Delighted

While taking a peek at some of the reference materials recommended in one of the books I'm reading on writing, I came across the name Phyllis A. Whitney. "Wait! Why is that name so familiar?" I racked my brain until I finally just gave up and googled. Sure enough, a valid memory had risen from the depths of the realm of Junior High School, where the library had been like a second home to me, and Ms. Whitney's books had always provided such wonderful escape and entertainment for this gawky yet always-a-romantic girl. I was delighted to become reacquainted with this prolific author, and I look forward to reading her Guide to Fiction Writing ... and I may even re-read some of those juvenile titles that even now tickle my fancy with their lure of youthful romance and mystery.

Dust Storms

Breathing in, the fine red dust, the musty smell, tickles my senses with it's light reminder...ashes to ashes and dust to dust...within each minute molecule resides an entire world, a whole history of Being that is from my own past lives and from all who have walked or swum or flown or rooted and then passed away, returning to Gaia on land or sea yet all do return, our form dissolves into elements that accumulate once more. All the billions of lives we tread upon in gratitude and who seep into our soles/souls, each one precious, carrying a message that we absorb, take unto our Selves, with or without our knowledge, yet still they come whispering...the wisdom of owl, the coo of dove, and the soft underbelly of snake who sheds her skin repeatedly, dying many times before she dies. Feel their energy within the dust? Taste their gifts upon tongue and throat--permeating the thin nasal cavities that curve and bend like minuscule labyrinths. From top to bottom, nose to feet, we are connected with all life past and present. Breathe...

Dawn Walking

The only time I walk the dogs is 5am.
We are then safe from scorching sun and painfully hot pavement.
Our reward is dawn...cool, quiet, and breathtakingly beautiful.
Well, I like the beauty...the boys are more interested in the occasional Jack rabbit or scantily clad ground squirrel that darts across our path.
I have no way to post photos right now, though, so I invite you to trust me on this!

And this is the opposite of our walks in Maine where we would have been eaten alive by muzzies and blackflies if we dared to try a walk at dawn... (wink)

Dry and Dusty Wealth of Wellness

She comes to me in dreams
at night
and leaves nothing what it seems
in dawning light,
I find my heart within Her land,
Her warm embrace and scented hand
that blooms in darkness cool and clear
and on the breeze I barely hear
a voice so precious, calm
and filled with love
that tells me I can
sing high above
the path
and write my heart upon the page
where one may turn to find a Sage
at play in youthful innocence
without agenda only immanence.
I feel the healing of Her light
whenever I give over all my rights
to demand or seek my own desire
and then feel Her love now and beyond.
Writing, flowing, She is near
and I listen to Her whisper in my ear,
I am special yet I am not,
all we are we have forgot,
and so I fill the page with words,
the sounds of heart that are to be heard
by just one soul who has lost her way
and finding solace in the play
of pen and ink upon the trees
that died to give the space for these
attempts are not alone and light will come,
the way is shone.
I feel a healing lesson bloom
and flower in this room
when opening and leaving out
the judge who stops the weaving of the loom
of words that twine within the work.
Mine is not to judge the feeling
or to control Her gentle healing,
but let Her flow into the world
a bright and cheerful, loving girl.
Release the gloom that sometimes comes
to darken joy or bring a cloud
for puffs of white are gently giving
all the nurturing of heaven.
Even when the thunder roars
or lightning strikes
don't lock the doors
but rather open wide
these portals so all may enter
and feel Her power.
For within all She is ever near,
sharing Her abundance,
giving, glowing, seeking Her experience
through us and without resistance
all will sing in harmony.

a few days earlier...

Sweet caress of a shifting dress of sands across this land, Her skirts smooth and sultry in the heat, as they whisper of cool nights under the lunar glow and all we know comes to light in Her fleshy flow, warm breath upon my face as Her smile breaks through the clouds barely visible so high drifting across the dark sky of night when all Her gifts soften and grow in gentle light...

Dawn is growing, warm breeze so lovely in the back yard as I step softly, eating my cup of granola, grateful for Being, grateful for the opportunity to experience more of Gaia's diversity as She changes in this new environment...strange yet familiar from dreams and vacations and visions. A gift indeed! How many of us are provided an opportunity--to see it and accept it, gently moving fear aside--to pick up our lives and move them cross-country?! What abundance and blessings She shares with me. I know and see and acknowledge this gift of transformation, this life I have been blessed with.

A flow of gratitude emerges as vibrantly blue as the aqua sea seen in the turquoise of Her elemental magic so valued here; is it the cool, serene energy of this gem that shows the life-giving waters of Her love within the depths of Her womb that native people treasure? Cool and pale or dark teal magic? Never before drawn to this color, I feel it's pull here within the desert of ghostly tans and the pale green of the palo verde bark, the black wood of the mesquite...the broad expanse of bright blue sky contrasting with the immense stretches of dull, hot soil. Extremes. Opposites. Joy in these striking visuals that test and reward the spirit.

Acknowledge and accept Her power that clearly dwells here, imposing stark conscious awareness within each moment. So many blessings. Wait for it...patience...not as in wishing a moment gone but as in knowing each one is precious and powerful--to relinquish control and allow that I am the foreigner in this land where the cactus grows mighty, the hawks soar overhead, and the ground squirrels appear to be naked in their thin coats. Me with the skin that pinks so easily and sweats all of my water quickly to evaporate before I know it--sucked up by Her zephyrs that carry the vital fluid to where it is needed.

A dry and dusty wealth of wellness held within the subtle messages all around. How can I do anything other than love Her diversity?! She is magnificent in Her survival! She laughs aloud when the monsoon comes and She swirls the dust and sends waves of it billowing rapidly across Her expansive body...sometimes followed by cleansing tears of joy and bliss! She is truly remarkable.