Simple Gifts and Magical Moments

You learn to recognize her moods. Sometimes she is soft and gentle. Her touch slides across you, Soothing and calm. She sings a lullaby, As she wraps around you, Covering you with with her embrace. Other times she sparkles. Her voice chortles. Her dance is sinuous and enticing, But her coolness makes you wary, And you keep your distance. Today she is swollen and heavy. She wraps herself in veiling fog, But demands attention. She slaps you with cold power, Barely contained. No one can ignore her.

We, who are civilized, like to idealize and sanitize Nature However, birth is a bloody, painful process that can end in sorrow and suffering. Death isn't always quick and painless like my childhood nature shows proclaimed. Natures glory is not always green or gold. Ask the farmer or the logger if Nature is gentle. Mud and muck, snot and slime, Nature can be a stern and unforgiving mother. The fetid odor of putrification and eutrification Is as much her perfume as roses and spring breezes. Today, I looked at the ruler straight snow line on the mountain. The trees above stood out bright and strong against the twilight sky. It reminded me of a winter display found in the shopping mall. Perhaps I should be comforted by the sign of order and beauty, But I felt uncertain and distant and longed for Natures intimacy.

October Is the month Of depression. It leaves me Swollen with emotion, Dark and crumbling, Like a rain soaked Rotten log. There are moments though, Crisp and bright, When the leaves dance And the trees whisper. My spirit stirs, Remembering That as a child I laughed And chased the wind. Breathing the musk Of autumn, Full of emotion and memory, I embrace the change.

This is a closeup of a jellyfish