In The Soft of The Night

No harsh darkness or shadows deep
Not quite awake and not quite asleep

Nights guiding lights unpolished by dark
Appear like warm embers awaiting a spark

A blanket of silence unfolds over all
Day Sounds are muffled and night sounds are dull

The breeze stops to rest on the tips of the leaves
Weighing each down in stillness to sleep

Time suspended in peace joining darkness and light
All life seems to whisper in the soft of the night

The Scream

               When my daughter was about six we vacationed in a cabin in the woods of Northern Wisconsin.  I was a single parent at the time so I invited some friends to join me with their two little girls.  We spent the days hiking, fishing and canoeing and the nights in front of the fireplace.

                One day the girls were playing outside at the edge of the woods while we prepared lunch.  My friend’s girls flew through the door the minute we called but just as I turned to look for my daughter there was an ear piercing scream from outside.  All three parents were out the door in seconds.  My daughter was standing near the cabin crying and looking over her shoulder towards the woods.  I hugged her and asked what happened.  She said that there was a big black and white animal in the woods and it growled at her.  We described every animal we could think of that might have been in the area from raccoons to bears to beavers.  She knew what they all looked like and insisted that it wasn’t any of them.  After lunch I talked to my friends and everyone agreed that it must have been a large raccoon.  That night we tried to ease her fears by joking that the she probably scared the raccoon do death with that blood curdling scream.  She laughed with us but as I was putting her to bed she looked at me with desperation and told me firmly that it was not a raccoon.  I couldn’t help but believe her but I didn’t have a clue what she had seen.

When we stopped in a rest area on the way home there was a large map of Wisconsin on the wall with pictures of common trees, flowers and wildlife.  My daughter excitedly told me to look at one of the pictures.  At first I didn’t recognize what it was because I had never seen one in real life.  The picture was of a badger and she confirmed that it was the animal that had growled at her.  We were both relieved and wished our friends could be there to see it.  I was proud of her for standing her ground even when no one seemed to believe her and I never forgot that look in her eyes asking me to stand with her.

Circling Winds

The Days begin entombed in ice

Their captive beauty to behold

Frosted works of snow and Ice

Put on display by fearless cold                  

The numbing silence of the days

and howling winds of night

conspire together to delay

The time when sun and earth unite

When the sun scouts out the scene

uneasy air reports the danger

Sending warmth to stake its claim

The charcoal skies explode with anger

Waters rise to join the fight

Breaking through strongholds of ice

Led by sun's unwavering light

Overcoming fields of white

Escaping cold's relentless grasp

               With warmth its new companion

The earth claims victory at last

And re-creates with sweet abandon

Filling sky and earth alike

With colors now on full display

Hiding battle scars from sight

And cheering on the lengthening days

Shining waves of heat appear

A signal from the earth and sun

               Restoration's end is near

               A time of peace and rest has come

               Anticipating shifting winds

               The earth collects its bounty

               Storing treasures deep within

               While distant threats are mounting

               

With A show of colors flaming

Warning all to be aware

Restlessly with time remaining

Giving all it stands prepared

With a warning blast of frost

Cold pushes through to claim its fate

The battle short but all’s not lost

As earth and sun retreat to wait

There is no question of defeat

The circle slowly closing

Lingering memories of the heat

Keep hope alive and growing

Them

They started so small we could hardly see

What they became happened gradually

But in time they overwhelmed

Blending together so we couldn’t tell

Hanging around our activities

They took what they needed to grow and we

took them for granted as we lived our lives

Enjoying their presence as the days went by

When suddenly they began to change

Each one was different but somehow the same

Then overnight the darkness came

The wind grew cold and then the rain

At first they danced as if with glee

To celebrate a victory

Then filling the air with a swirling sea

Of color and sound they fell at our feet – leaves.