Splashes in the Birdbath

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

Rain has come at last,

a slow, soil-soaking rain

welcomed by wilting asters

drooping marigolds

and me.

Each droplet dimples

the water in the birdbath,

each splash makes small-bird waves

that ripple out and overlap the others.

Another ripple, unseen but real,

touches and tugs me today,

a ripple of friends

who gathered last night,

an assortment of artists

soul-touched by

the grace of nonjudgment,

the freedom to discover

the art in ourselves,

to discover ourselves in our art.

A first splash rippled out years ago,

found us, overlapped us,

sent our own ripples circling wider.

Everyone washes the world

in waves that widen and overlap.

May our waves be full of

goodness and grace

to restore,

to renew hope,

to refresh

our thirsty world.

-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.

Morning Gold, Silent as Breath

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

She is such an artist, the sun.

I watched her rise today,

a brilliant yellow-orange backdrop

to the dark green silhouette

of the neighbors’ bamboo.

Her morning gold, silent as breath,

spreads wide,

slides between cane and leaf,

creates a shape-shifting mosaic,

light and dark,

shadow and shine.

She shoulders higher up the sky

with wise warmth,

quietly whitening thin-stretched clouds

feathered across the high, icy blue.

She is just getting started,

for the whole world is her canvas,

and she takes her time,

for she has all the time in the world.

Her fluid beauty ebbs and flows

as shade and light flirt,

drift,

slow dance,

weaving magic into the day,

sparking autumn-touched treetops

into gold and copper leaf-flames.

She is angling now to give us

her brightest and best

even as the days shorten and cool.

I will watch her paint this day.

I will watch her dance with shadow.

And maybe I, too,

will dance.

-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.

A Gentle, Ancient Heartbeat

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

I’ve said it before,

but I’m growing old,

so I get to say it again:

I love to listen to the quiet.

When I listen to the quiet,

I realize it’s not quiet at all.

It’s not empty,

it’s full,

thrumming,

pulsing,

breathing,

the gentle, ancient heartbeat

of life,

of time,

perhaps of the universe itself.

It’s buoyant, this quiet,

full of energy—

a calm forever energy

holding,

enfolding us all.

Shhh.

Pause,

linger,

listen.

Listen

to the quiet.

-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.

Steady and Soft, Damaging and Deadly

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

After weeks of drought,

the rains finally came,

steady and soft.

I sat back and listened to

the soft tap of droplets

showering the windowpane,

the white noise of water boiling

in the kettle,

the gentle creak

of the rocking chair,

whispery gusts of wind,

the hum of the fridge,

the purr of the cat,

the turn of a page,

the distant whir of a jet in flight,

fading into the sound of the rain,

the delicious,

life-giving

rain.

This is not

what my friend heard

in North Carolina,

for this same storm system

that brought me sweet,

life-giving rain

wore a wild mood

when it reached her

rushing in a raging torrent,

a damaging, deadly downpour.

In my back yard,

when the rain ended,

the renewed trees dripped,

sated and peaceful.

Birds warbled and chortled,

branch to branch,

tree to tree,

a clear, world-washed song.

When the rain ended

in my friend’s back yard,

trees lay uprooted,

muddy floods of river water

swirled and swallowed

tangled branches.

I have to believe that birds

still sang from the tip-top

of whatever withstood the storm—

peaked roofs,

stubbornly strong trees,

a post, a pole,

a precariously tilted sign.

May the birds always sing

their ancient wisdom,

their song of courage,

comfort,

and hope.

-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.

Carry the Calm

Karyn Henley

Month: October 2024

Splashes in the Birdbath

A Gentle, Ancient Heartbeat

Steady and Soft, Damaging and Deadly