Stillness In A Storm

In that perfect stillness
In the Chapel of Adoration
At St. Mary of the Miraculous Medal
Roman Catholic church.

So still I can hear
My each and every breath.
The air in and out
Of my lungs.

So still the flames
Of the candles barely
Flicker and just sit
Atop the candle wicks.

A calm and stillness here
To calm and still
The storms raging
Within me.

As I pray,
As I just sit,
In the very presence
Of Jesus.

I rush in a
Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual storm;
I flow out
A more calm and focused man.

Planter Boxes

The planter boxes
In our backyard garden,
Built by love,
Out of the wood
From the hate fence
Erected to spite;
Which was once
Between our houses.
I tore that fence down
And built something
Good and useful
In a spirit of love,
Peace, and community,
From scraps which would
Have been thrown away.
Soon we'll have fresh vegetables
To share!

Brisket Rub

Work the sugar
And herb and spice
Into the brisket.
Rub a piece of meat
As you would
Another man's wife.
Deeply, tenderly,
Slowly paying
Attention to each
And every detail
As if nothing else
In the world matters
Right there and then.

Who Was She?

We embrace
Slowly kissing deep
Before we go
Our separate ways.

Between our parked cars
At the washed out end
Of highway 87
Near where the nude beach begins.

I cup the softness of her breast
Fingers tracing the outline of her nipple
As my other hand explores
The small of her back.

My hands gently glide beneath
Her loose cut tank top
Caressing over smooth unblemished pleasures
Which, sadly, I'll not pursue any further that day.

Pressing herself against me
She coos into my ear,
"Sex with you
Would have been great."

Who was she?
We'd only just met that day
Only to leave each other.
Our paths havn't crossed, not yet, anyway.

Butterfly Over My Buddha In The Backyard

A butterfly delicately dances over
The Buddha statue
Meditatively seated
In the bamboo
In my backyard
Reminding me
Of the mindfulness
In me.