Perching on my Roof

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

I have a mockingbird—

for how long, I don’t know;

he is free to come and go

but, for now, perches on my roof

outside my window

running through his repertoire

in all the bird-languages,

as if he has decided one song

is not enough to express

his ecstatic heart,

so he weaves tunes end to end,

high and low,

lilting and liquid,

warbled and chirped,

a celebration of sound

dancing through my open window,

waking me to this one day.

Tomorrow, he may be on another roof,

regaling no one in particular,

for he needs no audience,

he would sing at the top of his little lungs

even if no one was listening.

But today, I am listening,

pausing in the early stillness

to hear this songster

dressed in stately gray,

serenading my morning

with flowing melodies

flung freely into the breeze.

Whatever the day may bring,

my mockingbird has already

sung the sweetness into my world.

-kh-

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week – my azaleas are blooming again:

Shadow of the week:

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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.

For a Day Born New

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

Good morning, bird,

perched

somewhere outside my open window.

The breeze is carrying your tune

to my drowsy, waking ears.

How long have you been singing

your wake-up song?

Are you a bluebird?

A wren?

A cardinal?

I am not attuned to the differences—

not yet.

No matter.

You are a consummate singer

of carefree song,

melody for a day born new.

The gift of your music

invites me to rise

and breathe deeply of dawn.

Perhaps I, too, will sing.

-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.

Waking to Snow

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

Waking to snow,

deep quiet,

feathered flakes,

whispers of wind,

and no one going anywhere.

Time pauses,

takes a break.

Why was I rushing around

all these days past?

What was the hurry, the worry?

Plans have now shifted,

busy has been put on hold.

My old clock softly ticks,

keeping time.

Really, dear clock?

Keeping time?

You keep it only long enough to measure its

passing,

and before you can tick again, it’s

gone.

And yet, this morning,

time is asking to be kept,

held,

witnessed

in this white cocoon,

this quiet tiptoe of a morning

waking to snow.

–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.

The Geese Come Flying Low

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

The geese come flying low this morning,

two of them skimming the treetops,

their crawnky call timed with the pulse of

wingbeats:

“Look, look!

Here, here!

Now, now!”

And I do.

Gray-white bellies buoyed by the breeze,

wide wings flapping,

long dark necks stretched out straight,

they’re the picture of persistence,

of determination,

of certainty.

They know where they’re going—

I’m guessing the zoo,

which is not so far if you’re airborne.

They will be guests

at a lucky gathering of geese on the lawn.

They’ll flock and strut and lunch

and gather goose gossip

and rise as a group at sunset,

free to thread their own way

back through the sky

to where they began,

calling,

“Look, look!

Here, here!

Now, now!”

And gone.

– kh –

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week – looking up:

Shadow of the Week:

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It Seems Backward

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

The morning sun is melting the frost on roofs and lawns except where there are shadows. So instead of the shadows being dark, they’re frosty white. The trunk of one of our elm trees is casting a shadow on the next-door garage roof. Its shadow is a long, rectangular streak of white frost on dark gray shingles. It seems backward for a shadow to be white. But then, nature always has something new up her sleeve, and I always have something to learn. – kh, from Noticing: 365 Days of Calm Reflections

Nature of the week: