A phone call from an old friend.

Just when you needed it.

The sound after a snowfall.

A perfect peach.

A moment of sheer confidence.

Finding the right words.

Feeling strong.

Knowing the answer.

Green lights.

New growth.

A compliment.

Quiet time.

Sudden laughter.

~M.H. Clark

when I call and no one arrives…. when I doubt and the flame burns brighter…..when I listen and the silence grows….

inquiry for today~   reflect with the full moon without commotion…..be lured toward sky….

for all the upheaval

I live here in a village house without

all that racket horses and carts stir up,

and you wonder how that could ever be.

Wherever the mind dwells apart is itself

a distant place, Picking chrysanthemums

at my east fence,  I see South Mountain

far off: air lovely at dusk, birds in flight

returning home. All this means something,

something absolute: whenever I start

to explain it, I forget words altogether.

Color infusing autumn chrysanthemums

exquisite, I pick dew-bathed petals,

float them on that forget-your-cares

stuff. Even my passion for living apart

grows distant. I’m alone here, and still

the winejar soon fulls cups without me.

Everything at rest, dusk,: a bird calls,

returning to its forest home. Chanting,

I settle into my breath. Somehow, on this

east veranda, I’ve found my life again.

~Tao Chien