What If

What If

Some say life it's about leaving a legacy…

what if life is about leaving a smile on another's face

 what if life is it about another knowing you love them fully

   what if life is about the times we made loving connection

  what if life isn't about leaving a monument or legacy 

 what if life is about love and loving well

what if that is a life well-lived

What if that is legacy

Poem 22-016z

#highplainspoet,#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife,#love,#relationships

Cedar

Blue green berries

on the tips of the cedar

hang seductively

as the finch lands close

only to spot me and fly to a perch

watching me, wondering what I'm doing

until his anxiety peaks and flies away

The top of the cedar broken off

leaving a scar and broken bark

pealed off from when natures violence violated

the tender growth

that in time will heal

and the cedar will grow

beyond my lifetime

Poem 22-017C

#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife,#highplainspoet,#nature

Adult Daughters and Son

 

Adult Daughters and Son

The ebb and flow of seasons

their comings and goings

marked by the extra pairs of shoes

parked in disarray at the front door

along with the extra chairs

around our small table

The 80 year old farm house,

like you would imagine, is compact

filled with laughter and joy

our voices bumping into each other

as if in the bustle of Grand Central Station,

which is what the kitchen of the

house has become

Until the front door has just

three pairs of shoes once again

resting on the rug

as life carries the voices

in the flow of their own life's

leaving our hearts quieter

yet full 

And

There is a joy that remains

in seeing growth and individuation

knowing they will be okay

blessing and releasing them

so much to grateful for

January 8, 2022

Poem 22-008A

#highplainspoet,#westernnebraskathoughtsandlife,#family,#love,#Nebraska,#farm_life

High Plains Clouds

 

High Plains Clouds

The silver clouds lurk upon the northern horizon 
only to sulkily scurry away, as if caught in the act

While the skiff of snow snakes across the top
of the existing blanket of cold purity

The track I traveled several times a day
over the last weeks now covered over

It is as if I have never tread this path 
laying down fresh tracks with each step

And

I notice my thoughts, how they like those clouds
can have silver-gray linings that want to scurry away
under the examination of today

Yet

As my cheeks turn flush against the wind
my mind clears just as the clouds saunter away
and peace settles softly like the falling snow

Poem 23-025z
#Nebraska, #Highplainspoet, #Nature, #winter, #contemplation
photo is © by author

Nightfall

Dusk settles in lava lamp shades

bubble float to the top

in a supple spectrum from

fiery red to sulky blue

Poem 21-172z Nightfall

Sunset on the high plains. Image is (C) by poet.

nature, beauty, summer

Micromoon

 

Micromoon

In the fading hush of variegated pinks and purples

last moments of daylight slip to the other side of the 'just beyond'

as the Ice Moon of January, a micromoon, climbs above the prairie

in full paleness on snow glazed prairie with prismatic tinsel glints

while the coyotes awaken in songs of primal praise

and the snow crunches beneath my feet

as I too offer up my praise for beauty on this January eve of '23

the milky light scumbles with frosty wind upon my flush cheeks

as the ethereal glow reflects upon barren limbs and brittle blade

with each exhale a foggy mist floats in little clouds that I march through

until my journey is complete and find myself back at the house

where glasses steam over while peel off the layers

of Nebraska high plains armor left to dry until dawn beckons

in her translucent rays to see anew in the light of day

Poem 23-008Z Micromoon

About walking under the full moon last night (1/7/23), the Wolf Moon or Ice Moon that also happens to be a micromoon as opposed to a supermoon. There is something about the stillness, hearing coyotes singing rounds to each other from different directions while the moon's light is bright upon the snow. Makes my heart sing in praise to God for the gift of life and the beauty of simple things, to embrace the simplicity of the moment with gratitude.

#nature, #full_moon, #Nebraska, #prairie, #high_plains