Many Ways

 

-------Many Ways-------

 

There are as many ways 

to be a person

as there are people

in this world.

 

To honor all that makes us different

makes us all

together 

whole.

 

-------

Leaves on Wind

 

-------Leaves on Wind-------

 

I take 

great care

while splitting wood

 

To remember the tree

and forest

 

And hold the prayer

of leaves on wind

 

Through winter

aside 

the fire.

 

-------

Need Not Know

 

-------Need Not Know-------

 

One need 

not be 

a botanist

 

Nor know 

their names by heart

 

To admire the trees

and their changing 

leaves

 

And give ourselves

to wonder.

 

-------

De-Composition

 

-------De-Composition-------

 

When the leaves

start falling

 

I too

 

Come close 

with death

 

With the invitation

to live my joy

 

And nourish 

the Earth

 

Someday

 

With all the light

I gather.

 

-------

Genesis

 

-------Genesis-------

 

Never gone

is the leaf

who falls

 

From an oak 

tree's branch

in autumn.

 

Back to earth

and our sweet

return

 

Come springtime

into 

flowers.

 

-------

Simple Things

 

-------Simple Things-------

 

The fields we tend

are filled 

with fruit

 

And those

with seeds abundant.

 

The simple things

in life 

I find

 

Are often

the most profound.

 

-------

Memory

 

-------Memory-------

 

The smell of Rosemary

and Garlic 

and Sage

 

Brings me home

beyond 

the kitchen

 

To the land

that I

come from.

 

-------