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You Will Remain (Poem For Debra)
You will remain.
When I walk the streets in the rain,
Your silver hair tresses the trees,
And I remember the kindness in your eyes.
When I walk the trail in the sunlight,
Your bright laughter glints from the rocks,
And I remember the joy in your voice.
Always you move in grace wherever you walk,
And the peace that your very presence bestows
Is the gift that you give to us all.
You will remain.
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Winter Sounds The Same (Poem)
In the early morning of winter’s approach
I feel the cold singing in my bones
An old song that I heard when I was young
In the rooms where elderly relatives gathered
Easing themselves slowly into creaking chairs
Resting their hands on knobby canes
Warming themselves by the crackling fire
I sat in their front on the bare pine floor
The wind rattled the window panes and shook the door
Trying to gain attention but no one gave any mind
The freeze was already evident on the ground
Its notes played out in every step they took
In every movement I now make
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Unready Yet (Poem)
No grief over the knowledge
That I’ve never seen my own face,
Only relief.
These images from different mirrors
Glittering back at me
In shop windows, photographs, and even a painting
Are mere appearances.
Likewise, one of my teachers suggested
That altars only have an bare space resting
Where the buddha would be.
On my altar I have placed a statue of Chenrezig,
The bodhisattva of compassion.
