The Roar of Discord

...for a brief interlude between storms / we emerge and return / to clear away the shards ...

Each Year …

between Nature's deadly sweeps
or the advance of Madmen
we huddle in the recesses
of our fallen pillars.
But after each collapse 
as the smoke clears
the rubble cools
and the roar of discord wanes
for a brief interlude between storms
we emerge and return 
to clear away the shards
place the chairs back around the table
serve cauldrons of whatever remains
cooked on earthen stoves
or under the heat of sunlight
how ever we can imagine
on this cleansed and hesitant day.

Each year 
when the latest cause
for fear and bewilderment
finally whimpers its last complaint
we examine the underpinnings
of our faith and embrace
the loves that stand before us.
We arise and walk into a world 
that appears to be the same
but somehow glints under a light
that slants at a different angle
revealing changes we must sift through 
choose ones to keep and ones to cast off 
with the debris we cleared away 
when the shaking stopped.

Grant Me the Time …

to walk each day in serenity
as the world goes about its business
to spot a Cooper’s hawk pluck
a serving of sparrow from the air
to yip at Coyote, confusing him 
only for a moment before he trots away. 
The grass is much higher
after that freak snowstorm.
It glitters with a deeper hue.
There’s a patch that’s crushed 
where the deer slept last night.
All these goings-on within a day.

Grant that I may watch
and behold someday
the sacred fleeting glimpse
of Cougar 
slipping past a break in the trees.
During my wanderings 
from office to kitchen to bedroom 
I spot a pair of marmalade ears
just beyond the window sill.
Edging closer on tip-toe I watch
the neighbor’s manx scan the bush
where he stalks food meant for Coyote.
I tap the glass and send him bounding 
through wildflowers and sage.

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All my books, Paradise Ridge, When the Horses Come and Go, and Ghost in the Forest are currently available on Kindle. Ghost in the Forest, is also available in paperback. Paradise Ridge is out-of-print, but the Kindle version is re-edited and better quality.