YOU CAN HEAR THE FLOWRS SING

When you walk in silence in the morning...

you hear the wind whisper to the trees...

as the syncopation of the crickets

floats upon the breeze.

Soon the nightingale, the blackbird, 

the owl...and the chickadee

begin to sing, as if rehearsed...

their morning melody.

Flowers hear the singing

and, to me at least, it seems

the music wakes them gently

from wherever flowers dream.

Perhaps that’s why throughout the year

and primarily in Spring...

if you listen to them closely

you can hear the flowers sing.

THE EARLY BIRD

I have only head the early bird who wakes before first light

I have never seen her beauty even when the moon is bright.

There was a time I’d try to find her as her song drifted on the breeze

I would search the rooftops, and the bushes and the flowers and the trees.

But I stopped my hunt to see the early bird…even under the brightest moon

When I realized as I was searching I forgot to listen to her tune.

Now when I hear the early bird…when I hear her morning song rise

Not only have I stopped looking for her…I often close my eyes.

For I have learned a lesson…taught to me by the early bird…

That not all beauty must be seen…some beauty must be heard.

ESSENTIAL WORKERS

This week we celebrate teachers and nurses…two professions collectively

I can’t think of anything more appropriate than to thank them simultaneously.

For here we have two career paths whose roles are frequently reversed

as a nurse often becomes a teacher and a teacher is oftentimes a nurse.

Celebrating them together is brilliant…this is a fact we can’t deny

If you are still a little skeptical…let me tell you why.

Both know a smile can brighten another person’s day- it’s a lesson they have learned 

and both are more than happy to receive a smile in return.

They both know what it’s like to be important and how it feels to be needed.

They both know once they touch another person’s life…

then in life they have succeeded. 

They know when to be hard on us…and when they should be sweet.

Both are tired at the end of the day after spending hours on their feet.

They both have days when all goes well and their patients and children thrive…

and other days, when they feel lucky just to make it out alive. 

They remain calm in the face of adversity for no matter how loud we scream or shout…

they have seen and heard it all before…and we can never gross them out.

Through it all they never give up…they work, they toil…and they pray

for both believe that miracles await them every day.

So let’s not forget to thank them both…for no matter how you spin it

the life we live is a better life with nurses and teachers in it.

It seems we have finally learned who our essential workers are 

as this pandemic has encircled the Earth…

And now that we’ve identified them…

perhaps it’s time to pay them what they’re worth.

EVERY NOW AND THEN IS ENOUGH

She was sad not knowing where her mom’s mind was taking her

sad how sometimes she’d be lost to her a while…

but happy every now and then,…when she’d turn to her and smile.

for in those fleeting moments

moments of surprise 

she saw the glow return to her mother’s face

and the sparkle to her eyes…

And she would relish in those moments

savor every second when….

for even the briefest flash…

she was her mom again.

THE YOUNG DOG AND THE OLD DOG

A young dog met an old dog at a barbecue one day

The young dog licked the old dog’s face and together they did play.

The young dog every now and then wanted to play a little fetch…

She made that old dog throw things…she made that old dog stretch.

The young dog jumped and bounced and ran all over the yard…

The old dog can’t remember the last time he played or laughed so hard.

As the young dog made the old dog do things he’d forgotten how to do

the old dog couldn’t believe how fast time with the young dog flew.

It’s funny how the young dog 

in between all that playing…all those licks…

did something we thought impossible…

she taught that old dog some new tricks.

CATCH THE WIND

She tried to lasso her daughter’s energy

then paused, shook her head and grinned…

for she knew trying to capture her spirit

would be like trying to catch the wind.

It was at that moment she saw 

what many a mother sees

that you don’t always have to catch the wind

to be able to enjoy the breeze.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN ANGELS

“Mommy, do you believe in angels?” Her daughter asked one night as her mother tucked her into bed.

Her mother smiled, then sat down next to her…”I do believe”, she said.

“I believe in angels you can see…and even those you can’t. 

I believe angels are here to protect us…I believe angels can enchant.

I believe angels are sent down to us from somewhere up above.

I believe they have one purpose…and that’s to love, to love…to love.

I believe angles are easy to recognize…you’ll know them at first sight

for though they often try to hide their wings they cannot conceal their light.

Angels are the ones who stop, who smile, who listen, who lend a hand, who share

I believe once you start looking for them…you’ll see angels everywhere. 

And I believe when we need them most that’s when angels will astound us

because it’s in those moments whether we see them or not…we feel their wings around us.

I believe an angel came to me…although it’s been a little while now

who helped me believe in miracles when I’d forgotten how.

Yes, I believe in angels…I believe there’s one here now…

and I believe she’s you…”

“Count again.” her daughter said before descending into sleep …

because I believe there’s two.