Month: September 2023

The Dance of the Season

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It’s the dance of the season,

the frolic of Fall.

Leaves

drift

down.

Pollen freckles the birdbath,

tickles my nose—

a snappy breeze,

an autumn sneeze.

Branches bow,

a leaf breaks loose.

Then another.

And another.

Lifted and swirled,

tossed and twirled,

they join the drift,

the sink and lift on

cool currents of air

that stir them around

and down

to the ground

to scuffle and settle.

All the while, the breeze whispers to leaves

still clinging to branches,

“Come and dance.

Come and dance.”

And they do,

and they will

until branches are bare

and a chill stirs the air.

Then Fall flicks her skirts

and flirts with Winter

who knows this dance well.

She’ll take the lead

flinging flakes of frost

in a waltz with the wind.

But that’s weeks away.

For today, it’s a breeze

and a sneeze

and a timid drift

of golden leaves.

– kh –

 

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week—moonrise:

Shadow of the Week:

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Text and photos © 2023 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

The Peace of Baking Bread

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Rich, yeasty, cozy, all-embracing,

the scent of fresh-baked bread

warms the kitchen,

drifts upstairs,

flows through the house,

seeps out open windows,

mingles with cool autumn air,

hitches a ride on the breeze,

while indoors, its warm hug

settles me.

I have worked for this moment,

measured flour, salt, sugar,

added yeast and scalding water,

kneaded plump dough

four minutes per loaf (I bake two),

press and fold,

press and fold,

a hefty eight-minute workout

for arms and hands and fingers.

Then comes the magic.

The dough rises, doubles in size

and bakes golden brown,

fresh and fragrant.

All is well with a loaf of bread

just out of the oven.

What’s better than its yeast-warm smell—

except for a bit of butter

on that first yummy bite.

– kh –

 

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2023 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

The Bell Tower

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A rainy day,

silver showers,

drips tapping gently on windowpanes,

soft sounds soothe until

chimes ring out the hour

on the campus to the east.

Those chimes.

What a nuisance they were twenty years ago

when the bell tower was built,

ringing every quarter hour—really?

Apparently, measuring time

in fifteen minute intervals

is important. To someone.

I prefer a less metered flow of hours.

Then, sometime in those twenty years,

it happened:

The chimes marking time

faded into the soundtrack of my day.

Now when I notice them,

I wonder—what else has faded?

In the unbounded, wide-ranging time of my mind,

what else ebbs into the background?

The chimes bring me back to the present moment,

to the chorus of birdsong,

the tick of an old clock,

the tink of ice in a glass,

the chip of a chipmunk,

the buzz of insects tucked in the shadows of bushes,

the breeze whispering, “Come back.

Come back to this place.

Come back to this time.

Come back to the chimes.”

They’re ringing again now.

Through silver showers,

a quarter hour

has come

and gone.

– kh –

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week – a little visitor:

Shadow of the Week:

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Text and photos © 2023 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Wishing I Could Fly

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A V of geese, calling out,

crossed the cloud-rippled sky,

and I, below, watched them go,

wishing I could fly.

I’d go west too but visit

every garden on the way

to where the sunset colors glow

and twilight cools the day.

But this is now and that is dream.

I’ve been west, and I know

that here is where life hums to me;

it’s where my gardens grow.

The hug-warm sun sets here as well

and paints the twilight sky.

Still, I look up and fill with dreams

when flocks of geese fly by.

– kh –

 

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

 

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2023 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.

Joy Resting

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“Peace is joy at rest, and joy is peace on its feet.”

– Anne Lamott, quoting her pastor Veronica –

May your joy find rest and may your peace find its feet. Nurture it, cultivate loving kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week – Super Moon, Blue Moon:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Text and photos © 2023 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved.