A constellation
Every tooth sparkling from its own nebula
Cosmic music bursts violently
From a collapsing galaxy
As your laugh wells up from deep time
Your eyes glitter back from tomorrow
A reflection of the stardust of creation
Your lips
As lonely as the moon
With its half crescent smile
Tracing the sky
Behind a crooked orange paintbrush
Up until an infinite wave of space
Engulfs me in the soft pillow
Of your hair,
And the shadows of the sunset
Put me to sleep in your smile
Years of poetry
I woke up a poet
Most days in those years
In the beginning I was a painter
But my colors always ran
When the sun shone I was an athlete
Near water I was a fish
I wanted nothing more
Than to become the air, or the sea
Some days we philosophized
Touching a metaphysical reality
As we imbibed all of our indulgences
But most days, I woke up a poet
Those years were riddled with questions
That came about as I wandered
Down dusty paths
And forgotten alleyways
Questions that played out in my mind
In verse and in rhyme
Small blue flower
Cultivating Community Garden
A few sunny days and it already smells like spring! It’s got me dreaming of when I managed the Cultivating Community Garden at the University of Michigan, and thinking about what to plant this year in my own garden.
Mayan Ball Court
Restored and kept in pristine conditions, this ball court at Quirigua, Guatemala constantly has the jungle creeping back towards it. I found a few ripe avocado and mango trees just behind the structures in the background, and happily made a fresh snack from the fruit that had fallen.
Through the elements
Out of torments,
Storms form the north,
Rains from the south,
You seemed to grow
Declining to recognize
The lack of warmth
All along promising to yourself
That one day the sun would come
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China slides along the landscape like and ancient dragon for more than 13 thousand miles. This portion, close to Beijing, rolls along the crest of mountain ranges and fills daily with tourists.
Day and night on the beach
A tide pool on Myrtle Beach, South Carolina throws off a reflection that’s unsure if it’s day or night.
Old mission bell
The sun glares hot and bright behind a bell in a small Spanish mission in Southern California.
Time and inquiry
For in the wind lie answers,
Old as time itself,
Questions asked by weary travelers
Found only on the lips of lovers.
A Poetic Voyage 