Enroute to Maratea

 

Purple mountains with ragged peaks frame my view today,

guardians of the hills and valleys spreading at their feet.

The trees are taller, the pastures greener than we've seen on previous days.

Goats scamper when they hear our moto, their dogs keep careful watch.

Cows graze beside the road sometimes, but never in our path.

And here's another hilltop town, rosy houses clustering on the slopes.

The gray road winds on forever, down one hill, up another,

looping up a mountain side, cresting and down again.

We move in perfect tandem, with the rhythm of the road.

The voice inside my head that keeps me calm sometimes, is silent today.

"It's okay" I told the voice. “I've got this now.

I am moving with the ride.”

 

Drumbeat

 

Drumbeat sings my tune

painting a landscape of sound

rhythm of my soul

RESTLESS

 

night sounds are restless

full moon spotlighting the earth

exposes all our sins

METAMORPHOSIS

 

she flies unerringly across a continent
finding safe passage
golden wings iridescent in the sunlight
the queen of butterflies
starts the cycle of transformation
new life emerges to resume the journey
of migration and change
gifting the world with moments of glory
again and again

Published in Quillkeepers Press Anthology, Harvest, October 2022

PHOENIX RISING - BEACON OF HOPE

 

2nd Place winner in the Royal Canadian Legion Seniors Literary Competition (Poetry) 2023

UKRAINE STRONG 2

         I don't know you but

      I wake up wondering

        if you have survived the night

      Are you sheltering underground

        as bombs bombard the city?

      Are you bracing for a barrage of bullets

        as you cross the street to safety?

     Are you searching for escape routes

        clutching loved ones by the hand?

    Are you hungry, lost and lonely

        as your home is brought to ruin?

    I lie in bed pondering

        if the world has gone quite mad

    How can this frightful bully

        have such hatred in his heart?

    How dare this raging lunatic 

        cause such horror in the world?

    Can no one stop his rampage

        of killing and destruction?

    What will it take, I wonder

        to end his bloody war?

    As I go about my peaceful day

        you're never far from mind

    And when I sleep, I dream

        a miracle will take place.

    But thoughts and hopes are useless

        as you cope the best you can.

    Unless this dreadful path is changed

        the future's plain to see.

    Missing friend, absent loved ones

    Empty spaces, lonely places 

        is all that there will be.

    

 Dedicated to the relentless Ukrainians who inspire the world with their bravery and determination.

    

   

 

 

UKRAINE STRONG