Music starts my little church And bids us goers “come forward” - Timid and cleansing at first - Bringing voices to one accord Then Chris’s voice waxing loud

Oh star – brightest star – That’s first in the sky – I don’t need advice; I just need an ear. Nobody else must know

Come, graceful brittlebush And creamy globe mallow blooms. The winds of spring call you Again from the sandy tombs. Come, you dashing lupine

Death, to me, is a stranger; I know not his whereabouts. I’ve seen him but haven’t heard – I know of him but we’ve not met. He spoke at length with my elder

Like the Sphinx Igor lies regally With eyes closed off To the world. He finds his zen

El Capitan– you are a joint Within the Sierra Nevadas Of punctuated granite - A sentinel of the ages. Sylvestris partition -

Oh joy! at the night sky And the wonder it declares. How flirtatious! How they flare— The many stars on high! There’s Castor and Pollux

Good morning, fair cardinal— How are you? How are your children? Your plumage is nearly outdone By the sun’s golden hue.

Tarry with me tonight My dear firelight! Your precious warmth be My solitary company. It’s my plush blanket

Love is two pairs of footprints Impressed in the sand. Will you ever walk beside me And together go home? Love is sunlight that makes

What love is this That spellbinds me And keeps me returning To read scripture? Older I will get

How capricious it is To follow the tail of a comet And skip across Saturn’s rings - To wade in endless streams - Cloaked in ether’s blanket

Like gold of Havilah God is true and straight. I can exhort Adonai For his tender heart. Be it ambivalence

Love is many, Water is many And flows aplenty But Fire is one And consumes until gone All but purity.

Gentle Earth, I beg of you— Whisper to us the first sign of sp… Annul this wintry despair And a season of life anew, bring. From the depths of Baja