Spring

Spring unfurls petal by petal
Lavishing colors on our world wearied by winter
Wafting sweetness with each bee’s buzz
Warming us awake as our faces follow the sun

Invigorated
Pelted by rain
Playing in puddles
Serenaded by frogs and songbirds and
The light scent of plum blossoms
Dazzled by the lambent light, the sun’s fire captured
In each clinging raindrop strung
Like jewels along the wild rose vines by the creek

We stream out of our drab and dreary dwellings
Shed our cocooning clothes
Step beyond our boundaries
Emerging vibrant and wide-eyed
Breathing in beauty
Joining in life’s celebration of life
Joy and love and rapture dancing toward the infinite

3/5/12 Life

We dance in time and space,
connecting across the distance and years,
in fluid patterns and networks
like the sworls of lace:
here delicate, there enduring,
here one thin strand, there thick and reinforced.

When we open to the sacred
the design is illuminated and bejeweled
with sun and flame and light
sparkling on dewdrops of living water.
Our hearts are knit in love,
our souls expand,
and we learn and grow,
drawn inexorably to
healing, love, and service.

Beauty and life and love,
awe and appreciation,
wonder and joy and thanks.

Winter Reflections

Surrounded by clouds and coolness,
Cocooned in silence and winter,
Separated from the warm sun,
What lies waiting, gestating in darkness,
Protected by the dry brown leaf layer,
Ready to burst forth into life?

This is not death;
these somber, drab, darkened days are not
the end of joy and color:
Here is rest, repose, an enforced quieting,
a time to drop it all and deepen,
to listen and reflect.

Nurtured by the water of life,
cradled by the earth,
Our spirits grow wise.

Now

This, a poem,
springs lightly from my pen
but deeply from my being
as I move along one
of the golden arabesques
that trace paths through
space-time.

Thus ... and ... so.

Guided by the lightest melody
a soft stirring of air
a child's laugh
the scent of lilacs
the taste of ripe plums
the tug of feeling in my heart and belly
a hummingbird's flight
the breath of God's spirit.

Now ... eternally.

If I always dwelt here
in the living flowing outer bark
of time...
the past enclosed within,
the future yet to grow ...
feeling, listening, seeing,
breathing in and out,
being and becoming,

Then would I be the most aware,
able to act,
interconnected with all,
part of the power and beauty
of the world.

Creation

I go to walk in the wonder of creation,

Letting go the encircling indoor ways of man.

I stretch my heart and body free,

Learn to listen, see, touch, perceive.

There a hawk soars, here a tree stands.

Each place I look a miracle unfolds.

Small creatures rustle in the grass.

Tracks and paths lead everywhere.

Sky and earth, sun and air,

Rocks and water, animals and plants,

Treasures, teachers, companions, loves,

Four directions beckon me.

Thank you, God, for the gift of life,

And for the Earth, the gift of home.

The fresh wind blows the leaves to laughter,

Joy dances in my soul.

copyright 2011 Barbara Showalter

Why I Walk

We're a little late this morning.
I walk to the car barefoot,
carrying my socks and shoes,
barely noticing
the fresh cool dew on the grass.
No delays in driving;
I drop my daughter off
in time for her class.

Then I step out (shoes on)

and

o-p-e-n

my attention

to the world.


A quiet breath of welcome greets me.

I feel the soft kiss
of radiant morning sunshine
warm against my skin,

the soft cool stirrings of
the airy ocean in which I move.

I smell the subtle background fragrance
of sun-warmed earth and plants.

An oasis of shade, green leaves above
whispering intermittently in the breeze.

Sweet sharpness of blackberries,
plucked from their protective brambles.


I am home,

contentedly cradled

in my mother's womb.



copyright Barbara Showalter 2011