green pasture
Of home
The path that stretched out before her remained unknown
But one thing was certain
The warrior’s heart would beat inside her
All the days of her life
Blank white sky
Grey with its haze
Transforms in moments
On bright Winter days
Snow covered trees
Encased in ice glass
Their beauty so frozen
Held by the contrast
Spring buds fight the chill
To break through and grow
At night snow still falls
And time seems to slow
Each day that passes
Winter gloom seems to fade
Spring on the horizon
Like a warm breeze cascades
A labor of love
This garden of mine
Will dark rain pound the earth?
Or will the sun shine?
I stand and survey
Ground still yet unturned
As the back of my neck
Begins to redden and burn
Clay mud on my boots
Makes me a seed in the soil
Pulling me down
A plan I must foil
Black under my nails
And dust in my teeth
Begging the earth
For gifts held just beneath
The scent of crushed mint
Now hangs thick in the air
Every weed stain was worth it
As I lounge in my chair
Ode to the country house
With its vista’s so true
The wide open spaces
Of its southwesterly view
Clean and uncluttered
Without a pretence
Holds on to its nature
Within its silence
Tracks of the wild
Tread over the grounds
Munching and stomping
With such thundering sounds
Paradise in the country
So far from the fray
A place that holds dreams
That get lived every day
Each day the sun rises
Out from the edges of the earth pushing upwards
Battles the night sky for victory
Some battles are won
Some battles are lost
But each day the sun rises again
More powerful than a night of stars
The sun pushes ever onward
For its rightful place in the sky
Seen or unseen it remains there
Gleams through pink and grey horizons
Revealing the blinding blue in all its glory
The sun retreats only for the moon
But all the moon is
Is a reflection of the sun through the darkness
Sunflower, Sunflower
Gaze up to the sky
Your face seems transfixed
By the birds as they fly
Sunflower, Sunflower
Face any day
Standing so tall
You show us the way
Though rain and snow tumble
On your petals and blooms
Keep that smile on your face
Even when darkness looms
Turn away from the blackness
But rest safe at night
Tucked away from the shadows
To await the light
The night breeze through my window
Casts me back
To that place in the Rockies
Where we stood and took in the majestic beauty
I close my eyes and am transported
To that waterfall that fell with the ferocity
Of the wild creatures that roam this land
In my mind’s eye
My hand slips into the cold waters of Lake Louise
As I canoe through my remembrance of that place
How I long to be cradled in the arms of the Rockies
Mountains towering over and beyond me
Overwhelming yet comforting and compelling
I am standing on the shores of awe
In this
The world beyond my dreams
Mom tells the stories
Of her own Mother’s unchained animal rage
Those wounds – still open
Drip the blood of fifty years of pain
I can’t imagine her dilemma
To love the woman who gave her life
Or hate the woman that stole her youth
Mom’s ranting feels more like the echoes
Inside an empty cage
Her mother can’t take back
The misery she caused
And perhaps wouldn’t if she could
But my Mom can forgive her now
Let her rage be dead
Because in the end
We are all touched by those around us
With love or hate
It’s better to forgive and move forward
Then stand still and let the animal engulf you
His spirit it now lingers
On the crisp air of this place
Like the way his ball would hang
That slight smile on his face
The green seems to have faded
Somehow lost it’s edge
The traps are that much deeper
Less useful is this wedge
I can still feel him here
This place he felt at home
His memory surrounds me
But I am teeing up alone
When I lose sight of my ball
As it climbs within the sky
I swear that I can see him
For his spirit it now flies
bluefalling 