Poetry From the Woods

Despite the chill
I open the window to invite
the dark woods in.

To allow the sound of rain
to remind me that nothing
is separate from life expressing
itself in full. 

To bolster my quiet & simple
joy of early morning. 

To connect with a presence
much bigger than my own
small self. 

___________

Sometimes joy requires effort, 
today it is easy. 

October sun warms my skin
and the breeze in the trees
feels like a prayer being ushered 
into motion.

And there is no one else
I’d rather be in all the world. 
No place else I’d rather reside. 

Few belongings do I possess
and still I have everything
I need. 

_________

Keeping close in mind that one day
one of us will likely be the first one to die, 
leaving the other behind, casts a cloud shadow
on the soul. It also sets ablaze the present moment
with the immediacy of living. 

_________

While soup making last evening for 
dinner a ladle, bread knife & carrot peeler
would’ve been ideal. 

I was prepared to make due without them
in our bare bones & still temporary kitchen set up,
until I remembered. These items, having spent
the last two-years in a rented storage unit
90-minutes away, are now deliciously close. 

The day before, we moved another batch of our
belongings onto the land. My kitchen boxes 
were just a short & lovely walk away!

I fetched the three amigos and set to making
a blended soup in our small cabin in the
big woods, with a butternut squash, fresh from
my sister-in-law’s garden, the star of the show. 

If there’s a better autumnal activity than
crafting & enjoying a homemade soup
I do not know it.