Nature

 

Dark Morning

It is a different walk that I took this morning.  The path was the same but the timewas earlier.  It was pre-dawn and darkish, with only the faint light of the dawn starting in the east.  It is a different world then.  Quiet, except for the roar of nearby expressway traffic.  Lights on porches and by garages are still on, having kept watch through the night.  No one is out and about, but me.

Suddenly a disembodied white cotton ball crosses my path and startles me.  As it pauses and sits up, I see it is a bunny.  Ah, I am not alone after all.  The cardinal starts the morning bird chorus with his insistent herald to the dawn and another cardinal in a distant tree trumpets back a response.  Soon, the traffic noise is dimmed as it is overshadowed by the growing harmony of bird voices giving praise to their Creator.

More bunnies cross my path, six in all.  Big score for my morning walk today.  As I approach two more, they sit up and look at me and don’t bother to scamper.  They have seen me pass on so many mornings they know I am no danger to them.  We pass like old friends just out for a stroll.

Turning toward home, the sky has become brighter.  Morning is here.  It is time to sit and meditate, my own thanksgiving to my Creator.

Nancy Judd, IL

 

Rainy Morn  

Gray skies dimmed the morn today.  My walk was interrupted by a summer shower.  At first, the wet sidewalks seemed to be the remnant of an earlier rain.  I watched for puddles and muddy spots, which can be slick as ice.  Picking my way, the first few drops were not noticeable.  They mingled with my tears.  My own gray feelings blended with the leaden clouds.  Nature and I were in the same mood.

There was no flash of lightening or crash of thunder to display a fury.  There was only the steady downpour of Heaven’s tears.  Trees along the way gave respite and seemed to whisper, “stay here, stay dry”, but I’ve never played it safe before.  I know the sun is shining somewhere just as I know that joy resides within.  I guess that is where faith turns into knowing. 

Nancy Judd, IL

 

Midnight Rainbow

Starlight casts a skin

of sparkle on sleeping snow

windswept deep and blue

Splintered whiskers in

swollen rings of moon halo

spin a fleshy hue

Shivering whispers

secrets in a shrouded breeze

breath reflects soft light

Branch shadows whistle

low sweet and slow melodies

this long winter’s night

David McKenna/Linked Haiku/Chicago