Cereus Joys of Caretaking
From the prickly situation
delicate bursts of gentle
beauty like love’s sweet
whisper emerges
in night’s darkness
From the bristly service
everyday full of tasks
fraught with jabbing
thorns of duty and grief
born of love’s responsibility
In the still hours gloom
past twilight’s settling
tired hands tremble
as the heart of the matter
calls forth beauty
Love blooms once more
aching comfort in
a hushed moments rest
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The delicate cereus cactus blooms burst forth in the night. Being the caretaker for a declining family member has it’s moments. —Dena
Sequoia Dreamtime
Ancient massive trunks
towering up to the sky
In your own dreamtime
of centuries passing
While temporal flashes
of color and movement
from noisy two-leggeds
and skittering chipmunks
circulate around your roots
And ravens wing through the air overhead
I smell the subtle incense of your bark
as it glows reddish gold
in the afternoon sunlight
And gaze up at all the unspoken mysteries
I will never know
May your roots be
ever wild and free, grandfathers,
as you reach for the stars of the cosmos…
–Marshal McKitrick
Image – Dena McKitrick
Congregation of Finches
Congregation of golden finches
perched in treetops
Singing full throated praises
to all that is Life
Individually, yet together
no special ritual needed
– Marshal Mckitrick
Garden Lady
Early Spring morning
Sunlight and fresh air
wafting through open window
Someone walking
through the leaves
of last Fall
There stands Garden Lady
with two fists full
of bundled brown
Empowered joy
shining on her face
Barefoot on the Earth
and grounded
Hail, Spring!
–Marshal McKitrick
No Questions
Two black butterflies
flitting about the treetops
Early Spring blue sky
Standing in the sun
Grateful to be alive
No questions needed
In the moment
Nothing else is important
Just breathing and experiencing
Thank you, Creator…
Marshal McKitrick
Loquacious Child
Even in the most complicated
situations
where multiple considerations
intertwine into complexities
yet undetermined
whether beauteous or mundane
every present still
the loquacious child
babbling on incessantly
making sense of all
non-sensicalities
speaking only as a means of safe
protection from the dangerous
silence puffered up
lurkers tip-toe like prancing
rhinos or clogging clowns
who cares the well place metaphor
when gusts the saddened face
when bottoms fall out like anchors
from in that unsafe place
tell me, did I land on sacred ground?
And so, and so my cranium grates
in grateful pleasant
saturated with sweetness
and a slight taste of bitter
yet and still but not so much
in all that destiny
Wisdom Waken
A crack in the world
letting the light arrive
awakening mystery
amidst normal day to day
shadow felled in one swoop
one breaking open
on dawning
tell me more with lively
let the wisdom waken
colors dancing on the tip
awareness ogled sweetly
glowering harrumphs
glowingly once more
on the path to never said it
in the age of mellowness
there the hints of other
profiles rise to firmament
through mud’s disguise
Warrior Woman
A beautiful cactus flower
nestled amongst the thorns
Strong and competent
Holding awareness
In the midst of unconsciousness
Always blooming
when needed, at the right moment
A blessing to awaken
those who have fallen asleep
A reminder that beauty and wisdom
Are expressions of Spirit’s strength
Poem by Marshal McKitrick
Image by Dena
Caterpiano
old abandoned and rusty
usefulness no more
still you could tell
dancing fingertips once
wrought harmony’s fusion
heels clicked and squiveled
skirts skirted and whooshed
terrains yet overlooked
blithely measured notes
now ghostly impressions
handsome decrepitude
enshrined in dereliction
Birth Day
there is nothing more spiritual
infused with awe and gratitude
imbued with life’s luscious
essence of sacred breath
than entrance into this world
years ago in almost spring
with the innate aplomb
innocence and elemental grit
creation’s nature
you appeared yowling and kicking
a blessing bound forever in my heart
Today is my eldest daughter’s 37th birthday. Happy birthday!!