Moon Dance Over Water
My spirit
always warmed by your presence silently awaits
your return the sole reason for tonight’s sojourn
appreciative of your vision, your illumination of life’s sleepy shoreline
unique I am not, for you’ve courted reverence since the dawn of mankind
yet no union of words has ever captured you truly
Pupils wide, I see you rise with grace as dark envelopes daylight
I am entranced by your beauty as you reveal yourself fully
lost within the moment, transfixed in quiet enchantment
your spell no stranger to my wandering pulse
as you approach with anticipation overflowing
your image, I beg, to be forever seared into my consciousness
Your invitation to dance draws near, I wait, pause breath
hoping night will smile upon our rendezvous with clear palette
before you beckon, I submit, responding without hesitation
we move in unison, silently beholding the beauty of our stage
onlooking pines nodding to their shadows, almost unnoticed, in time
as the wind approves of our embrace with its gentle offering
I am hypnotized, as my paddle finds life in your light
we beseech the sands of time to hesitate, for dawn to not awaken just this once
our unanswered plea falls silent, the hourglass relentlessly unremitting
as last embers lie sleeping, you slip into the night, our dance departed
with the gentle lap of water barely audible I bathe in the beauty of epiphany
whispering goodnight to the approaching dawn, I close my eyes and see clearly
Your presence always enlightening
I See You
I see you
Not everyone does
I’ve seen you before
Today you look at peace, solemn, contemplative
How long have you been standing there I wonder
Like a sentinel observing all manner of creature who pass
Witnessing the dawning of each new day over the forgotten hills on the distant shoreline
Watching tendrils of moonlight reaching across the lake in search of a friend
Appreciating the quiet beauty of both day and night sky as do I
Immortalized, yet invisible, in the backdrop of Grand Lake’s most famous resident
I see you hold firmly to your vantage point of outcropped granite
The floor bedded with your well-worn coat no longer covers your grip
Your roots, like the clawed toes of your neighbour the Great Blue Heron, usually hidden
Found beneath the surface, beyond most creatures’ gaze
Quietly carrying out their purpose unnoticed
I see that your footing is strong
Strengthened with the test of time
Strengthened by your will to survive
Withstanding all forces that may conspire against you
Offering both a glimpse of the past and hope for the future
I see that you are surrounded by your kin
Each individual with its own voice
Its own story to tell
United yet unique
A family indeed
Do you converse with one another
Do you speak of the days when few passed your way and denounce our presence
Is it naïve, nay egocentric, to believe that we even enter into your dialogue
Would you speak to us if you could
Would we listen
I see you
I wonder how you see me
Reflections
In a mirror
in my mind’s eye
I reflect
on tempered light
still searching
for real reflection
to see
true love's insight
She stares
at me with wonder
whispers the past
has come and gone
you can’t pull a reflection
from a mirror
any more than a raindrop
from a pond
I smile
say she’s mistaken
that the reflection
is in my head
I wasn’t looking
for her vision
I am sorry
if I misled
For
it’s in my mind
that real love lingers
always there to find
we stare
reflect together
pressed lips
with pupils wide
Behind the Curtain
The prying eye of the beholder stares in judgment
Hovering like a duplicitous drone plucked from orbit
Every movement captured, no deed unnoticed
I stare back, wondering who will blink first
Tired of my reflection, I focus on the world unseen
Thoughts, emotions, curiosities all spliced in an endless loop
Projected on a wall of solitude in the theatre only I attend
No peeking behind the curtain when it is drawn
Distilled glimpses flash for all eyes on occasion
Scenes censored for critique by the screening masses
Scripts written only after credits roll in silence
Play the villain or the hero, the choice always yours
The prying eye of the beholder stares in judgment
I stare back and see that we blink in unison
Our meticulous movements synchronized
No vision but my own in sight
Finding Peace
The river, always cold when my paddle awakens from hibernation, greets me with an unrecognized chill, a warning, a foreboding I’ve not felt in these icy waters. Excitation is mired with expectation of dark discovery.
For weeks my blades tirelessly peer through the unforgiving currents without sight. Their thirst for revelation, like mine, never satiated. No relief for the senses or the soul. No colour. No peace. I curse my character in this film noir and long for the curtain to close.
I try to sink these thoughts to the darkest depths of the channels through which I find passage. Try to rid myself of this unwelcome harbinger, but cannot. It persists, pushing me forward, imploring me to persevere. I protest in vain. I commit.
Exploration becomes indistinguishable from my search for you, yet I do not know if you even exist. I wonder if I have created you, created my own self-fulfilling descent, cauterized my sensibilities with embers kindled from within. Mistaken present for passed.
Then, absent reason, darkness recedes one day. Its noose allowing breath. Inhale, exhale, inhale. I wonder if my mind is a prankster, if it remains sound, or if a malady yet hides unhealed by the river’s caress. Serenity tiptoes from behind burden. Exhale.
I converse with a beaver’s sculpted offering navigating beyond my bow. It is perfect. I accept it. My paddle objects to its company though as I wind through forest cloaked in water. No solution, no traction, to be found. A decision must be made, live with or let go.
I see the discarded confused with the forgotten and the lost, all drifting, collecting, disappearing. A log, a paint can, a tire, a ball. Some waiting, still hoping to be found. Others resigned to their fate. I stop. I rest. I think. I see.
Yellow, I see. Too distant to know, to be sure. My heart responds. It knows. My thoughts slow. My paddle replies with sombre focus and revelation emerges. Silence speaks as sadness and relief collide. The import of this journey has come to light. Darkness fades to black.
I have found you. You are real. Inhale. Exhale. Water flows with the knowledge that my dispatch extinguishes life-preserving hope, that peace lies only in the closure now shared. I assuage the current. I rest. I think. I see.
A Paddler’s Prayer
Dip me in water when my madness runs deep
When it drips from my brain, out my mouth as I weep
Don’t bother to ask for I won’t comprehend
When wet withdrawal controls, all thought starts to bend
Sink me deep where I’ll breathe, the truth not the noise
Where the fluid filled silence will filter mind’s lies
Yes, I beg for immersion, no matter the time
For the water, it soothes me, like a womb of sublime
Don’t hesitate if you love me, just throw me right in
For asking won’t work, my madness will grin
On the bottom, I’ll open my eyes and I’ll see
The ache, like an anchor, I’ll let go, paddle free
Dip me in water when my madness runs deep
When it drips from my brain, out my mouth as I weep
From the darkness I’ll float, to life’s light I will rise
On my altar of water, by submersion baptized
Your Presence
Standing on this hallowed ground one wonders if it was your presence that made it so
Your existence pronounced by those first wielding pick and shovel as befitting, necessary
You offered protection, quiet comfort, to those mourning on this secluded hillside
One imagines you a confident, a repository of sorrow and words stolen by untimely loss
A reluctant collector of tears
Those days are now gone, your collection returned to the cycle of life
A decade, tenfold, has passed since you first welcomed your last departed
Still, here you stand, a testament to the foresight of those who laboured in your shadow
A living monument, a stoic stele, for the artist laid to rest, unmarked, in your presence
A beacon for the living who wander to Canoe Lake’s now forever present past
The comfort of your presence is still received by those who find their way
Those whose footsteps congregate on the peaceful pathway that guided me today
Seen as a passage to the unknown, to uncertainty, for a hundred years
Now more than a curiosity, a pilgrimage it appears, for those appreciating your company
Appreciating the reclamation of your significance, and this place in history
It appears your visitors are few, but one wonders if the death knell for solitude has sounded
Now that mystery has departed and his final resting place remains to be seen
Now that eyes of the four-legged, not silent speculation, peer from the surrounding foliage
Now that doubt has been exhumed and wonder reborn in these woods
Now that we know what you have witnessed
I have come to pay respect to you and the departed with whom you have become one
To listen, to reflect, to appreciate the living as well as those passed
To impart your narrative, your vision, your influence, on those who join me
To linger, securing your image in my mind so that I may wander to your side at will
To behold your timeless beauty and thank you for your presence
Your Loss
I am sorry for your loss
It was profound
Its implications never imagined by your creator
Your life, your task, simple in nature
Essential, like breath, on the waters you travelled
You shook the hand of greatness
You were a trusted companion
Reliable, true to your calling
A friend of sorts, a witness
Conjecture yet drifts across Canoe Lake and beyond
Like late summer mist clouding the view before us
Your whereabouts still secret, part of the century-old mystery
Alas, did you come to pass the same day as your friend
Am I speaking to a ghost, a spirit other worldly
Speculation abounds
Did you depart without words in an unmarked grave
Now all but fully returned from whence you were born
Now friends with the creatures below the landscape so beloved
Did you swirl above the lake and the forest beyond
Ignited in haste to dampen the chill of deception
Your flames casting shadows understood only by unknown eyes
Is whisper of your demise premature
Your life not yet extinguished
Your story yet growing, one day to be told
Are you hidden like the darkest of secrets
Are you cherished, your provenance quietly known
The mystery lives on
Much has been said of you, your loss
Yet the truth may forever evade us
Lost like the souls of those who know
I hope you have survived, still strong like the west wind
Tasting familiar waters as you shake the hand of an unknowing friend
Living out your days in the beauty of nature’s canvas
I am sorry for your loss
Whisper Over the Water
Am I magnificent still, you ask, yes, I say
But now magnificently still, silent
No longer telling stories to the wind
No longer whispering to the birds
No longer tied to the forest floor
But magnificent still
For a century you pulled the sky toward you
Breathed, allowed breath
Waived to the stars with outstretched arms
Watched, were watched
Cast a shadow that soothed
Stood tall
Your purpose now altered; you lie prostrate
No longer friends with the wind, you say
No longer home to those with the power of flight
A home still, yes, to a different brood, I say
Those familiar with the forest floor and the river beside
Those whose appreciation is differently rooted
Am I magnificent still you ask, yes, I say
Immortal, no, although it once appeared so
Yet you shall leave a trace when I leave none
You shall be appreciated after my words have faded
Magnificent still
Yes, I say
As I pass, with paddle deep in your reflection
Your wisdom, your secrets, remain
I wish I understood you more, I say
Let’s speak again another day
When still water, and wet paddle
Bring your whisper my way
Twelve in the Blink of My Eye
In the blink of my eye you’re twelve years old
A dozen years of memories realised too fast
If I could slow down seconds, freeze time, I would
For I long for time with Brooke, my baby girl, to last
You have a smile that lights up any room you’re in
And I’m happy to be in any room where you are
Your laugh brings me to the height of joy
And I wish you happiness on every shooting star
You have eyes that held my heart, from day one
From the moment you first gripped my hand
I can still feel your little fingers holding mine as we rocked
We gave no thought to time shifting sand
But the hourglass has moved twelve years’ worth of sand
As I’ve watched you grow into a beautiful you
Beautiful in spirit, in compassion and kindness, plus smart
And to this, to yourself, I hope, you will always be true
So as you turn twelve, know that I’ll always love you
No matter what’s happening, or wherever you are
There’s nothing that could ever take that away
Neither time nor distance, nor hearts near or far
I love you baby girl, yes I still get to call you that
It’s never been truer than it is today
Happy birthday, I’m proud of you, I’m always here for you
Whether you’re twelve or we’re decades away
My Friend Rain
I caught the rain
as it was falling
I felt it run
right through my fingers
Each drop
then collected itself
Into a puddle
where it now lingers
It wants to play
with me I know
Jump skyward
then fall back down
Form a moat
around my boot castles
As we laugh
and find wet ground
So with my umbrella
opened or closed
I’ll find the happy
in every rain drop
Feel the joy
that this friend brings
When we reach for the sky
both jump and go plop
Our Canvas
The air is crisp and fresh with the scent of towering pines that guide us forward
Rays of early morning sunlight dance through the branches, illuminating the surface and parting the mist ahead
We are beckoned, welcomed
Our glide pierces the velvet canvas of water with each quiet stroke
Morning dew coalescing with the lake beneath our feet as we gain momentum
ssssssssssss-splish
ssssssssssss-splish
ssssssssssss-splish
We are not alone
The soulful serenade of a loon reaches across the water
Now hills once gazed upon by that most famous of all Jack Pines and its artist’s contemplative stare sing softly, sharing the message with all who are listening
We are listening
We glide in reverence, imagining, wishing we could communicate in kind
ssssssssssss-splish
ssssssssssss-splish
ssssssssssss-splish
Like with the stroke of a brush our paddles paint ripples on our living vignette
This partnership is profound, it is timeless, unique
We share its ethereal beauty with only one another
There is no applause, it is the quiet contentment of our collaboration that we seek
No utterance is worthy, only silence is befitting
ssssssssssss-splish
ssssssssssss-splish
ssssssssssss-splish
Day breathes deeply, fully awakened
Our palette remains replete with possibility
We glide in unison
Our composition continues to emerge
Stroke, stroke, stroke
ssssssssssss-splish
ssssssssssss-splish
ssssssssssss-splish
Our paddles enter the water
They speak to one another softly
Their whispers swirling through the canvas
Their exhalation propelling us deeper into our liquid landscape
We wish we could communicate in kind
ssssssssssss-splish
ssssssssssss-splish
ssssssssssss-splish
We are not alone
Tiny droplets embrace our brushes with each stroke
Each seeking a view of itself in the creation below, then returning to the surface in communication of their revelation, splish, splish, splish
Like tears shed in joy and wonder
Becoming one, becoming whole, as we pass
Not a Word
Not a word
was spoken
there were
no words to say
Your eyes
they said it all
yet I could not
look away
Transfixed
the right word maybe
or frozen
it could be
Yet not a word
was spoken
your eyes said all
as I could see
Firefly
I danced
with a firefly at dusk
its torch lit
for quiet minds
to see
then it landed
with a flicker
finding focus
not focused
on me
there in silence
its mission light lingered
like a beacon
asking eyes
to agree
waiting
while wandering with purpose
for new fire
from fate’s flames
to be
she watched him
with hesitating wonder
as she slowly beckoned
absent light’s
plea
feeling destiny’s glow
in the dark
saying stay
shine your light
on me
Quiver
In the middle of the night
when I find sleep with you in view
I pinch myself for fear I’m dreaming
that I’m one without our two
For without you I’d only dreamed
that a dream like ours existed
only out there waiting for me
in a theatre with love scripted
Or it seemed I was the moon
you were day’s light on dawn’s approach
we’d share a moment on opposite horizons
our distant love with brief encroach
Yet you remained when I was blinded
though I feared I’d lose you with one blink
you stayed as my eyes opened
so I steeled my courage for a wink
Now I know I’m not dreaming
I know the love we share is real
I know just how our love tastes
I know just how our love feels
Tonight as you lay beside me
I’ll move closer and stay true
for our truth beats in my heart
the truth felt with only you
So if you feel me shiver
wrap me in a red blanket of your love
let our hearts join in our quiver
with Cupid’s arrows from above
Linger
The dew from your lips lingers
as it flows slowly, softly, hesitatingly
from my mind’s eye like combustible tears
longing to ignite our smoldering embers of desire
I bathe in the hidden depths of your liquescent lust
and find myself lost in its quivering caress
drowning in its feverish embrace
still begging to be engulfed in your flames
that lick at the very core of my being
The dew from your lips lingers
Waking Words
Sometimes love is silent
unspoken
in little moments
there are words left unsaid
like when sunlight
smiles in your hair
as morning’s glow
finds you on our bed
When these words
awaken in my mind
I’ll give them voice
as we linger there
let you know
how I truly feel
with words that whisper
not simply stare
Right beside you
my best side forever
I’ll no longer think
if only I’d said
all the silent
I love you kisses
will now find you
on the outside instead
So forgive me
if I break morning silence
to share such thoughts
with you
if I wet your lips
with my I love you
for every morning
waking words know I do
Your Eyes and the Flower Blood Moon
If your eyes
offer sight to your soul
let me gaze beyond vision
and behold
Into their depths
Let me wade let me sink
till I see your truth
as it’s truly told
If your mind
lights the path to your heart
let your eyes’ glimmer
help guide me that way
To view love’s senses
that see in the dark
with pupils wide
catching light gone astray
Into your eyes
and mind let me stroll
on painted pathway
with wild roses in bloom
Shared sight
seeing crimson in love
with strokes of white
for our flower blood moon
Midnight Sun
I’m howling for you
in the midnight sun
once blinded
now together I see
for in darkness
I found your light
in its gaze now
so thankful to be
I’m howling for you
in the midnight sun
reaching for you
as we shine within
breathing hope
on the breath of our kiss
while we rise
with echo sinking in
I’m howling for you
in the midnight sun
as we reflect
on the beyond above
eyes wide open
as we peer together
our sight focused
we hold on to love
I’m howling for you
in the midnight sun
smiling as you smile
my way
through the night
we will run
we’ll burn hot like the sun
then we’ll shine on dawning day