The Changing Sky

The sky went from blue gray to gray
not a big change really
but a subtle change
that turned the hillside back ten more years

This morning it was white and brown
those clumps of soft furze
against the snow

You could feel the crows hidden
on their branches
beneath the intermittent sun

But now I think of budding childhood
when the idea of sledding
was more fun than the sledding itself

To walk along the treeline
inhaling the fresh cold air
arms open to tomorrow

That magical grayness
alive in the crunch of snow
beneath my feet

Time Traveling in My Room

When I lived in the orange building

I watched the sun rise over the mountains

the mist come up in the valley

like being in a sea of clouds


My little dog woke me each morning

tail wagging pioneer

I always followed exactly where she led


When I look across my room

at the painting of my home

I feel a peaceful comfort

and miss my dog


Once in Arabia I walked

two days without water

sometimes sliding down the sand dune

enveloped in my white cotton robes


A few people would wonder

about this maybe

but still to drink that fine

water from a pale hand

was paradise at the end


I don't have a painting of those two days

except in the cavern

of my mind

with its fat golden candles