Dear lily

Rain Lily, June 2023

 

Dear lily, are you

folding or unfolding in

the summer shower?

Instead

 

Tawny Emperor, June 2023
College Station, Texas

We could have kept sorting laundry

     and folded towels straight out of the dryer

Instead we played cards at the kitchen table

    without keeping score

We could have kept stacking old papers

    and stirring up dust

Instead we drove to the cafe for sandwiches

    and rose mint matcha 

We could have revisited old arguments

    and the way things go wrong sometimes

Instead we stepped out on the back porch

     led into wonder by golden butterflies 

* I spent the day with my daughter Karly, and the poem is my reflection of our time together. Always grateful for time with my girl. We spotted a kaleidoscope of Tawny Emperor butterflies just off the back porch. 

    

Following

Eastern Black Swallowtail, June 2023

 

Listen to your thirst

follow a sun-ripened scent 

wherever it leads

Every detail

Maypop Passion Flower, June 2023

 

Every detail of 

your divine intricacy

summons bright wonder 

Breaking open

Trumpet Vine, June 2023

 

The day my heart breaks

may it break open by love,

let it be today

The day my mind breaks

may it break open for love,

let it be today

The day my will breaks

may it break open in love,

let it be today

The day my strength breaks

may it break open to love,

let it be today

Opening

Pink Purslane, June 2023

 

I stop to admire

a posy on the back porch

opening to the sun

Practice noticing

Ladybug on Bengal Clock Vine, June 2023

 

Step onto the porch

with your coffee cup in hand

- practice noticing

Summer's kitchen

Basil from the garden, June 2023

 

Gather fresh basil

let the spicy aroma 

fill summer's kitchen

Unafraid

Carpenter Bee on Thistle, June 2023

Industrious bee

you teach me to seek and find

flying, unafraid

Your Italy

Maurice Prendergast's Monte Pincio, Rome

                    I want to see your Italy 

                    where water washed colors
                    make me feel at home
                    in another country

                    Let me hear the swish of skirts
                    as ladies stroll across
                    cobbled streets on their way

                    to where ladies go on rainy afternoons

                    The carriages roll and people go
                    but the woman in the white dress waits
                    did she know she was the center
                    of your Italy?

                    You render graceful golden trees
                    and I wonder if there's
                    an umbrella for me
                    in your Italy.

*The poem is a reflection on Maurice Prendergast's Monte Pincio, Rome, ca. 1898–99. It was part of the "Prendergast in Italy" exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston in 2010. I was especially drawn to the woman in white at the railing who seems to be looking directly at the artist - and the viewer. She appears to be the still point amidst all of the activity around her. 

It's true

Gulf Coast Toad, June 2023

 

Sing after the storm

the back porch is yours tonight 

we both know it's true

Grateful

Enchanted Evening, June 2023

 

Grateful for the day

the soft pastels of evening

fill my quiet heart

Blessing

Dawn Dances by Ann McCarty

 

May you be swept up

in the festive music of

your authentic life

Welcome

Snail on the back porch, June 2023

Welcome summer rain

may my spirit find lasting

refreshment in you

Summer Joy

Summer joy resounds

in every summer shower

and each full moon bloom

* One of my favorite things is to walk outside in the morning and see that something has bloomed for the first time this season. Pictured above is my first white angel trumpet. It bloomed during the full moon and fills the corner of the backyard with a wonderful fragrance. 

 

Daylight

Backyard Views, June 2023

 

The flowers whisper,

"If you are lonely, come near -

and stay awhile"

Delight

 

Dragonfly on Society Garlic, June 2023

Early in the day

the sound of your wings tells me

delight has come near

The house where you live

House with Pink Sky, June 2023
by Riley Anderson

 

The house where you live

is a home for your wondrous

and flourishing soul

*The artwork is a painting by my son, Riley. We recently visited the Impressionist exhibit at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. 

The smallest things

Unidentified Wildflower, June 2023
 

 

It's the smallest things

that cause us to bend low and

take a closer look