heirloom seeds

sprouting in a wild ruckus

of celebration

nobody can see

these little hairs on my chin

but oh, I feel them!

bees bumping their way

through the stalks of lavender —

our summer Sunday

birds waiting in trees

as the rain mutes their singing —

my unshed tears

sore smile muscles,

belief starting to take hold —

when your dream comes true

the thud as it falls —

a half-read book forgotten

in the bed again

We interrupt these haiku...

A warm thank you to my friend Barbara (@bffox on Twitter), who managed to snag a few seconds of my song leading at yesterday's march & prayer vigil in solidarity with the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC.

My instinct in times of struggle is to be in community; this gathering of 400 or so people in my hometown was very much a healing one for me.

The song I'm leading is Sweet Honey in the Rock's "Ella's Song," which takes as its inspiration the words of civil rights activist Ella Baker.

front yard bunny

scooting right under the fence —

soon you’ll be too big

approaching thunder —

we try to hear the words

in the grownups’ fight

trees at dusk

blacker than the coming night

but not for long

the curve of the road

and me over here longing

to keep you in sight

young robin —

so proud to fly at last,

but those landings!

you sleep right through it —

I try to take in the sunset

for both of us

reeling again

patterns so familiar

they could be a dance

we move slowly

testing the edge of too close —

front yard bunny

losing track

of the storm’s edge —

rainy day swim

in a crowd of cries

I hear only the voice

of my boy

I remind myself

about those weeks of training

and keep running

For the full story, see bit.ly/transformbutwait

this morning

the smallness of the finches

is what captured me

can I make one breath

last ‘til I reach the deep end? —

he challenges me

seeming at once

rock steady and precarious —

a crane on one leg

(Inspired by EFK)

Oma’s recipe —

the cake was always ready

before we arrived

this tiny new fawn

still so wobbly and yet

trying to bound

(Inspired by RPK)

we tie the driftwood

together into a raft

leaving drifting behind

(For TLF, my partner in raft-building.)

playing at playing —

the outfielders wander off

late in the game

(Inspired by M & R)

the nurse takes his pulse

while I remember when

his heart beat within me

sun-soaked days —

we feel the urge to travel,

unfold all our maps

during the storm

rainwater like a mill race

looking for a mill

fixin' to grow up

as fast as the rain came down —

from-nowhere mushrooms

watching the rabbits

out in the pouring rain

and not minding