December 7, 2011 “freedom”
“freedom”
~~~~~~~
the river is up
not angry yet
but swelling as it flows
beneath a pouring rain
through a moonless night
groping along its banks
feeling with watery fingers
for a weakness
a way out
scratching
clawing at the edges of roads
and fields
at the foundations of houses
and barns
searching for an escape
on the verge of havoc
of destruction
rising to flood
and a chance at freedom
tlh 12/7/11
November 20, 2011 “frost”
“frost”
_
rooftop and fence
fodder shocks and haystacks
well house and chicken coop
-
a weathered barn,
the front half of a broke down red tractor
lolling crookedly from its shadowy maw
-
a rusted out old truck
held fast in its place by
tangled generations of
dormant honeysuckle vines
and a concertina of blackberry thorns
-
wintering grass like a carpet
gently rolling down to a Sycamore tree
its whitewashed medusan limbs
stark against an orange-tinted azure sky
-
all lay frozen
beneath a thick blanket
of sparkling crystalline frost
a landscape in etched glass
-
cold morning breaks silent and still
save for the slow swirl of the grayish river
slipping stiffly between its frosted banks
releasing whispering white ghosts of fog
to lightly dance into the frigid air
-
tlh 11/19/11
June 19, 2011 “Virginia dreams…”
“Virginia dreams…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I walked into the midst of a river
to feel the cleansing water flow
to lay upon it my pain
to let it take my fear
a smothering blanket of sorrow
~
to cast upon its waters
what haunts my darkening soul
hidden prides and disappointments
unforgiven sins
that have taken a telling toll
~
to somehow loose the stains
that have tarnished me too long
the stigmata and bruises
and like stones let them sink
to the bottom where they belong
~
I lingered in the sparkling waters
in the wash of a relentless stream
I felt the water coursing
as I looked below the swirling surface
I knew it was only a dream
~
for the longer I stood in the current
the more I saw what I did not wish to see
I felt only a bone-chilling cold
for the man I saw in reflections
was the same man who walked in with me
~
when you find yourself standing by the water
if you think of me then you will know
in a sparkle, a splash, or a swirl
I gave myself freely to the river
and forever ride on the ebb and the flow
©tlh 6/19/11
Listen to this here:
September 3, 2010 “the photo made me do it”
through verdant valley
river silently flowing
loving thoughts of her
yellow golden red
autumn’s leaves gently floating
possibilities
were I was a leaf
afloat upon silent flow
to my Love to Joy
©tlh 9/3/2010
(Photo by tlh)
August 28, 2010 “snow kisses”
“snow kisses”
snow falls from the grey
blankets the misty mountain
in its frosty cloak
ice-cold hands reaching
across grey water spanning
to escape winter’s chilling
snowflake and river
meld silently when they meet
like lovers’ first kiss
breath hangs as a cloud
between two smiling faces
snowflake and river
©tlh 8/28/2010
Listen to this here:
(Photo by Tracy H)
June 17, 2010 “River Reflection”
June 17, 2010 “River Reflection”
I stood by the river today and watched the water rushing by; it was brown and murky and full of debris. Rains to the north had nearly flooded the banks of the normally, slow, deliberate, easy-flowing river, and turned it into the beginnings of a torrent, a roiling dangerous thing that one must be wary of.
The river valley runs for miles and miles as it winds it’s way through the mountains of my home, and it carries the waters of a thousand lesser bodies and streams along on this part of the journey into unknown places, and on to their final home, the sea.
The river runs almost dry from time to time, to the point that it seems as if it will die and be no more, and leave nothing but a jagged, rocky scar through the mountains…but it trickles on, eking it’s way along, waiting for the rains; the rains that can come from any direction, at any time, but always from above and pure. Whether the rain falls in a misty drip, drip, drip, or a devastating deluge, it comes from the heavens, and the thirsty, empty river is waiting for it, longing for it.
Sometimes, in the spring, the rain falls easy and steady for days, and the river becomes a beautiful, peaceful scene as the trees and grasses along the bottoms begin to bud and blossom. As the season wears on, the rising and lowering of the water creates tepid pools and deposits of debris all along the banks. The riverside becomes less pleasant, and more ugly. Then on one of those blistering hot, stifling, humid, summer afternoons a storm comes. The rain pours down from the sky. The same, pure, heavenly water, that before came slow and easy and made the river so beautiful, now crashes down in a tumultuous downpour! And the violent river rises and races, swirling and rolling, and soon rids the bank of the debris and filth that had collected there, and washes it all away. The storm ends, the rains subside, and the river settles back into it’s normal channel and flows happily along to the sea.
My life is like these mountains, and my soul, like the river. The mountains will continue; with a beautiful river of flowing water winding through them, or with a jagged scar cutting across them…they will endure. Life will go on.
My soul, like the river, needs the pure water of love to flow through it in order to sparkle and fulfill it’s destiny. But, there are times when the love comes so rarely that my soul becomes dry and seems to have disappeared all together, and then there times when love comes and goes so often that my soul becomes filled with all sorts of emotional debris and filth; not a pretty place at all. Then, suddenly, from the heavens above, the clouds open, and the pure water of love pours down in a deluge of driving white rain, and crashes and careers over my dying soul, and washes away all the leftovers and ugly baggage…all the debris and filth is replaced with clear, clean, pure…LOVE.
Anyone care to take a swim?
Just Say’n
What folks think…