My friend turned to me in distress- I don’t know what to do, he said. I used to have a purpose. I was once a “Somebody.” Now I don’t know what to do with a single day!

Don’t you understand, I may need to fill twenty years of days like this!!

long slow breath




this day
is a long slow breath
soft edges and sunlight
it’s your grandson’s smile
and the trust of a good woman.
this day is a hawk drawn sharp
against a mountain sky
it’s the way the clouds break
over the ridge and the feel
in your hand of a well-balanced tool
it’s the cool breeze on your neck
as summer fades into fall
this day is everything you’ve forgotten
and all you never needed to know
it’s the necessary and the sufficient
it’s a soft chair and a sleeping dog
it’s a white tree with yellow leaves
on a hillside of deepest green
this day is the first and last day
of nevermore this day is a day
beyond the need to become
a somebody this day is a day
to be a body walking this earth
in peace this day

is a long slow breath