Grow Faster

As Sequoias

Get older

They grow faster

 

Becoming 

More impressive

With age

 

And I intend

To do

The same

 

Worth The Risk

When Giant Sequoias

Are threatened 

Their cones close

Curl up into themselves

To survive

 

To this

I can relate

 

But they don’t 

Stay closed

 

Despite the damage caused

Despite any lingering pain 

 

Despite the utter disappointment

Of learning again

That the world

Is not safe

 

When the danger passes

The cones reopen

 

Offer themselves up 

To the world

 

Knowing this

Is the way 

To something better

 

Deciding 

It’s all worth

The risk

Whatever Your Dream Is

Whatever your dream is

 

Whatever is nudging you 

To consider

A fresh new career
A breathtaking trip 

A move to an unfamiliar place

Whatever is calling you to

 

Try a new recipe
Take a day trip 
Pursue a hobby

 

Whatever it is

Even if 

It’s something as simple

 

As planting a poetry post
In front of your house
Simply because 

You like words 

Maybe it’s time

 

Maybe today is the day

To take a step
In the direction 
Of that dream

Change

Here’s to people

Who take big leaps of change

By choice

 

Who shake things up

Willingly

On a regular basis

 

Because it’s usually

Someone else’s changes

That make me change

 

Someone else’s decision

To leave a job

That changes the nature

Of my job

 

Someone else’s decision 

To relocate

That turns my social circle 

Inside out

 

I do not change

By choice

 

I cling 

To each stage of life

Tightly

 

I hold on for dear life

 

Always feeling lucky 

To have made it 

To that space

 

Rather than considering that

 

Anything I have in life

Might be due

At least in part

To my own 

Good decisions

 

Anywhere I am in life

Might be the result

Of luck 

But also effort

 

Might be meant as

A stepping stone 

Along the path

To another

Destination

Rather than

A place 

I should 

Consider home

 

Hard not to view

Every place 

I find myself

As a life boat

I was just lucky 

To come across

 

Everything I have

As something

That will soon 

Be taken from me

If I’m not careful

 

It’s not relaxing

This way of thinking

 

Always feeling 

Like I’m just one step ahead

Of a very steep fall

 

Typically reacting to change

Rather than initiating it

 

Rarely leaping

But finding myself

In free fall 

Whenever others in my life

Do

Raw

The world 

Is raw now

Everyone scared

Many sick

Everything urgent

 

Lacking curiosity

Missing compassion

Uncontained

Untethered

Unsafe

 

It’s so cold here

And could be less so

 

We could make it warmer

With intentional care and 

Thoughtful interaction

 

We could surprise raw

With the heat 

Of kindness

 

We could be better

 

Could make the world better

 

We could fix this together

One interaction 

At a time

 

Truly anytime

We choose

To Become Real

I have spent

A fair amount

Of my adult life

Bringing myself

To life

To light

Moving myself

From the shadows

To the stage

Learning 

To give

Myself permission

To honor

The wisdom

Within me 

So forgive me

If I don’t

Come around

As much 

These days

It’s hard for me now

To let myself stay

Around those

Who would invalidate

My journey

And all it has taught me 

Who encourage me

To keep silent

Rather than to disagree

Who simply

Do not acknowledge

Any other

Perspective

Forgive me

If I cannot agree 

To be unacknowledged

When I’ve worked

So hard

To become real

 

 

Words Save Me

When the world is heavy

With discouragement

Cradling dread

That has seeped in

Spread out

Overtaken

 

Words save me

 

When the unspoken 

Dances back and forth

Endlessly and wild

In my mind

Wearing out 

My soul

 

Words save me

 

Words find me

And give form

To what is loose inside 

 

Words validate

Confirm

Comfort and guide

 

Words heal

 

Words give

Soft voices

A microphone

 

And wisdom

A platform

 

Words save me

 

What Is It Then

I wish I felt

Thank you

From a deeper place

Within me

Than I do

 

Wish I knew

How to muster up

Sincere gratitude

For that which I’ve never

Been deprived 

 

Wish the thankfulness

I naturally feel

When someone 

Clarifies something that has confused me

Takes a burdensome task from me

Or simply holds a door open for me

 

Would well up within me

Both daily and on days set aside

To honor the monumental sacrifices

Of those who have given up 

The comforts of their lives 

To make mine more comfortable 

 

What is it then

 

Is the sacrifice so big

That I shut it out

Of my soul

Knowing that 

To let it in 

Would also mean letting in 

My glaring unworthiness 

Of the gift

 

I wish I felt

Outrage 

At the first sign of injustice

Rather than having 

To coax it up out of me 

 

Wish I more willingly

Let the anger fire in

And used it to extinguish 

The drenching waves of wrong 

Which are drowning us all

 

Wish the indignity 

I naturally feel

When someone

Insults what I hold dear

Treats me as invisible

Fails to see my worth

 

Would rise up within me

Instantly and permanently 

To stand up for and beside 

Those who have been wronged

And hold space for the narrative

Of all involved 

 

What is it then

 

Is the injustice so disgraceful

That I shut it out

Of my soul

Knowing that

To let it in

Would also mean letting in

The deep pain of generations

A pain I’m not sure I can hold

 

Is it that I’m already broken

In so many ways 

That I opt out of pain

Presented as optional  

 

If not, what is it really

What is it then

Not Anytime Soon

I want to walk 

Down beautiful trails

With peaceful views

That make me forget

The world beyond is

Masked and closed

And afraid

I want to stand in

The soft silence 

Of blowing wind

And not fear

Virus spreading 

Through it

I want to hear

The call and repeat

Of carefree songbirds

Louder than the sound 

Of death counts and 

Last rights over Zoom 

I want life’s simple gifts back

And these gifts 

Will return 

I’m sure

One day

Though not anytime

Soon

Petals

Like the fragile hope

Of a child

Waiting at

The top of the stairs

Christmas morning

Letting herself

Imagine

What if 

All my wishes

Are about to 

Come true

Hope is 

A beautiful wildflower

On the verge

Of bloom 

Still 

There comes a day

Later if life is kind

That you learn

Many of your wishes

Maybe even most

Will not be 

Coming true

That it’s not as easy

As wishing

And getting

That not all flowers bloom

But they may still

Bring forth beauty

 

Not all flowers bloom

But when their unformed petals fall

They nourish the ground

For the ones that do

Brag

That the 

Giant Sequoia

The world’s 

Largest tree

Produces

Remarkably small

Cones

Makes me smile

Unimpressive cones

Produced by 

Unprecedented

Majesty

Just needing time

To show 

Their worth

A reminder

Not to judge

A person 

Or a thing

By what it appears

To offer

To the world

Sometimes 

Life’s most majestic things

Don’t like to brag

Possible

Despite

Heavy damage

Sustained

To its core

From flames

That have surrounded it

From forces

That would fell

Anything else

The Giant Sequoia

Is able to

Stand tall

Remain healthy

Continue growing

And that

Is how I learned

It was possible

Potential

Even as a baby

Just three feet high

A Giant Sequoia 

Is still called

By its name

Because of what

The world knows

It will become

May the message

Of our own

Potential 

Be spoken 

As boldly to us 

As we set off

On our own

Important 

Journeys

People Who Want To Be Heard

People who want to be heard
          Speak their hearts openly
          Hoping to be understood
          
          And they also
          Shoot up buildings in blind rage
          After years of feeling ignored

People who want to be loved
          Selflessly sacrifice for another
          Give of themselves freely
 
          And they also
          Stay way too long in relationships
          That don’t give them what they need or
          deserve
 
People who want to be seen
          Push vulnerability aside
          Show up and stand out
 
          And they also
          Steamroll over others
          Take credit that should be shared

People who want things
Go after them
In different
Ways

Assumptions

There are
So many
Assumptions
Unchecked
 
And one piece of information
That I don’t go to church
Used to assume
Everything else
About me

The assumption that
Because our beliefs differ
Yours must be right
And mine must be wrong

That my refusal
To speak for Jesus anymore
Using outdated interpretations
Must mean you are holy
And I am lost
 
The assumption that
Because I think of God differently
I am far from God
And you are close
      Yet here I am
      Tucked in close
      Beside God
 
That because I dump love
On the world
With no hidden agenda
Other than presence

I am doing
A disservice
To humanity

When your assumptions
Your requirements
Your stringent set of rules
That keep everyone out
Except you

Just might be the biggest
Disservice
Of all