Storm-Glow

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

This evening radiates storm-glow
from the sunset bouncing off
orange-pink thunderheads
and filtering through the dusky air
like fairy-tale gold dust
lightening leaves, brightening blooms,
making the garden blush every hue
from yellow-orange marigolds
to red-orange nasturtium
to soft, subtle pink-orange coral bells.
Awash in this orange-veiled light,
a contented chorus of cicadas
plays an exuberant hum-buzz of evensong.
Even as they zing and sing
and celebrate this brilliant evening,
daylight subsides,
orange fades into a pale dusky pink.
Trees darken
as the fire of the sky
sinks over the horizon
taking the blush of the world with it,
leaving behind shade and shadow.
But now the neighbors’ windows
glow orange from the inside
as if, in passing, the storm-glow smiled on us
and lit windows all around
to carry our day-warmed hearts
into a welcome-home rest
while the looming clouds
turn into rain.
-kh-

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week:

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Arrivals

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

From where I sit in my after-dinner chair
as sunset dims into twilight,
I can watch airplanes approach
the end of their journey
from the west—
from Dallas
or Denver
or Los Angeles.
Their bright landing lights
cross the darkening sky,
winking in and out of sight
as they thread their way
among silhouettes of tree branches.
By the time one plane
passes overhead with a low hum,
another appears in the distance,
trailing the path of the first one.
Another plane follows.
And another.
Evenly spaced,
they glide smoothly on
like wandering stars.
When I first noticed them,
I thought they truly were stars.
But these stars that are not stars
are full of people
hurtling across the heavens.
These planes I watch,
these travelers
near the end of their journey,
are at the beginning as well.
For what is the end of the journey
but an arrival,
sometimes to a new place,
sometimes home to familiar comforts.
And I wonder:
When I get to the end
of that larger,
longer
journey,
will anyone be watching?
Will I appear as a bright star
slipping through
the night sky,
coming closer and closer?
I have a feeling that for me,
it will feel like coming home.

-kh-

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week:

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The Contours of the Seasons

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

Sunlight gives a brief nod
to the north of the world
this time of year
as Day is quick to pull her cloak
back around her shoulders,
to doze in darkness again.
But from this Winter Solstice moment,
each new dawn will come earlier,
each sunset will take its leave later,
light will linger a while longer,
anticipating Sunlight’s reign.
All of nature—
cardinals, robins, juncos,
crickets and moths,
elms and hackberries,
even dirt and rocks—
follow the contours of the seasons,
the ebb and flow of light and dark,
the interplay of cold and warmth,
the whims of the wind,
the moods of the rain.
Darkness gives way to light,
cold eases into warmth,
wind calms,
rains soften.
Nature teaches the rhythms of life.
If I pause to feel her heartbeat,
listen to the whisper of her breath,
match my steps to the dance of Time,
then when sunlight gives a brief nod
at this dark time of year,
I smile and nod back.
-kh-

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week:

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Center Stage

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

For one bright moment

before the sun set,

its spotlight fell full on

three bunches of crape myrtle blooms,

dazzling them to a deep pink blush

as they hung like fancy chandeliers

on gently arced branches

high above the shadowed lawn.

For one bright moment

they took center stage

before the sun eased its beams higher

for its last brilliant gift of the day,

leaving the pink blooms fading into

the settling peace of twilight.

As my birthday came and went this week,

I saw myself in those frilly, full,

gathered blooms,

for it seems that all of life buds

and blossoms

and opens

into full bloom

for one bright moment

before the sun sets.

I am grateful to see,

in the settling twilight,

a beautiful peace.

-kh-

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the week:

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Wishing I Could Fly

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

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:

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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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One Glance

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

One glance out the window was enough

to nudge me

to set aside the tomato I’d been washing.

After a muted day of low-bellied,

slow-drizzle clouds,

the setting sun had broken through

with a gold-green light

that drew me to step outside

into strands of straight-down sun-silvered rain.

And there it was,

as I’d sensed it would be,

arcing big and bright in the east,

bridging north and south on the horizon,

shimmering blue and indigo

vibrant violet,

brilliant green,

decadent red and orange,

bold yellow

in a bow framing the curve of the world

with an embrace of all that is,

a benediction of life

in all its glorious color and variety,

revelry for all the different ways of being,

all kinds of beauty,

all the paths to hope and joy and love

and peace,

sunset beaming through rain

with a parting, glorious gift

that could so easily have gone unseen,

but discovered in a chance glance

out the window.

One glance was enough

to set aside the tomato.

One glance was enough

to discover the prism’d gift

of a sunset in the rain.

– kh –

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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The Sky’s Gift

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

It is the sky that makes the earth so lovely at sunrise,

and so splendid at sunset.

In the one it breathes over the earth the crystal-like ether,

in the other liquid gold.

– painter Thomas Cole –

A wondrous sky greets this cold, crisp morning. It’s criss-crossed with contrails, probably due to holiday travel. Toward the horizon, a wide sweep of thin, feathery clouds spans the blue like a skyscape dry-brushed in white across a deep blue canvas. All this, and the sun is still on the rise. It’s painting tree tops gold, while their lower trunks and branches rest in twilight shadow. The sky is breathing over the earth, waking it up with beauty.

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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As the Round Earth Rolls

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere . . . a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.” – John Muir

Enjoy the grand show!

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

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Love Like a River

Posted by karynhenleyauthor

“Those who don’t feel this Love

pulling them like a river,

those who don’t drink dawn

like a cup of spring water

or take in sunset like supper,

Those who don’t want to change,

Let them sleep.”

– Rumi –

Peace is waiting for you – and joy and wonder and goodness and grace. And Love. Don’t sleep.

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 my longer posts on the art of noticing, link here.

Carry the Calm

Karyn Henley

sunset

Storm-Glow

Arrivals

The Contours of the Seasons

Center Stage

Wishing I Could Fly

The Geese Come Flying Low

One Glance

The Sky’s Gift

As the Round Earth Rolls

Love Like a River