Zephyr Illusions photo by donna October 1992. The view atop Chasseral, Jura Mountains looking across Switzerland to The Alps on the horizon. Fog, intensely thick, rising from Lac Bienne and stretching its fingers high onto the Lignières-Plateau de Diesse after wholly filling the valley below the plateau.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Words

photo by donna, Amsterdam 2005
Words are your tools
Your weapons of choice
Choose carefully to listen
Hear
Seek
To understand and expect
Unexpected truths
Lie beneath the choice

Words are your power
Your wellspring of strength
Wield wisely the confidence gained
Evaluate
Contemplate
Deliberate
Conscience thought dictates
The answer to the question
To empower or to enslave

Words are your opportunity
Your source of inspiration
Brandish passionately to create
Elate
Reveal
The beauty and innocence
To fully embrace

Words are your wings
Your journey unfolding
Soar
Explore
Realize
The blossoms of dreams
The magic of hope
Forever nourishing your soul

Sunday, June 23, 2013

White Flowers

photo by donna, San Juan del Obispo, Guatemala 1986
I walk alone in the garden as twilight falls,
Shadows filling the thorn covered walls
Watching the sun go down on the day,
I wonder how things could go so astray

Once filled with the beauty of glorious flowers,
Being ever nourished by fresh Spring showers
The garden once so full of color and delight,
Has somehow become faded, no longer bright

What has caused this barren desert to appear,
Why has the sky become so cloudy and unclear
I tremble and quake as darkness closes in,
A cold sweat breaking out on my skin

From deep within me rises a churning fear,
I try to be strong and shed not a tear
It is too late, I have numbed all my senses,
And put into place all my last defenses

Trying to escape the darkness of this night,
All I feel through the numbness is cold fright
I begin to pray that I will find the path,
For I know I cannot endure any more wrath

I frantically begin to search for a way out,
My mind swimming with troubles and doubt
Making my way through the briers and thistle,
I think I hear what sounds like a whistle

I stop and listen looking into the night,
Off in the distance I see something glowing bright
Slowly, carefully I make my way toward the light,
A sparking of fire within me begins to ignite

The warmth of the fire causing my senses to excite,
I give way to my feelings, I worry not of my plight
Down the garden path I continue hoping that I might,
Find that each and every little thing will be alright

At the end of the path much to my delight,
I find the garden gate is covered in white
Sprays and bouquets of every beautiful white flower,
Placed there by an angel as a beacon of hope and power

White flowers of friendship, affection and love,
Light the way home like the stars above
Today the garden shows no trace,
Of what was once a barren place

No longer when I walk in the garden do I feel alone,
For the harmony of our friendship has blossomed and grown
No longer are there briers and thistle to fight for hours,
The garden is an endless sea of beautiful White Flowers


Written sometime in 2002  for Julia, my friend in St. Petersburg, Russia.  Thank you, Julia, for being my friend... most especially, when I really needed one.  :)

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Silent Fires Burn Bright


photo by donna ~ Fuller Lake, Cumberland County, PA 2010
Water of torquiose, blue and black
shimmering like ice slowly melting
in the late Autumn sun

Silent are the time worn secrets
hidden deep below the quarry waters
The smooth lake surface disturbed
only by the faint whisperings
of the undulating mountain air

Standing on the man-made beach
of gritty white sand
I see myself being reflected
in the cold lake waters

The unintentionally
mocking insult
oscillating and 
rippling through me

A dormant fury
beginning to simmer 
deep inside me

Do not hide
behind arrogance and pride
Whilst settling upon answers
to questions of mid-life 

If lacking the sophistication
of the worldly ilk
If speaking the language 
of stammering country folk
Do not be fooled
nor hold out pity 
For silent fires burn bright within me
I am stronger and wiser than you might know

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Harvest Moon

Harvest moon illuminates
Powerful mystique
casting illusion
upon the horizon complete


Visions of strangers
amidst friends unknown

Pass in the night
like stars tossed
upon an ocean of light

 
Haunted by memories
not yet mine

Feeling adrift
caught lost in time

Long is the road
when nowhere bound
What lies over the hill
beyond the bend

remains still
To be found

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Beauty Beguiles

photo by donna ~ Rocky Mountains, Colorado august 2010
Beware Beauty
when she puts on her mask
For Beauty beguiles
and charms the unexpecting
The unsuspecting

Love is a treasure
to be found in your heart
Not to be held in ransom
Unconditional and true
A treasure for you

Open your eyes
to the words that heal
Listen and hear
and you will see
That love is with you
Unconditional and true
A treasure for you

Always remember
never forget
Beauty beguiles
when she puts on her mask

Friday, June 14, 2013

Robes Of A Sage

As minstrels tell
stories in song
fear not for me
For mine is to listen
To hear the words
you would choose to say

Do not be fooled
by the robes of a sage
The light of wisdom gained
can also be blinding
A place for the
wise to unwittingly hide

Personal pain is released
only when shared
with those who
can feel the wounds
that cut so deep

So tell me your stories
of hurt and pain
For mine is to listen
To hear the words
you would choose to say

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Running Free... Like The Wind


photo by donna ~ above Guatemala, Central America 1986
I was with friends and my sisters... we were out walking... enjoying getting across a beautiful country park and gardens... Seeing everything we could see before the end of the day... We decided it would be better if we walked faster as we explored all along the way... We began to trot... then we began to jog... then we began to run... it was fun... 
We were running and seeing a myriad of strange and common things... We were getting closer to being at the other side of the park by the end of day... when darkness would close in... We wouldn't see much of all the whirling world around us...
I discovered that if we shed our clothing and shoes we could run faster ...   We were running barefoot and free of constricting clothing...
As we ran faster and faster, the park filled with natural wonders... We came to a pond covered in water lilies and I was running so fast I was in the middle of the pond... in water up to my neck before I could stop.... I thought of alligators and creatures under the water and turned as fast as I could and tried to swim quietly and very quickly to shore where I had entered the pond... 
Even though it was just as far across to the unknown shore...
All was well and I caught up with my friends and sisters...
One of my sisters said that if she braided my hair, I would be able to run even faster because my hair wouldn't get in my eyes and blind my vision.... I agreed... She and one of the friends braided my hair with beautiful pastel-colored ribbons intertwined...it looked great...
A wind came up as they were doing my hair... They had to fight it a bit but they were able to braid my hair with great success.....We began running again and...
I was in the lead... I was running like I was the wind itself... the ribbons dangled a bit at the ends and fluttered in the breeze as I ran... I liked it... it wasn't distracting at all, but like a challenge to get the colorful ribbons to flutter into my field of vision... The ribbons looked like a rainbow and I was running along it...

I can't remember anything specific that happened next... except my clock radio went off waking me to some unrecognizably hard music...
I would have liked to have stayed running in that dream... it was enlightening and I saw soooooooo much along the way... and I was free...
I was free ...
Morning has broken... 

Sunday, June 09, 2013

'Get It Right Next Time' by Gerry Rafferty


In 1975 after graduating high school, I worked at Listening Booth, the local record shop, where it was store policy to play, at least once, every new release that came into inventory.  It was also unwritten policy that the album liner notes were to be read so as to further familiarize ourselves with musical artists, their backgrounds, inspirations, etc., their possible studio associations with one another and to garner general knowledge of the world of music.  What a dream come true for a music devotee.

It was in this way I was first introduced to the music of Gerry Rafferty.

A gifted songwriter/singer whose music blends the styles of Rock and radio-friendly Pop with heavy Folk music influences in the style of personal story telling in a manner to which the listener can relate. Gerry Rafferty may have drawn on his own personal complex dichotomies and experiences in his songs but, as every great songwriter, is able to make his deeply moving lyrics become universal and understood on not only on an intellectual level, but on an empathic level, as well.  Whether by unintended accident or ironic design, Gerry Rafferty speaks to the tortured soul in all of us...

One of my very favorite Gerry Rafferty songs musically and lyrically, Get It Right Next Time from his 1979 album "Night Owl".

Tuesday, June 04, 2013

A River Familiar

photo by donna, Big Spring Creek, Cumberland County, PA May 2010
Drifting... 
A river familiar
floating the waves of discovery
my own
alone
whispering with the many restless voices

Shadows and strange faces
race along the shore
tripping,
sliding,
rising,
blending into one

Mysterious muse on the move
waiting
just beyond the crowd
beckoning...
'round the curve of the horizon
glowing...
above the tranquility of sunset
glimmering...
below the brilliance of sunrise
shimmering...
amidst the luminance of starshine
elusive...

Wandering shores unknown
never alone,
Yet always on my own

Sunday, June 02, 2013

The One


photo by donna ~ Doubling Gap, Cumberland County, PA 2005
Running, running away
feet never touching the ground
through towns more worldly,
more cold
through highland meadows greener,
lonelier
seeking that which waits beyond the borders,
that which couldn't be found

Always running, running while standing still
it's time for a retreat
time to make solitary camp
while wondering, wondering
where to wander next

Finding myself back in the valley I left
so long ago
for the road that leads to somewhere,
anywhere,
but here,
anywhere but home
forever looking for the one,
the one that couldn't be found

The road circles back on me
feeling too much like a rolling stone
yearning for a solid foundation
to cease the restlessness,
to ease the pain
of forever running,
running to nowhere

Stopping to catch my breath
and look back from the mountaintop
gazing down on the valley
wondering if I could fly
instead of run
would life have been different,
that special life,
the one which couldn't be found