the world awakes and a garden delights
beyond this green paradise
a forgotten man has died
sweet peas planted
a bittersweet goodbye
we knew not your story
we know only your farewell
sweet sorrow
parting is
Author: robinchandler
Jughandle
humming truck tires on Highway One drowned by the Pacific
lanky Bishop Pines loom
headland prairies rise above the cold rough waters
cliffs glazed in reds and yellow ochre
clockwork of tides, migration of whales, and nesting of birds
comfort reborn
sheltered by a windswept fir
nomadic narcissi bloom
winter tragedies fade
new beginnings found
Calm
calm
yet swamped after the storm
finding our star
gathering our strength
making our plans: moving forward
knowing the Furies regroup
how precious the life of a peregrine
“the most basic tenet…”
Robin L. Chandler, 2021.
The Right to Vote is ephemeral.
It is as fragile as a butterfly.
It must be protected, or it becomes extinct.
Democracy, like nature, must be nurtured.
It is fragile and easily destroyed.
And it is difficult to restore what has been lost.
Dante and Virgil divine this “comedy,”
And point the beast to the gates of hell.
Raise your hands and be counted.
Awake, arise, and vote!
Refuge
“thousands of miles
ancient knowledge
stars and rivers
guide
to shelter
cold and hungry
emigrants
father, mother, and child
seeking refuge
and promise of
a new year”
Witness
Remember:
We are not separate from the world.
Always find balance.
The path you make is on dirt shared by others.
All remarkable, mysterious and precious as you.
ex voto
Thank you for the hummingbirds…a glimmer of hope we cherish in our gardens.
Hear our votive prayer for the bird souls, thousands dead in New Mexico, victims of the wildfires fueled by climate change:
“And when bird song is gone will earth be the only witness?
Will only rocks grieve the absence?”
Do we pray for a miracle
or…
awake from the dream that our world consists of disconnected beings?
tenebra 3
Creek Fire:
23 days,
304,604 acres burned,
39% containment, and
855 structures destroyed.
the fate of habitats
…..endangered, vulnerable, threatened
in the path of hubris?
Creamsicle:
3 years, 252 days,
over 20,000 lies and only $ 750 paid in taxes,
68 environmental regulations reversed (32 in progress),
7.15 million COVID-19 cases and 205,000 deaths, and
37 days until we exit the Paris Climate Agreement.
The fate of communities
…..who serve our country, grow our food, heal our sick, pay their taxes
in the path of progress?
Say Their Names.
tenebra 2
Big Mac speaks:
“buy now, pay later, Diner’s Club.”
Is the darkness only in my mind?
And then I look outside and see the smoke.
And mirrors.
endurance and faith
The sun sets on the last July Saturday and I listen to a fado lament sung by Ercilia Costa and read Winter a poem by Czeslaw Milosz:
“And now I am ready to keep running
When the sun rises beyond the borderlands of death,
I already see mountain ridges in the heavenly forest
Where, beyond every essence, a new essence waits.”
alive in the sea of information 