Earnest: Keeper

Soft evening;
Rain-freshened air,
Cooling and pleasant,
Time to be present,

Sitting with the body
With all its discomforts;
Sinking into the cushion.
Harkening to a robin’s twittering,

Coming back in
To sensations arising,
Drifting dreamily
And returning, eyes opening;

Examining the gray carpet
Of the group sitting room,
Letting go of seeing,
Feeling nothing in particular.

Footsteps far away,
Reminder of a busy day;
Reflections on what’s past;
Floating off and re-engaging,

Attention seeking;
Finding it again
And losing it;
With it and without it;

Finally standing up
In search of a more stable view,
Swaying gently,
Left-right-left, back-forward-back;

Resorting to slow walking
Before settling back into the cushion,
Ringing the bell
Because it’s time
And tonight I’m the keeper.

Eagerness: Making Connections

From the trackless void
Spring overflows,
Green explosion,
Magnificent abundance;

Squirrels dance and forage,
Pigeons peck at tidbits,
The dog walkers
Are out in force,

Picking up after
Their pooches
And generally enjoying
The warm fresh air;

Meanwhile, I simply sit
Above the city streets,
Part of all of it
And observing quietly;

Calmly drinking in
The busy scene
And the tranquil bits
In between;

Breathing in
And feeling the pain
Of the aching muscles
All over the body,

And yet,
The ease continues unabated
Amidst the discomfort
Of the Fibromyalgia;

Aching in the spine and toes,
Where the arthritis lives and grows,
Provoked by another weather front coming in,
Reminding me of the interconnectedness of everything.

Eagerly: Ordinary Enthusiasm

Gentle pen
Slides over the paper,
Barely touching,
Fingers adjusting,

A micro-world
Unto itself,
Hand, plastic and metal
Function as one,

And yet my fibro-fumble
Slows the pace
And distorts the letters
On the page,

Difficult to read
And low on speed
But feels right
In the dim light;

Scratching away,
Life at play,
Leaning into the game,
The eternal lane,

Slipping across
The wood fiber highway,
Whose substance once
Grew from a planted tree.

Remarkable combinations
Arise spontaneously,
Just like the words,
Flying up freely.

Not sure where this is leading,
Or where it originated
But great fun
And better than ever.