Quilt of Living

We carry everyone in ourselves
those who came before us
those who created us and
those who have past through our lives.
It's in our being.  In our cells.
Each one building upon the other
until the pieces of our lives gather
together to create a quilt of living.
Stitch by stich
fabric by fabric we are made
whole.

Hi (Ode to a Weed)

It doesn't belong there
but it's managed to
loop its way thru to
wave its leafy arm
at me in the wind
to say Hi.
Curling around like
thread woven in fabric.
Pull it out from the top
but so much of it still remains
so that weeks later it will wave
Hi again to me -
mocking.
To defeat it you have
to pull it out by the root.
But even then part of it
might still take hold in the dirt to
again rise and wave to
speak triumphantly -
Hi.

Kentucky

Jesse Stuart wrote about Kentucky and what Kentucky meant to him and where to thought Kentucky fit in these United States.  He wrote simply and with heart so I'll attempt the same...

I come from south of the river called Ohio
with the Appalachian mountains
a far cry to my east and
the Mississippi River to my west.
But I feel in the wind the echoes of my neighbors.
Here our country melds into something not quite
south, east, west or north.
It's something else entirely.
Jesse Stuart said we were the heart of this country.
I believe he was right.
The blood flows thru the heart.
If you come to visit and take some time out
to meet us you'll find us as welcoming as
a Day Lily's delicate flower is to the sun. 
We embrace what we were, who we are
and what we will become with patience
and a bit of what happens, happens for a reason.
It will all work out.
But just in case let's just stay out of the fray.

The Storm is Over

The storm is over.
The winds remain
and hit my ear drums
making the sound of rolling thunder.
The overflowing water in the creek bubbles
and churns as it rolls down
past rocks and pushes fast debris indiscriminately.
Puddles are left to maneuver
and trees overhead still drip rain.
The sun is cautiously reasserting
itself in the sky.
While the dark clouds fade in the distance.