In need of rest

So utterly tired

Worn out, worn down

Worried and fatigued.

Longing for relaxation, to lie beside still waters

Yearning to take off this bag that I carry which holds the stuff of life

And put it down for a time

To breathe

To rest a while

Hoping rest will replace weariness,

calm replace concern,

peace replace turbulence;

That sleep will indeed knit the unraveled sleeve of all my care(s)

And I might know true rest.

My prayer that I might wake, my soul repaired

Renewed desire to reach out and touch the fabric of the day –

a gentle touch that greets the day

with gratitude and grace

rejuvenation of joy and strength

in peace, a soul refreshed

Grip of the Grape – a poem

Wine-stained memories, shards of which –long since extinct;

Money, time and memory’s folly,

Splintered picture can never be restored,

Crumpled dreams – broken glass and rubble;

Life repaired but what is lost remains lost.

Glance into the future – an unwritten history of what might be,

The hourglass continues to run its course,

What is unseen, unknown, remains lost to us

Unless we make it so: Create and Live!

Or sit and sup and wait to die.

Expectations of prior generations already drowned,

Fewer possibilities survive, – like seeds

The chance of life if only one would take and plant them

And take the time to let them grow,

Before winter comes and we are lost,

Our lives reduced to endless snow.

My Sanctuary

When I returned to the valley – my private gateway to another world

Sudden bombarding of the senses:

Heat and humidity press against the skin with palpable force

Cicadas form a wall of sound: an assault on the ears

The scent of jasmine and honeysuckle, of forest and dogs and bar-b-ques

Sometimes the distant scent of rain is carried on the breeze – smell connects with the touch of the wind, and a change in the barometer spells the knowledge, the taste of  showers to come

Sometimes the welcome relief of a quiet shaded forest, cool and calm this hidden treasure

A sea of divergent greens, lush tree-lined valley walls: radiance of colour, the work a combination of nature and man

Ceiling of the deepest blues: a spectrum of azure, cerulean and cyan mixed with hues of ultramarine and thalo form a vivid mural, a thousand shades of blue line this pristine expanse of untroubled sky

Sights and sounds, the feel and smells at times combine to overwhelm the senses

Other times: the quiet beauty, the stillness, the calm, refreshing my soul

These hills, these trees, this sky, this valley and river- my pocket of the world

My quiet haven, my secret enclave, my sanctuary 5014.