Noticing

I’ve been noticing:
Many of the acorns are tiny this year
the waters are full and rushing
waterfalls are full and loudly vocal
the sun is sometimes red in the morning
the moon has not been so visible
frogs continue to croak
dragonflies still hunt mosquitos
I remain in love with cows
mountains continue to inspire me
we are rich in slugs
the spiders have been busy webbing
mornings have been foggy
mushrooms are abundant
the trees are lushly vibrant
I still miss my Mom
I am so grateful for this life.
If you keep noticing you will reach gratitude
that overflows as a water fall streams from an overfull lake or 
a river spills its banks from too much sustenance
soaking the ground of your life
the banks of your heart
and the rocks of eternity.

© film and poem by caf

On The Shore

P1110571The shore lies in stillness
a palette for the work of water.
Rocks live free from concern.

Pounding surf or soft caress
of gentle waves –
all the same to rock and shore.

What appears destruction
is only rearrangement –
shocking to brittle minds.

Rock will crumble to sand,
sand will dissolve in water,
and the ocean is all there is.

© poem and photo by caf

Coyote Wind

Jan Wild Moon

Coyote Wind

Did you hear the wind last night
howling up the creek
whistling in the snowy, twig shaped shadows
of January’s full moon?

Did you see the moon
last blustering night
brazenly brightening the deep sky
dark of clouds?

One time, when the gale quieted
and all sound was frozen silent
I slipped outside in time to see
a Screech Owl fly stage front shrieking
“Wild, wild everything is wild!
Everything is wild!”

The wind rose again as I huddled under a tree
It pushed me through a tunnel
into the reckless freedom of space and adventure,
shattering the stale sameness
that orbits everyday life.
It sang a new way into being and then,
returned me to my bed, freshened,
where the barking spirit of Coyote
stalked my sleep
and dreams dripped into an awakened life.

©Carole Fults photo and poem

Bittersweet

Bittersweet              

A Perfect Storm

Once a six month storm tore at her shutters
a hot and turbulent wind
pummeled the untanned hide that sheltered the door of a dark cave
wherein lived one of the world’s most illiterate hearts.

As she allowed the wind to help her dance in the trees
Her toughened pelt became soft as velvet
and as pliable as priceless leather
limp, whipped and limber.

In the aftermath of the thrashing torrent
tears kept her hardness soft
and as she walked in the forest
she saw Bittersweet
strewn on the path under her feet
and she rested with her eyes wide open.

©Carole Fults photo and poem

The Storm

After-the-storm-_edited-1

 

                       The Storm

Watery wind battered our serene and wondrous landscape.
Fury, darkness, and destruction
were waged upon our bucolic home
as the world we had come to trust rose against us
and the lovely trees and friendly stones turned into weapons
and death came to our neighborhood through raging waters.

In the morning, in the quiet after the hurricane
a tiny buzzing like a bee outside the window,
a flash of a ruby throat
and neon body hovering in the air.
A hummingbird, all of an inch long,
appeared at the feeder,
his biggest need being for breakfast
and a quick trip to a neighboring Petunia blossom.

Where I wondered did he go for refuge in the storm?
How did he manage to live through the nightmare
that destroyed those much larger than himself?

And I think about the children who are battered,
deserted and denied –
where do they go for warmth and hope and loving hugs and safety?
They have, I hope, as does the hummingbird at my window
hearts born resilient
tempered in the fires of loss
and transformed by the power of truth.

©Carole Fults