Let the flowers
Do their work
Inviting you to smile
To enjoy their beauty
When you see them
In the vase
On the stem
Or blooming from the branches
Stop and let them
Share their joy
If there is any time you need it
It is now
Their joy
Their beauty
Can birth hope
In your heart
In these dark days
Waiting for spring
Let them do their work
Then you can do yours
While you were scrolling
Oh my soul
The clouds were piling
Up in the west
The leaves were falling
Silently around
The geese began their ascent
Forming their V above you
The sun hit the clouds
In it’s descent
The light changed
To a golden hue
Then became pink
Like the summer’s last rose
It lit the tree tops on fire
And the falling leaves
Turned to gold
The light hit your phone
And you looked up
Just in time to see
The geese overhead
The rosey light changing
Yet again
With the sun setting
Over the water
© 2021 Julie Clark
I.
It seems this year
More than ever
The fall colors are
Astounding me
They call me
To stop
Breathe deeper
Slower
Let my burdens fall
I drove up a winding road
Under a canopy
Of fall foliage
It felt like a giant hug
An invitation to joy
My heart rejoiced
II.
Walking in the woods today
The maple trees ablaze
Letting go
Leaf by leaf
Fluttering and falling
To join the ever growing piles
Dampened by the rain
That my tears
My sorrows
My loss and grief
One by one
Would softly fall away
Like the maple leaves
To Become mulchy piles
To feed proceeding generations
© Julie Clark 2021
On the move again
Grateful for this place
All the beautiful places we have been
Still, it is hard to pick up and leave again
New destination is set
A beautiful part of the state
Awaits exploration
Yet, I am tired
I’m no spring chicken
Packing up and cleaning up
Take a lot of energy
Asking for courage
To take a new unknown path
Ready for whatever lies ahead
May I not waste my small sufferings
On self pity
Praying helps
Remembering those
Forced to flee their homes
Those who have no houses
No place to lay their heads
Instead of self pity
I choose gratitude and hope
I will be open
To hear and to see
The beauty
The messages
The lessons waiting for me
Around the corner
Just ahead
© 2021 Julie Clark
A friend of mine asked me, yesterday, if I had a word for these anxious times, this election day. Here is what came to me first:
In this time of uncertainty, anxiety, and stress I would suggest spending some time in nature. It might be taking a walk in the neighborhood, a hike in the woods or on a trail or it might be looking out your window or sitting on your balcony or back porch. I have a phrase I have used in my poetry a couple of different times. It is “take beauty personally”. Slow down, take some deep breaths and pay attention. What is calling you to notice. It may be a flower, a tree, a bird song, the sound of water from the sea or a fountain. Whatever it is, take it to heart, a message from God, the earth, or the universe that you are beloved. Find a way to let go of what is troubling you and receive the peace and love that you need.
Arrested by Beauty
Stopped in my tracks to notice
My senses alive
To see, to listen, to smell, to touch, to taste
These gifts all around
I am taking beauty personally today
As my beloved and I slowly walk this town
The bald eagle shows off his mighty wing span
The chickadees flitting from one tree to another
With their happy chirps
The autumn leaves in full display calling out:
“Look at me, look at me!”
I brush my fingers through the fragrant lavender
I breathe in the fresh sea air and let the sound
Of waves wash over me
Later the taste of fish tacos caps off our walk
This walking, this paying attention
Calms me, refreshes my spirit,
Brings me home to my body
Today I am alive, happy and grateful
After breakfast
The fog coming across the water
The ferry sounds its horn
The seals sun on the little dock
Set out for them
You could forget where you are
As the sound of waves distract you
And the surf laps against the shore
You could forget that you
Have to go home tomorrow
Back to those routines
Instead of these
And the gull cries
Calling you back to now
“Don’t worry we will be here
When you return”
And the fog keeps rolling
And blurs the seals
On their little rocking dock
I visited the Mukai Farm and Garden remembering and honoring the Japanese community that lived and farmed strawberries here before WWII. They were taken away during the war to internment camps. As I strolled the gardens there was a labyrinth with lanterns hung and intermittent Haiku streaming from pages strung with clothes pins as well. I was inspired to write these poems below.
I.
Immigrants settle
Growing fields of strawberries
Taken and interned
II.
War has many faces
Death and life roll through the land
Tears flow unending
III.
When will we return?
Children speak our unspoken words
Can hearts hope again?
IV.
Some return, rebuild
Life twists and turns with the sun
Trauma stays within
We took several hikes, this one runs along Shingle Mill Creek to Fern Cove.
They clear-cut cedar
Giants turned to roof shingles
The forest still grieves
Even in a pandemic
You can be kind
You can listen
You can learn
You can watch as the sun sets
Changing the colors of the sky
The light changing in the tree tops
Beauty can still take your breath away
Even in a pandemic
You can remember
You can give thanks
You can listen to the bird song
And wonder at the many voices
You can pray
You can vote
You can change
© Julie Clark 2020
The fruit trees
Have put on their new attire
Traded in the bare naked look
From buds to shawls of fragile blooms
Now with sturdy green working clothes
These garments will take them through the heat of summer
Their job, with branches stretching far into the sky
Collect all the glorious light coming their way
Transform the energy to feed the world
Fruit their goal, their hope, their song
No fruit, no life ahead
These trees will bear fruit
The leaves will do their job
And begin the cycle again
After the fruit is picked
Ripe and juicy
The old tired leaves will give
Their last hurrah
Decked out in the best of their colors
Gold, reds, oranges and yellows
The grand goodbye after all their labors
Before they fall to the ground
In storms of rain and wind
Will we like leaves
Live our lives
Dressed for the occasions
Of each stage of our being?
What are our goals, our passions?
Will they feed the lives coming after us?
How will we weather our storms and troubles?
Will we leave in a glorious hurrah
Having done all we can
To leave a rich inheritance
Of a life fully lived and a heart full of love
To the next generations?
© 2020 Julie Clark
When you are waiting
For winter to end
When the darkness
Clings closely to the day
Walk in the gardens available
Look for life signs
Budding on the tulip trees
See Mother Earth wrap her baby blankets
Around pruned rose bushes
See the robins congregate
In clusters in the leafless oaks
Perhaps planning
Spring nesting
Encouraging one another
Keep on keeping on
We need our flocks
This time of year
Find our cozy blankets
Snuggle in and make some plans
Visit the green house and get inspired
With bursts of color
Daffodils and crocus
Even a banana tree
Find warmth to
Free joy in your heart
© 2020 Julie Clark
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