Tag: nature

Simply Sunday

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Handwritten

One simple sentence
written in Mom’s
handwriting inside the
cover of a photo album

The exact date eludes me

Kelley saw her first rainbow today.

This morning’s beautiful
rainbow plucked the image
of those handwritten words
from my memory bank,
and placed it in my hands

Stopped at a stoplight
I rolled down my window
breathing in fresh air
taking in the bright colors

Resisting the urge to yell
at the drivers on either side
Hey! Look!
Do you see the rainbow?

Light turned green
and green means go

I smiled, grateful Mom
took time to note the
first time I noticed
a rainbow

Broken White Lines

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Walking a straight
line is a myth

A truth which grows
ever more apparent
as I approach sixty

Life is never so simple
Even the white lines
guiding us down the
road are broken

Solidifying only when
extra caution is required

It is tempting
to wear blinders
Attempt a straight
line to my destination

But there is so much I would miss

The rose-pink glow
bathing this very morning
in brilliant warmth

The crisp air
on my face as I
lower the window

Smiling as I snap
a quick photo of the
rosy pink sky-twice

Wishing I could
watch it fade away
before driving on

Driving on anyway
In awe of the sweet
warmth at my back

Relieved my path
is not a straight line
It never has been

Simply Sunday

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Tenacious Tree

Your foliage
struggles in
the summer heat

Not the most
beautiful tree
in the garden

Patches of brown
overtake your
remaining green

Yet, you gently call.
And I intently listen
You surely have much to say

Branches twisted,
pointing in all directions
Signs of enduring courage

If I sat at your feet
for only a day
I would surely be changed

Clovis Botanical Gardens, Clovis, CA

Head to Toes

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I am in motion
but the day is
somehow still

Only rain for
my companion

Trees stand
motionless
as green leaves
drink in raindrops

So many days
passed without rain
Now, today, I walk
across liquid glass

I should uncover
my head, let the rain
fall where it will
but I don’t- well,

Only long enough
to unlock a door
and step inside
out of the stillness

Not ready to be a cog
in the busy wheel again

If only I’d lingered,
stood still, taken a
much-needed drink

And felt the approach
of this new season
precisely as the trees-
From my head to my toes

Simply Sunday

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Limits

How do I know them
without testing
How do I test
without facing fears

Once set, how do I
accept and maintain
Or know when it’s time
to test them again

Questions resurfacing
during recent scenic,
but harrowing drives

Past experiences in cars
suddenly out of control
inducing present fears

My desire to stand under
the wisdom of giant trees
tugging at my soul

A fear my body remembers
fighting with an experience
my heart strongly desires

A work in progress
Accepting my limits
Not giving them control

Forever treasuring the
feeling of walking through
a grove of Giant Sequoias

Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park

Mariposa

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You greet me with
the fresh scent of
pine bark and soil

Like the smell of air before rain

Your guardians stand
majestic and grand, some
over a thousand years

I am a guest in your home

Gray squirrels scurry
across fallen branches,
dark-eyed juncos sing

Sweet melodies reminding
me again my visitor status
This is not my home

A message reinforced
in my tired body with
each continuing step

How foolish to consider
only the humans who first
encountered your wonder

Now, I imagine a black bear
lumbering through your
gates, groggy from hibernation

A yellow warbler finding
rest in your treetops
following a long migration

A swallowtail sipping
sustenance in a meadow
of springtime flowers

Thank you seems insufficient
Today, it is all
my heart can manage

Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park

Traveling South

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Stunning sunrise
on my right
Lingering Moon
on my left

A perfect spot for
contemplating
the coming day

The sunrise feels
grand, vibrant colors
impossible to ignore

Brilliant light rising,
reflecting, refracting,
lifting, and warming

But the Moon seems
so small.
It looks a bit lonely.

Until it dawns on me

The Moon is resting,
soaking in sunlight
to be reflected in
the coming darkness

And there’s a person,
waiting in the dark
who will witness
this same Moon

The brightest light in their sky

Still traveling South
Wondering
What I will reflect
in the coming day?

Sunshine on My Shoulder by John Denver Kelley Morris, piano

Simply Sunday

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Purple Blanket

You stood in the
tall green grass
Its blades almost
above your head

I wasn’t sure if
I’d see you again
in light of current
proposals for change

Changes in the name
of progress, of course
Giving little consideration
to your fragile forest home

Your mom stands steady
near the tree line’s edge
Her gaze fixed on you as
your head tilts and ears perk

She is still and quiet
while you explore
Always curious about the
world outside of your own

And I watch, grateful to see
you, Doe and Fawn, securely
wrapped in the soft, pale
purple blanket of morning

Simply Sunday

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Butterfly

Some would say her
emergence mirrors
our beginnings

Damp wings gently
fluttering to dry
before taking flight

But I would argue her
flight more closely
mirrors our ending

For she has already
journeyed from leaf to
twig, across blades of grass

Over terrain, smooth and
rough, picking up bits
of life all along the way

Eventually wrapping
herself in so many layers
no room remains for living

Only room for reflection-
Like that required for
our final transformation

Leaving behind the shell
that faithfully held us
to the end of our journey

When our spirit, like the
newly flown butterfly,
experiences true freedom

Carried Home

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White and wispy
they floated upward
from the horizon
into the wide blue

Like snowy doves
wings spread wide
in a recurring
pattern of flight

Worries that held
tight to my heart
began to fade-

Not withdrawing
but loosening their grip

Funny how peace occupies
the most curious spaces
requiring only moments
before offering relief

I may have been
driving my car
but it was the clouds
that carried me home