for Max on his birthday

Heavy with snow, the tips of branches stretch to reach their roots below.

Steam rises from the dense green quilt -- a signifier of the warm spring that awaits.

Ah, blessed immersion beckons over the next rise.

On this path with you, dear friend, the nutrients flow in every step. Warmth shared from the river within.

for Tor

Shaking off snow, hanging up the snowshoes, you come to the fire.
Soon we smell the winter berries, small and dark, fetched from the depths of your pockets, and tossed on the stove.

First the static, like an off-tuned radio, fills the room.
Then the sound of the spice market and far-away seas, awaken us to summers yet ahead.

Entwined in the lint and stitching, more seeds remain.
Let us reach now reach down and retrieve these fruits you've so generously shared.

Now its your turn to savor their fire and sweetness. Just as we recall their heat in the gleam of your glance once again.

For Kristine D.

Twisting left, then right, the path seems too narrow for all that you carry.

One more turn, a log to cross, and then the glistening dance of light across the surface of the lake just ahead.

Each erratic sun fragment a reflection of the One Sun. Each step, the same path to this place -- the indwelling center of your generous heart.

To Therese

Whirling.
Whirling across the flower-topped field like a dizzy drunk bee.
You've sweetened many souls.

Now, silent and grounded, you follow the candle flame back through the wick to the buzzing electrons in the seemingly solid wax below.

Rest in this sea of potential.
Your light is only magnified in each in-breath.