Breath of Life

and I stood there
with my head
resting
upon my heart,
as you thundered
through my every pore;
you whipped me,
caressed me,
carved me,
hollowed me out,
and ground me
to insignificant dust,
to carry me upon
your mighty shoulders,
and hold me close,
so I could feel
and merge with
the breath and flow
of all of life.

Steps and Wings

when all you see
around you
are stone walls
and defined steps
that promise
to lead you
into the darkness
that thins your breath,
may you know
that darkness is where
light is born,
where stone steps
become roses
with the kiss
of your
love-filled breath,
for you are
a butterfly
with gossamer wings
who stops not
for well-worn trails,
but rides the fragrance
of the haloed wind.

Endless Love

all she wanted was a place
to unwrap her long-folded heart
now bursting at its seams,
a place where her smiles lengthened
like warm shadows
growing and glowing
over a seamless, full-bloomed day;

all she wanted was a place
where she could walk or dance
unburdened, unleashed;
a place where her soles could kiss the soul
of a giving, affirming earth,
where her breath moved freely
through countless hidden pores,
for she was born out of endless breath;

all she wanted was a place
to die and give birth to herself
over and over again;
not for once stopping to hold
and change her course
seeded by a fickle will,
but to fill every nook and crevice
of wounded hearts with little room
for themselves and others;

all she wanted was a place
where she could stretch and spread
her unused wings into the vastness
of a wind-swept sky; for
you cannot bring the ocean to a river,
but you can call upon the unhewn wind
to fill an empty bottle or hollow reed
with formless, endless love.

Prayer Flags

the cold wind
stings and bites
into half-dead skin
ready now
to be shed
and blessed;
scars and wounds,
some healed, or
not healed -
chants of private grief,
framed in eternity.

memories and dreams
tied to
unwavering trees,
stories of pain
and longing
left untold still,
like silent prayer flags
dancing and riding
on the breath
of a fanning,
folding wind.

Morning Song

sometimes
when I wake up
in the morning
and think of you,
your side of the bed
still feels warm;
sometimes
I run my fingers
over the old crinkles
on the sheet, and
I feel your breath
blow over
each trench,
like the wind
that cuts through
each accordion pleat,
filling up
the emptiness
with morning song.

If you listen

If you listen
carefully
you can hear
the wind
whisper
to sleepy reeds
along a river front;
you can hear
it tease
wild-horse waves
or brush off
a fallen eyelash
upon your cheek;

If you listen
carefully
you can hear
the wind
resound
in the hollow
of your
weathered form -
a piece of driftwood
upon windblown shores,
where silence rests
in the dying throes
of emptiness
lost and found.

To be like the Wind

To be like the wind
is to touch everything
even without touching,
to carry a fragrance
without becoming the fragrance,
to hold something
even without holding on to it,
to make things come alive,
only to chip away at them
over space and time.

To be like the wind
is to be
everything and nothing
in one breath of life;
to move,
and to rest,
into life
and love,
knowing this -
just being here,
in this one moment,
is enough.

Owning My Power

My breath holds
the primordial fire
of a million stars,
the waters and winds
that flow from every nook -
both near and far,
the restless earth
that sustains
all of creation,
sprinkled with
magical stardust
for every occasion;
when I breathe in,
I am nourished
by the infinite cosmos;
when I breathe out
I sustain the power
of endless love;
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Flow in.
Flow out.
To wherever life takes me
on the wings of love.

The Wind Beneath My Wings

you bring the sweet fragrance
from silent flowers,
you bring the magical love
from distant stars,
you bring the songs
from happy dancing trees,
you bring the tears
from a lonely cloud at sea,
you bring the stillness
from sacred mountains of yore,
you flow in slowly
through my every pore,
you move mountains,
you whip up rivers,
you churn the oceans,
you hold up a quiver;
why then do I fear to let go?
with you beneath my wings,
I can only soar...

I am Unstoppable

You can cast your net
with flowery words,
you can drive me with rules
like a caged bird;
you can taunt me
with your cynical chatter,
you can build walls around me
with brick and mortar;
you can pierce me
with your cutting eyes,
you can hold me
with your unspoken lies;
you can consume every drop
that I have to give,
you can take away everything
that I hold to live;
you can rave and rant
and whisper stories,
of my craziness
and incessant worries;
you can call me names,
ignore or dismiss me,
you can step on me,
or like a doormat, use me;
but what you don't know
is what I am and can be;
you cannot hold me,
you cannot touch me;
for I have the wind
and water inside me;
I am unstoppable;
you cannot cork me;
for I am a free spirit rising,
and I am ruled by ME.

Balloon

Come fill me,
until I have
no space within
to feel empty;
come lift me,
carry me yonder
into another
tequila sunrise,
so I can feel
the sun kissing
my gossamer skin;
I drift along
as the wind blows,
flowing, reaching out to
the Light within.

Let go

Let go, let go,
I don't need to know,
I just need to be,
I just need to flow,
There is nothing to know,
But to know how to let go.

Let go like the rain cloud,
That sheds every drop,
To pour its whole self out,
Onto the mountain  top.

Let go like the fall tree,
That drops leaf after leaf
To stand stripped of itself,
Now alive in a heap.

Let go like the wind,
That makes the whole world it's home,
To own nothing and all,
Even as it dances to its  doom.

Let go, let go,
I don't need to know,
I just need to be,
I just need to flow,
There is nothing to know,
But to know how to let go.