The Red Road

photo:  the path to Madrona Beach

The Red Road

She walks this road often,

daily to the water

in soft skin

from age, thinning

on old feet without slippers

She climbs the Madrona,

tells stories on narrow limbs, knotted red,

where she bled

from old feet without slippers, walking

ldn

My cross to bear - for my mother, March 09, 1925 - June 28, 2010

My cross to bear
(for my mother) March 09, 1925 - June 28, 2010)

I’ve said enough

Now where do you  hurt?

How long is  your   story?

Are you still there?

I am listening, now,

wandering in and out of my self

Now and then I find my body 

Now and then, I don’t

I won’t tell you where I’ve been,

unless you ask 

I will leave you be, now unto your own desires

I have mine own to wear,

my cross to bear,

it is, not yours

I follow closely mine own shadow

It is always there

Where do  you  hurt?

I want not to be your cross to bear

I have mine own, to wear 

ldn

The lost ring

The lost ring 

I feel like a child, weeping over spilled milk

I love freely, until it hurts

I have no will to keep my insides dry

or my outside in, though I try

I am an open book

Look at me and you may see yourself,

hiding there, on my sill
I care about everything,

too much,
still
I am your lost ring

I am buried on the mountain top

where you look

but come home empty,

of hand

without the band,
the ring,
that you took,
from my clutch,
because I care,
too much

ldn

Love is

photo: bahaiquotes.blogspot.com

Love is

Love is white lilies

Love is black roses

Love is the hand,

that grows in white lilies,

black roses,

where love knows no color,

where no door closes,

on lilies, on lilies,

on roses

ldn

The Hill

The Hill

It’s a load but I carry it

It’s a hill so I marry it

I do it fo’ the kids

I do it fo’ my wife

I push it fo’ my ma who’s sick

I haul it fo’ their life

Some men call me po’

and a po’ man I may be

But I never known much differn’t,

the hill is all I see 

ldn

Greed (a dream, June 24, 2012)

photo: (altered) gettysburgdaily.com

Greed  (a dream, June 23, 2012)

We don’t need to cut / / /

take down a tree before it grows up
chop it to the ground for one little nut

eat the seed that produces it,

reduce it to nothing for one piece of it,

take what we want out of greed

The cow is whole ~ in of its own

The seed in the tree ~ not fully grown

The earth, the trees, the animals, on loan
We reap what we sow, you know

ldn

I hang Holy

collage:  art that decorates my wall

I hang Holy

I love Holy,
so I hang Holy on my walls
Sacredness decorates my Halls
I feel blessed,
I am humbled by God Himself,
in my home,
my sanctuary,
I am never alone,
because I hang Holy,
and to sacredness,
I say, Yes

ldn

Who is this man? IV

photo: bluechameleon.org


Who is this man?  IV

Who is this man who builds tin houses for his peasants,

then blames 'them' ~ when they rust,

he who eats through the center of loaves, 

leaving them ~ to eat the remains from his crust?

Is he the same man who crosses his heart with holy water,

who prays to his Lord then shuns his own father ~

and his mother?

Is he the same man who steals his neighbor’s lover,

then weeps and moans,

runs to and fro,
when she sleeps with his brother?

Who is this man?

ldn

Mothers

photo: indugly.com

Mothers

Mothers wring infant cloth,

swollen hands tied in double knots,

sway side by side by river rocks

humming songs their mothers taught…

ldn

The Star Horse (a dream: June 20-21)

image; elfwood.com

The Star Horse (a dream: June 20-21)

The black was so dark I closed my eyes

then cracked them a moment for a glimpse of the sky

It was black

I turned back

Suddenly! . . . a star horse flew by,

with his shadow galloping closely behind

You can’t outrun your shadow, says I

Then it stopped – and the shadow ran into it's light

The shadow was gone

I was wrong

Trying to see more clearly this scene,

a lightning bolt jolted me out of the dream

From the force I awakened in awe,

because I saw

the light,
in the shadow,

last night

ldn

Pulling Daisies

Pulling Daisies

Bent fingers pull petals

one ~ by ~ one

He loves me

two ~ by ~ two

or not

I forgot

I think he said he’s coming back,

that he’d be gone for a week ~ maybe two

So what’s a girl to do?

Daisies lie

Little girl’s cry

and little boys too

It’s Summer Solstice, isn’t it?

one ~ by ~ one

He loved me

two ~ by ~ two

He didn’t

Bent fingers pull petals

ldn

Bag Lady

Bag Lady

Okay, so I’ll take a bag with me on a walk,

plugged in my I-pod,

took off

Lo and behold the trash added up

with styrofoam, beer cans and plastic cups

Well, my OCD got the best of me,

got stuck in a ditch for a Skittle-bag in a tree

Up to my knees in quick sand,

me with the bag in my hand,

landing in nettles, of course

So, what on God's earth could be worse?

Well I’ll tell ya!

My kitchen bag ripped when I tripped

I’m stuck in a ditch. . .

Well a son of a ---

until I spotted – a Hefty!

A Heavy Duty, no less

Thank you, Litter Angel

I picked up the Hefty and left

God's earth is now clean

As for Me?
Need you guess?

I’m a mess

ldn

The Mountain and the Madrona (Manzanita)

The Mountain and the Madrona (Manzanita)

Wearing hearts on her sleeves,

and rings on her fingers

She lingers alone as a tree

Love beats within her,
running hither and thither,

to the place where her soul lives for free

On the mountain she finds you,

where love can not bind you

to her Manzanita tree

Then hither and thither,
with you to the river

she flows with her soul back to sea,
for free

ldn

Green Trees

Green Trees

When I dream I sometimes I leave my body

to see if trees are really green

if skies are blue,

but mostly to see you

out of nowhere,

running,

catching me off guard under clouds covering

me,

needing more warning of storms coming

It is hard to be done, with you

reaching out from inside

while your damp smile

from my bedside lamp, shines

on my horizon, under blue skies

I stand straight, lean forward

hold steady, not ready

to leave

or be seen

in a dream where trees

are really green

ldn

Big Chief and Squaw

image: concierge.com

Big Chief and Squaw

He’s a Chief

She’s a Squaw,

and a thief 

They play with fire,

desire

She's a liar

So is he

Desperate

Bent on a flame,

they touch the heat just to test it

It’s a one way street

where in the end they meet

for respite,

for relief

The Squaw,

the Chief

ldn

My Responsibility

photo: self portrait on the shore, Anacortes, Washington


My responsibility

My responsibility as a human being is not to inform you,

but to be informed

My responsibility as a human being is to love you,

and not yearn to be loved in return

My responsibility as a human being is to see you

without hoping to be seen,

or heard,

but to listen

to the wind in your whistle

It is my responsibility

to see the tree in your leaf

to place myself beneath

because it is my responsibility as a human being

not to want less ~ or more

to pursue the sea,

create a wave,

but to be, the shore

ldn

On a wire

On a wire

Little birdie on a wire

wanting seeds she can’t acquire

until little birdie listened

figured it out and spoke up,

woke up

Took what she needed

then seeded

her own

Now she eats,

and flies,

alone

ldn

Like a Thorn

Like a Thorn

Like a thorn,

I’m worn

I had it rough for most a my life

Being a mom, and - “The Wife”

If he would a cared 'bout my state of affairs

He’d a been there,

when Johnny came late

I’m an old forty eight with a kid on my hip

and a son of a B in and out of it

I’m worn,

forlorn,

like a thorn

ldn

Pink Pout

Pink Pout

Okay, so there you go Missy cryin’ all over yourself again

Give me a smile

It’s been a while

So what’s all the pain about?

Where do you hurt?

Tell Mama first then let it all out,

the tears and the shout,

the pink in the pout

Life is too short to turn inside out

Live on a wing, and sing

Be like a bell, and ring

Sweet Little Thing

Where do you hurt?

Tell Mama first
what hurts.

ldn

You're It

image: newsdiscovery.com

You're It

It’s not all in "your" mind

It’s also in mine,

and in everyone else’s on the planet,

as long as they don’t take it for granted,

or think they can sway anybody with it

or play anybody with it

I’m serious

Are you curious?

You have infinities of information in it – the Mind (not the brain)*

Now mind you, (no pun intended) your mechanism has to be in top condition

No drugs or alcohol abusing it, confusing it

The brain resides in the skull for a reason,

We are hard headed for protection

We are a wireless connection of Spiritual Beings ~

A Super Intelligence,

who use the Mind

Discover it

Uncover it ~ the Realities hidden within it

Take it from me,

I've been It

Shake it up

Break it up

Try it

Don’t quit until you die

Tag!

You're It

The Mind

for the next guy

ldn

* “The mind which is in man, the existence of which is recognized—where is it in him? If you examine the body with the eye, the ear or the other senses, you will not find it; nevertheless, it exists. Therefore, the mind has no place, but it is connected with the brain.”  Abdu’l-Baha

Big Truck Blues

photo: 6/11/12 -  I-5

Big Truck Blues

Okay, so there was this Big Truck

on the Freeway, today

Mud flaps just a dancing,

like me ~ ~ ~ this way and that way

Favorite CD blasting

Suddenly and without warning

Mud flaps turned into eyelashes batting

tears away,

then I started crying too,

It was alarming

Asphalt turned all blurry,

yellow line disappeared

right there in front of my eyes

What brought this on I said to my weary self,

this old heart aching?

I should a been braking

I could a been dead,

if I hadn’t taken the off ramp,

home

where I should a been all along

instead a dancing

on the Freeway,

alone

Dove gone

photo: taken 6/10/12 on a walk

Dove gone

Dove wired up

Dove fired up

Dove tired of the song

Dove gone

Dove suited up

Dove muted up

Dove hung on too long

Dove gone

ldn

Hats Off To Haley

photo: June 8, 2012

Haley

Hats off to Haley

My girl

Hats of to my Baby

Different, in a good way – Hay

Solid, kind, loves children, and the elderly

Steps up to the plate
Never hates anybody

That’s my Hay

She’ll go far, that girl

Spin your world

Fly you to the moon,

the Milky Way,

Hats off to you – Hay

My Baby

I - love - you,

Grandma

For Matt R.

For Matt R.

Matt R.

Wherever you are ~ here ~ heaven,

on the moon,
on a star

I’ve got something to say,

for your family, I pray,

and I think of you every day
There’s not enough warning to STOP

It comes on too fast and you won’t be the last

to break it,

to not make it,

this time around,

or take it down ~ the barrier

Now one more family the wearier

I travel that road every day,

and I’ve slipped a few times on the way,

home

You’re not alone, Matt R.

wherever you are,

here ~ heaven,

on the moon,

on a star,

Matt R.

 ldn

The Double Bind

The Double Bind

Cue one, Come
Cue two, Go
Leave, go, stay, get away
Double Bind
Kind of a like a kitten on a string
a familiar thing if she wants to play with it,
flip it around like a ball of yarn and have her way with it ~
or get wound in it, bound in it,
in a Double Bind
The choices are few with you
Play it straight or bend
Hit delete or send
Dead end
in a Double Bind
An emotionally distressing situation
with all its limitations
The Projection ~
a selection of units created my whole
I hung up my hat on another one’s soul
in a Double Bind
Paradoxical, illogical me,
one of a kind,
insightful, but blind
in a Double Bind

ldn

A Nursery Rhyme (for my Baby and me)

image: homeaway.com


A Nursery Rhyme (for my Baby and me)

Too much coffee and not enough tea

My Baby’s gonna get he best of me

Once there were two

Now there’s three

and someone hung a swing on the sycamore tree

for my Baby and me,
for my Baby and me
One plus one makes two
Two plus one makes three
You plus me makes a Baby in me
and someone hung a swing on the sycamore tree

ldn

The Drawer

The Drawer

Okay so I’m crazy about this Lady – My mother

Cleaned out my “Save all the Special Stuff Drawer”

Passport – save

Buttons for the new stuff I bought that will be there forever because by the time the buttons get lost a new blouse will be bought – toss

New camera charger – save

Broken camera charger – toss

Credit cards that cost me a pretty penny in interest charges – cut

Pinking Shears that I don’t want the grandkids to use – save

Receipts for the stuff that I got that I may take back like the blouses with buttons that I bought – toss

Fingernail clippers that I hide from my husband – save

Dull hair snippers – save

Invitation to the wedding I don’t really want to go to – toss

Prayer book I pray from when I lie to the people who sent me the invitation – save

All the cards my mother gave to me on my birthdays and other holidays – save

The Christmas red and green scarf with the glitter threads woven into it, the one that she knitted with her nimble tired fingers from raising 9 kids and working 3 jobs just to feed them – save

Her extra pair of dentures that she took in her suitcase when she went on a trip in case her good ones broke like they did that time in Mexico – save

Her oxygen tank key – save

Her blue and white disabled parking permit – save

Her prescription sunglasses that I will make into mine after I have cataract surgery - save

The Christmas tapes of her stories that she told to the children when she gave out her humble homemade gifts after the 3 shots of brandy she swallowed just to get up the nerve because she was somewhat of an introvert – save

The envelope with the tissue in it with the dried blood on it from her arm that she scraped on the car door as she was making her dash to her second to the last doctor appointment, the one when she was hoping for a miracle diagnosis – just one more go-around for the old girl – save

The tears all over the inside of the drawer with my mother’s stuff in it because without her I feel lost without the woman who I know they are saved for –

Close the drawer

Linda

Move (my dream - 06/06/12)

Ad

image: vectordiary.com

Move (my dream - 06/06/12)

Here we were all sitting in a waiting room

Ten of us,

all strangers,

when in walked a man in a fine gray suit

Announcing – Danger!

Everyone - stay in this room, don’t move,

or discuss this amongst you

We obeyed,

sat staring at each other,

with suspicion

Then one man made a decision

He rose up and walked out the door

I followed,

then the rest

Surging

Emerging

This was a test

The fine gray suit had a theory to prove

If given an order the mass will not move

out of fear

It’s a smear campaign

for control you know

It’s subliminal,

criminal

Don’t buy it

Rise up

Try it

You have nothing to lose

Move

ldn

Ride Your Canoe in the Middle

image: fengshuilosangeles.com

Ride Your Canoe in the Middle 


Every river has two sides

It’s one of life’s little riddles

To avoid a rift ~ the shallow, the swift,

ride your canoe in the middle

Same goes for Political Parties

Don’t stand for the left or the right

One may be too loose/the other, uptight

and no single side is right

Stay in the middle

Avoid the fight,

the black/or white ~ the day/or night

If I am right ( maybe just a little )
ride your canoe in the middle

ldn

Planet X

photo: lisacatto.worldpress.com


Planet X

So here I am on Planet X,

yackin’ away at strangers

Costco:  Hello

Blank stare – nothin' there

except for me (talkin’ to my self)

Am I crazy or somethin’?

Am I in this world alone?

Honing in now on the shoe shelf – Nice pair a shoes

Again – nothin’

Okay, so everyone’s stressed,

out of touch

I get it

But I’m in the same bloody mess

and I understand. . .

So let’s band together, Fellow Costco Shoppers!

What else can ya do?

Let’s hear it for World Peace, Yeah!

We "are" in the same family (aren’t we?)

Communicate with me. . .

There she is – Mrs. Friendly (The Hot Caliente’ Lady)

Actually, I thought all those stainless steel boxes

with the nice people behind them

were serving up samples of Hot Caliente’ – really

Silly me

Hello, Sir How do you do?

Tight lipped, but he almost slipped

I thought I heard a grunt from Mr. Grump

No dice, Lady

Back to Hot Caliente’

Then the next. . .

and the next

Is Life really that complex,

or am I alone
on Planet X ?

ldn

Gossip and Backbiting

Gossip and Backbiting

It's no fun to be talked about,

to be the butt of a joke

It chokes the life right out of you

It hurts your soul
Backbiting quencheth the light of the heart,
and extinguisheth the life of the soul.
(Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah)*

He’s right

It is "so" wrong

I used to think nothing of it,

to talk about another,

a friend, a sister, a brother,

with negativity,

until it was done to me

I never recovered,

the part that died,

with a little bit of my soul,
inside

ldn

Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art a sinner. (Baha’u’llah, Hidden Words)

* http://www.bahai.com/Bahaullah/hiddenwords.htm