the heart of the flower

oh, She was playing with me big time.
practically, really practically
and as always
 with an eye for Beauty and Wonder.

She moved me through the house.
cleaning and making space.

I take a dahlia off the altar 
 strewing its petals on the porch
and I see, 
beneath all those multitude of petals,
are more.

petals that held the petals

it is like a whole other flower
once the petals
fall.

and,

of course I am moved to share this picture with you
and since I dropped my camera, the focus no longer works
and since I bought a new one, maybe too fast without getting a feel for it in my hands, 
I am avoiding learning to use it.

I try
and it slips in my hands,
my fingers push buttons that I don't even know what they mean,
and I am still in my pajamas
and and and

it seems to me that she is saying 
it is time to learn this new camera.


The Beauty and Order of the Inside has been revealed through the heart of the Dahlia.

I will follow her lead
I want to go to bliss
and she wants to take me,
 practically,
 into focus.

a path into the woods

a path into the woods

the desire to make a path I can follow
begins to take its form.
I am in no rush to reach the river.

the Virginia woods have a lightness in them
the Indians were here
and the wildlife still lives
and moves among
and flies above
these trees.

the fairy tale woods of Germany were luscious and dark and so appealing,
I have come to know them,
intimately.

there is a lightness
beginning to appear
everywhere.

even negative thinking is welcomed and given room
and then, excuse me
I just don't have time for it,

the quiet in my heart is becoming more attractive.

Perennial Visitors

I take my walk in a field the past two days to visit with the spiraling ladies tresses. Having seen them in a book years ago, now I live near a field they call home. 

Answers from the Elements

A whole afternoon field inside me from one stem of reed.

The messenger comes running toward me, irritated:

Why be so hard to find?

Last night I asked the moon about the Moon, my one question for the visible world, Where is God?

The moon says, I am dust stirred up

when he passed by. The sun, My face is pale yellow from just now seeing him. Water: I slide on my head and face like a snake, from a spell he said. Fire: His lightening, I want to be that restless. Wind, why so light? I would burn if I had the choice. Earth, quiet and thoughtful? Inside me I have a garden and an underground spring.

The world hurts my head with its answers,

wine filling my hand, not my glass.

If I could wake completely, I would say without speaking

why I'm ashamed of using words.

Rumi

naked ladies

“Your mind cannot know me.

You are beginning to get the sense of this.

It is only in the senses that you can know me.

Your senses are the very thread that carry the birthright to your lineage.”

I can’t wait till the day ends 

And the men leave their work.

Those naked ladies are waiting for me to join them in the garden!

They know I am one of them

Why else would they have called to me yesterday?

They are standing tall and naked, 

holding the fullness of their blossoming, 

so shamelessly,

for the sheer pleasure of it.

I sense it, too.

a giddy delight in the naturalness of this flowering

awakens in me.

walking under the Star of David

I woke this morning wanting to take a walk in the woods instead of following my usual Sunday routine.

My favorite walk is through the Shenandoah National Park up to a small cemetery, which holds the memories of families who once lived on the mountain, before the park was created.

I choose something on the way to hold the focus of what I am ready to release.

I smile, thinking I am always seemingly working on something!  And, yes, sometimes I just take a walk. The signals come whether I intend them to or not!

The rock I carried with me today was a small stone, with a white line in the middle, book marked on each side by three times the size of dark.

I had not taken this walk for many months.

I was ready to release a pattern I have allowed in my relationships, of not asking for what I need. I recognize the way I have given more and more and more in an unbalanced relationship or blamed myself for never giving enough. 

I could never put my finger on it until now, that joy - in relationship - is participatory. 
And it is fed with the truth.

So, I was ready to release this old pattern. 

As the Star of David forms in the skies, I am putting a lot of energy and intention into creating, receiving and sharing joy in my life with others. 

I had a good walk, putting my hands on the small spring that moves across the path. It was so cool. This coolness seemed to come from deep in the earth, it carried freshness into my body.

I ate wineberries along the way, my favorite wild summer berry.

I left the stone a top a grave ornament that stood in the sun, and walked the perimeter of the small graveyard.

I love the return walk to the base of the mountain, there is the feeling of release, of lightening and the gayatri mantra often accompanies me. 

Along the final section of the path I saw a heart rock. About the same size as the stone I took with me, the face of this one was full white, with a dark back. 

It felt like my desire's signal had been heard. 

Shiva and Parvati are dancing for joy.