The Old

Unabashed they wear their years.
Side by side they walk.
The old companion does not stray.
Gentle steps, no hurry here.
No disruptions and no desire to seek an end.

Only one of them may walk again tomorrow.
The sidewalk will search for the missing footsteps.
The trees along the road will scour for the missing scent.
The passersby will notice only one
but I...I will remember.

Although my bones have not yet withered
and my body does not curve,
I wonder if the morning sunshine will
welcome me in the same way
one day.

The Quiet Noise

Quietly the noise arrives.
Surrounding me.
Above, behind and below.

Slowly it moves without warning and gently
Wraps its arms around me.
Although unseen and unknown, I recognize its face.

My heart welcomes the visitor.
And without hesitation my spirit drinks.
Replenishing my soul
and forever leaving its imprint, it flies away.

The Dragon

If you are a dragon
the mountains your jagged back
the trees and grass your hair
the soil your skin
then seated on your shoulders I ride
as fire spews from your core
and tears fall from the sky.

ALIVE

Outside, the slow moving waters of the creek sing to me as I awake. The snow covered trees wave their bare branches and the smell of burning firewood fills the air as the sun begins to rise over the snow covered peaks. The morning sky, fresh and crisp, whispers a cool hello. A small deer moves about outside my window and with a twinkle in its eye reminds me where I am. I am alive and all around me lives.