Facing Leviathans

When I was five I faced
Alligators at Okefenokee Swamp.
When I was fifty I faced
Whales in the wild at Depoe Bay.

What is this fearful fascination I have
With leviathans?

Maybe it's a God thing.

And even though my whole body
Wanted to barf or faint,
I peered around the corner
To glimpse the divine
As long as there was somebody
Holding my hand.

It's good to remember
What it's like
To feel small
And survive.

A Teacher's Morning

Photo by Sam A. Mowry

I want to harvest sunrise
And plant it in their hearts -
Winter trees lit by white,
A sky on fire with dragon treasure,
Melting pink edged in blue,
A lone bird soaring across
The glowing face of daybreak.

Against Despair

I despair of the world and then I see
The blossoms on an apple tree,
The leaf-topped tips of a lilac bush,
A smudge of green, spring's frosted push
Born from winter's cold remains,
Dots of life on pale gray frames.
If such bare bones are still alive,
Then hope, perhaps, can be revived.