Swans

The first crescent moon
Above the apple blossoms
An ocean of stars

Framed by the kitchen window
The woman with bright red hair

Saturday is free
Inspired by a good friend
Bread in the oven

He pauses to read the mail
There is a letter from mom

"No news is good news"
"A penny saved is a penny earned"
"A stitch in time saves nine"

At the University
A lecture on Folk Wisdom

As the bare branches
Bending in the freezing wind
In the prarie wind

Warmth seems to flow through the gloves
As they hold each other's hands

Walking to the park
Something they enjoy doing
As a weekend treat

Just as the sun has risen
Before the heat of the day

There is a slight breeze
The sound of the maple leaves
Resembles wind chimes

A flock of swans headed south
Smoothly coasting from cloud to cloud

Apple Blossoms

Cool in the moring
A few leaves are still clinging
To a few branches

Is it Monday or Tuesday?
Days of retirement blend

Dry snowflakes falling,
Like white dust on the dry ground,
Scatter in the wind

As a stranger's car drives by
Exceeding the speed limit

While clucking her tongue
She disapproves of the way
Children act today

Opinions fill cyberspace
There's no time for calm or grace

A few grains of sand
Shifting at the river's edge
Ripple the surface

Sharp rays of intense sunlight
Sweat descends into the eyes

As she adds water
To her small garden fountain
In her small front yard

The shadow of her lover
Approaching with the full moon

Briefly the wind holds
The scent of apple blossoms,
The sound of an owl

"I knew you'd be here tonight."
Wave upon wave of silence

Untitled

In the morning
We say goodbye to each other,
At night we return --
This routine is comfortable;
One day it will be different.

True Love

I've fallen in love with eternity,
Though I don't remember exactly when
It happened many years ago to me,
Like a flower blossoming in a glen.

Eternity's presence is pure beauty
But its beauty is difficult to see;
Like a sunrise that remains neglected
Due to constant busyness and unease.

I can see it when I have rejected
Seductions from the world of constant change;
Saints and Sages have always suspected
It lies beyond this sorrowful world's range.

On the field of silence, there I have found
A stillness dancing on luminous ground.