The Wolf at Midnight

If there is one thing that I have observed in life it is that not only do the good die young but that the parasites and users live long and seem to prosper ...

Maybe there is a reason for this. No one wants to risk introducing that amount of negativity back into the cosmos until it has been neutralized! The Buddhists had it right, Karma is a hard taskmaster.

As I look around me I see a universe poised on a new age that I would desperately like to be apart of. The fact is that I most probably will not, at least not in my present form. Perhaps it is my demise that will ushers in the new order and in that I will forever revel.

This last week has taught me yet another lesson. And that is the fact that energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can change and be reconfigured, but it exists forever in one form or another. It is the essence of the universe and the reason for forever, it is all things at once yet perfect in itself alone.

Once I watched a butterfly, it struggled in the wind to fly

But when it turned its wings to sails, it flew faster than the mighty gale

The howling of the midnight wolf rings cold and clear in mankind's ear

A sound so lonely and so dear it tells of life and love, and fear

If only just a moment spent in the arms of nature soft and bent

We might remember much as the trees, that we are what we mean to be

We are stardust!

photo by James Provenzano

A Spring of Memories

A crystal clear bay in the new month of May
bounded by waters of dark blue and jade

The smell of the sea carries memories of days
resting in the arms of the earth mothers haze

A softness of soul conjures thoughts from afar
while the sun kissed breezes wash over your scars

Remembering places with sun dappled shade
recount journeys of purpose standing clear and well made

What comes of this place when the world turns to fall
can it stand its firm ground and not change at all

When memories are pure and reside in the heart
then nothing can touch them unless allowed to depart

REFLECTIONS OF A TIME TRAVELER

It was a golden autumn afternoon and looking out at our sunlit garden my mind stepped back to an autumn’s day not so long ago when we walked through the gardens of the Villa Carlotta and drank in the richly scented air of Lake Como. Almost all Halloo’s Eve, I stood transfixed at the window of our hotel room for it seemed as if the spirits of ancient Tuscan warriors lingered in the mists surrounding the deep waters. The bonfires of Bellagio across the bay enveloped the village creating a gauze like haze and in the distance the Italian Alps stood as sentinels to ensure the silence of this magical valley. All seemed incredibly well. Quite a contrast to our first Halloween when upon returning from San Francisco we were confronted with what would become the conclusion of our stormy past lives and the beginning of a new and wonderful era. It was there that our Italian odyssey concluded and awoke us once again to the reality of our lives but we were already silently scheming and plotting our return.

We had weathered ten years together and despite the odds had not only survived but prospered for along with the ease of attachment we seemed to have found in each other the pieces missing in ourselves. Exploring the culture rich countryside of Como we could hardly resist the temptation to linger on indefinitely and become part of its secret solitude. From Tremezzo we took the fairy across the lake to Bellagio, a trip that while only lasting twenty minutes transports you from the Napoleonic 18th century to 17th century Baroque. A set of sterling silver salt & pepper shakers, which resides in our dinning room in Chicago, will forever store the seasonings of the sleepy Lombardy town which in turn has added season to our life together.

Being together in Como added richness to the adventure, a richness that can only come with sharing. One of the greatest things about travel has to be the wonderful oneness that two people can feel when alone together in a foreign country. As we traveled into the Italian Alps time seemed to slip away and the crispness of the alpine air gave lightness to our being, beckoning us to stay.

The Season of Your Mind

There are times when I can feel the colors around me, times when I see the sounds of silence and times when I can smell the scent of summer in the snow.

To feel with emotion and to see with a second sense is like drifting through time unscathed by mortal matter. Rather to live in the solstice of endless spring where thoughts are alive with blooms of eternity.

What is it that drives us? Is it love and hate or could it be the serene surrender to a universal DNA that has held us safe for the millenniums. I would trust in the later.
When life's perils begin to take over and smother the reality that is truly ours, it is time to take heed and listen to the calm.

Now the Winter Solstice has arrived once more bringing a pause to the descent of darkness and renewing memories of times past perfect.

If we are to exist in harmony then we all must sing together because there is only one direction that the Qi flows and that is forward. Just as summer becomes autumn, winter must give way to spring, in the end of the beginning we must always find our wings.

A New Order

And so there came a time of consequence
A time of vice and sad lament
A place in space laid ready for
a global shift no longer to ignore

Perhaps, he said, it's not too late
Perhaps indeed to save this state
A time of plenty but too many laid bare and hopeless
become the rule and not the focus

When mankind and nature are set at odds
No wonder which will win the nod
For all the power that can exist
It is but married in a universal kiss

Awake my children he said out loud
Awake before the thunder cloud

If only just embrace my kiss
We can conjoin in cosmic bliss

Ageless Beauty

I came upon an ancient voice as I sat down today
Surrounded by her family she seemed to be at bay

Even though the sun was warm and a gentle breeze gave way
The mood I felt was ominous, she seemed to want to say

"I hear the sound of distant drums and smell the fields of hay
When I was young and passionate, in love with life all day"

Sitting in her proper chair and entertaining folk
Her mind was not within the place, her thoughts were far afloat

The journey she was headed on had only just begun
Her thoughts were nurtured by the rain that came with years of sun

Remembrances of days gone by and loves did fill her soul
When rainy days gave way to sun, the sunshine on her soul

The Face of Fall

 
 



















It is perhaps in the fall when ancient memories stir most of all. The smell of fires and the dappled shade make way for sacred thoughts and long held longings for a pending frost.

A space of tranquility where past and present dwell and the dream of eternity is cast in a spell.

Much like embers blowing in the wind or falling leaves circling around your feet and limbs. This is a time of magic and more. A time to listen to your thoughts of before.

A time to prepare for the coming snow and a time to lay plans for the long winter show.

How many times have I been to this place, and how many more will there be in this space. But every moment is a joy and a pleasure. Every day a loving treasure. Only time can give us the answer.

Autumn my nemesis and my old friend. It is Autumn that welcomes me home once again.