THINKING ABOUT MEDITATION

I feel sorry for the people who fear to be alone;

Who can’t go to the bathroom without one to hold their hand.

They seem to need a t.v. or a mindless telephone.

They like the noise of crowds and cars and airplanes when they land.

(painting of The Milky Way by Miguel Cartagena in the Koricancha Temple in Cusco, Peru)

They’ll never know the sound of stars that circle in the night,

Or songs the mountains sing us at the rising of the sun.

They’re just so busy asking if everything’s alright

That they never even notice if they’re having any fun.

Without friends and family life would have a hollow ring.

If we couldn’t share the joy and pain we’d probably come apart.

But we need time and silence just to listen and to think.

In solitude alone we hear the beating of the heart.

MOVING TARGET

The chickadee

In the cottonwood tree

Was too busy to pose

For my camera and me.

A study in gray

Its cap ebony

But it wasn't concerned

With photography.

Blurred, out of focus

As you can see

It's a challenge to shoot

A chickadee.

AWAKENED BY A BANDIT

Roosters are loud alarm clocks. Unfortunately, they only work at dawn and their only off button is an ax.  When DH and I were vacationing in a location so tropical that we slept with the screened windows open, we learned about several other feathered alarm clocks.  They had no consideration for those who wished to sleep past sunrise, and there were too many to invite in for dinner.

Some of the rowdy birds were kiskadees.  

There was no rest with these bandits around. 

The little guys are related to fly catchers and are very agile in the air.  

I saw three of them gang up on a poor butterfly, 

 follow its every evasive maneuver and make a meal of it.

According to info I got on the web these birds are omnivorous.

They eat about anything from snakes to seeds.  

They wear their black mask with honor as they 

steal berries and dog food from their neighbors.

They reminded me a lot of a jay or a kingfisher 

with their big head and aggressive attitude.

This one had pilfered a berry from the shrubs near our place

 and was doing his best to juggle it down before one of his cohorts 

arrived to compete for the juicy meal.

It wouldn’t have made me feel too bad if 

he’d got that fruit stuck where it silenced his wake-up call.