This evening the blank, white page is open. My nerves are on edge, while a storm forms on the horizon.

It is what it is Despite my wishes for it, Otherwise. You are who you are Despite my expectations,

Summertime gives A chance to grow Under the sun, Travel, to new places And have some fun.

Life is not fair at times... But of course things Change quickly down the line, We are born into a No guarantee world.

Leaves falling, Another season Decorating the earth. One red leaf In my path,

Time is going by fast, Trying not to live in the past, To keep priorities straight And not falter at the gate. To join the universal goal

The dance of fear, Of not being enough, Stops and starts. The unknown, an Uncharted sea,

Sitting on the lake shore, Which made my heart soar, The water rippled at times, Swirled into beautiful lines, Clouds reflected in it’s mirror,

Half a world away, I walk a narrow, stone path. In the rice fields, the Balinese people

When I first heard “The Blackbird,” In the middle Of night, I was just thirteen.

Red, yellow and orange leaves Fall quickly now And create a tapestry of color That fill my mind With joy.

Red bird perched on a tree limb laced with snow. So happy to see him and the joy he brings.

There is my shadow, A dark outline of this body And yet, it also holds, The hidden imperfections Of my existence.

Unable to be all things For all people, Perhaps at one time, I tried. Those days are

Birds flying here and there, landing on branches to chirp and bare, their heart. A private club among the trees with their own private code.