Friday, December 18, 2020

a gift

"i can give you
a gentle hug
she said,
climbing down
from the bed,
and i melted into
her kindness
and i remembered
where to begin.

~

RN

Thursday, December 17, 2020

is an orange

sometimes
all you need
is an orange
cat and a lap
and a warm
snuggle.

~

RN

Thursday, December 3, 2020

around the loop

saw the circle
as a ball
a knot of stress
and walked around it
turned its energy
from pull, by surrounding
it, into push
and soared
away.

~

RN

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

teacups

wading across 
the blazing desert sands
with teacups of water
in my hands
like the punishment
of something
you call friendship
these brittle crystals
in my eyes
i will never understand.

~

RN

Thursday, November 26, 2020

red and yellow

red and yellow, orange
a sign of change
the colors of knowing
that everything evolves
as it's growing
all a symphony
in God's hands.

~

RN

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

potholes

it was difficult
to look around
the gaping holes
when they were so
obvious
the unimproved
attitude
bumping over
the exposed flaws.

~

RN

Monday, November 23, 2020

inquisitive

there were more shapes
to the pattern
more lines to the shadows
and more questions
to each answer
with these wild and open
eyes.

~

RN

Sunday, November 22, 2020

thankful even

thankful even for the times
when I almost gave up, but didn't
thankful for the disappointment
thankful for the sadness
thankful for the forgiveness
thankful for the starting over
with myself
and everyone else
thankful for
the brand new day.

~

RN

Saturday, November 14, 2020

in the fog

fog of lethargy
sticking
and weighted in 
my chest
unanchoring the
predispositions
so i can float
in what is left.

~

RN

Thursday, November 12, 2020

mountain

saw you as a mountain
saw you as something
unattainable
uncontrollable
and then i remembered
the simple power
of an embrace.

~

RN

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

out your cup

when pouring
out your cup,
be sure to refill
it with love
and hope and the ability to
forgive, so that
when you reach
the bottom, you
find, it's not
empty at all - but
overflowing, still.

~

RN

Monday, November 2, 2020

freedom is

freedom is...
creating without seeking approval
creating, regardless of criticism,
creating as the decisive act,
the whirl behind every motion
the greatest 'why' that one
could ever ask.

~

RN

Saturday, October 31, 2020

Passive

there once was a man
who said nothing
he neither signed with his 
hands nor spoke
with his voice
and all who passed him
were shocked at his complacency
it is easier this way,
he thought.

there once was a woman
who never expressed herself
she neither wrote nor
gave space for her opinion
and all who met her
were dismayed at her passivity
it is better this way,
she thought.

there once was a crowd
who saw murders
and cowards
and hatred go viral
and spread across the land
and they signed nothing
and they said nothing
and they did nothing
until they chose to understand
and seek restitution
and tear down the statues
and build up compassion
and look clearly at themselves
are you that person ?
are the same ?
will this all repeat ?
or will we change ?

there once was a time
when I could not sit
elbow to elbow
with you, at the counter.
there once was an 
accepted norm
that women could not 
and should not, vote.
and we look upon these
ideas as outlandish and
discriminating and unfounded.
we shake our heads in anger
and ask HOW
could we have allowed this
to happen ?

but what about NOW ?
tell me, what about Now.

there once was a person
who DID something
and they poured out 
the power from their pen
and they advocated for the truth
at every chance they had to
and they to make a difference
and then they did.

~

RN

Friday, October 30, 2020

interrogation

removed of your mask
your cape
your cloak
your feathers
who are you
without your costume
who are you
without the choices
you make
who are you
without your beliefs
who are you ???

~

RN

Thursday, October 29, 2020

when the trees

when the lizard blinks,
i blink
when the cardinal cheeps,
i call
when the flowers shimmy
in the breeze
i feel them
and when the trees are cut down,
i fall.

~

RN

Saturday, October 24, 2020

wholeness

wholeness, he said,
was already contained
in the self, and
yet was not
"self."
but what if the wholeness
has been "we"
all along
unity over division
we are, instead of,
i am.

~

RN

Thursday, October 15, 2020

unattached

he said it was freedom
to be unburdened
by the past
to be unattached
to the present
and to not worry
about the future
and i am still
not sure what he meant
but feel glimpses 
of it, under my skin.

~

RN

Saturday, October 10, 2020

scarf

in a chillier season
my heart is 
warmed
by the thoughts of our
smiles over coffee
our stories between
books and our friendships
like a scarf stretched
over states
we can snuggle into.

~

RN

Friday, October 9, 2020

belief

no one can walk
on water
without stillness
belief
and friendship
and then
anything is possible.

~

RN

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

wave after wave

it's not a line
or an ending
or a cut-off,
it's a perspective
how you imagine
the future unfolding for
you, wave after
wave...

~

RN