"Spring Haiku"

Rain turns into snow.

The branch dons its icy coat.

Spring will come someday.

"Vision"

The world is filled with smears and smudges,

colors dull gradually.

Learn to interpret blurs as people.

Fill in all you cannot see.

Memories dim of true appearance.

Surely this is all there’s been.

Then handed a piece of glass and metal,

life comes in focus once again.

Textures explode from every surface.

Colors leap with vibrancy.

Witness what you take for granted

in just a glimpse of clarity.

"Maine"

Slipping as I walk down the weathered steps,

acorns roll like marbles.

The healing fog around me wrapped,

each breath revives that which falters.

Acorns roll like marbles

and they fly out from beneath my feet.

Each breath revives that which falters

and a gentle breeze swirls around me.

And they fly out from beneath my feet

The world laughs with me just the same

and a gentle breeze swirls around me.

The trees shake off last night’s rain.

The world laughs with me just the same.

Waves crash upon the opposite shore

while the trees shake off last night’s rain.

I peruse each artsy store.

Waves crash upon the opposite shore

and wildflowers race to intertwine.

I peruse each artsy store,

waving as I caper by.

Wildflowers race to intertwine,

each blossom smiling up at me,

waving as I caper by,

wandering past the old pine tree.

Each blossom smiling up at me

as I breath in the salty air of Maine.

Wandering past the old pine tree

where the mountains meet the sea.

"The World of the Expected"

We laugh and run,

sing and play.

Dance and dream each

day away.

Imagining

comes naturally.

Art, our language.

Verve, our key.

But now our world,

of free joy,

is threatened through

toxic ploy.

A choice to us 

they present:

accept the ghosts 

or dissent.

The ghosts chose to 

join the hoard

of those who had

turned before.

Conforming to 

the molds cast:

one becoming

like the rest.

Abandoning

artistry,

desensitized

to beauty.

This same choice they 

give us now.

Requiring a

deathly bow.

Take courage all!

Resist their ways,

reject their call

to the world of the expected.

Only today

At fourteen I caught a vision,

I was convinced it was from You.

Through it I filtered all decisions,

striving always to stay true.

Those plans, that ambitious scheme,

mapped out my life from here to death.

I started chasing this grand dream–

it demanded every breath.

At sixteen I caved to doubt–

reassessing each option,

certain to find a new way out,

something else to engage in.

But I felt You led me back

so I took that leap of faith.

I continued down that track.

It seemed a dismal twist of fate.

Downward I spiraled to despair

begging You for fitting answers.

Each day, more apart my soul did tear

like in some vicious form of cancer.

Finally I cried, “No more!”

Life ground to a screeching halt

as I ditched these plans abhorred,

not knowing if I was at fault.

Then there fell a deathlike silence,

which grew scarier each day.

I feared a charge of noncompliance

but still saw no other way.

I have learned to love that stillness,

freed from the constant grip of plan.

Embrace each moment and don’t stress,

to rediscover who I am.

I know now life plans are futile–

simply options in your head–

but they can become quite brutal.

Give me just this day instead.

So long I begged You to tell me

what Your will for my life was.

Now I just ask You guide this minute.

Help me commit to You this day.

I was recently reminded that we only have today. And yet we foolishly try to plan out the next several years. This just sets us up for disappointment later because we will never be able to envision the future with total accuracy. Just today. Treasure today. When you speak to someone, forget the rest of the world for that moment. You only know you will see them today. 
What will we do with today?

The unlocking of mind

Music is the key that unlocks my mind. Don't get me wrong, I can think without it. But what I accomplish without it pales drastically when compared to what can be accomplished with it. My preferred styles are classical and Irish, in both cases it has to be without words. I don't really know how it works. Something about it lets my brain lock onto it and then the floodgates fully open. I realized recently how I often am not thinking in terms of words, but in terms of melody and feeling. Yet somehow when I am trying to write, to allow myself to be occupied with a song frees up the words otherwise hidden in the depths of the great unknown. It seems to be my most multipurpose tool: it helps me go to sleep and helps me wake up, I use it when I am too bored, excited, happy or sad to communicate in any other way, and, as just mentioned, I use it when writing. Thank God for music!

Of dogs and people, peace and love: What is this world?

    How do we live in a world that is so hardened and crass that life is thought of with such flippancy?
    Today I read about a man who's dog was getting to be so old that it embarrassed him to think of what his neighbors must think, so he decided to put it down. WHAT?!?!?!?!!! It's not like we're talking about an uncomfortable pair of shoes or a wardrobe malfunction, "Oh, it embarrassed me, I think I'll just get rid of it." THIS IS LIFE that we're dealing with here!!!
    What does this say about our relationships? What does it say about how we value anything outside of ourselves? "Well, if it doesn't suit your purposes then discard it." So DISGUSTING!!! And to think of the people that are affected and the animals that are being held at their mercy! Now, you might be saying to yourself, "Joy, calm down. You're freaking out over a dog. It's just a dog. And it was old. Not a big deal." YES! This all started because of hearing about an old dog. But here is an important point: it is not just a dog. People argue, "Look, they are animals. They are here for us to aid us in labor and to be food for us. That is their purpose in life." The way I see it is if it is breathing, it needs to be cared for and protected and even the things that aren't breathing need to be treated with respect. It might start with dogs, but people are and will be treated even more in like manners if we don't take a stand.
    What would it look like to get a piece of land (which would have to be bought because of the system), but then just to let everyone use it? People would have to agree to a set of guidelines, simply to live in harmony with the land, nature and each other. Such a set of guidelines would be in place to gently encourage those involved to live up to their ultimate potential/happiness/peace. It would be a place where nature belonged to all and was respected and supported by all.
    This brings me to another point. I am reminded again that people are often encouraged to pursue money and happiness and fulfillment while being fed the lie that the two options are really one and the same. Using our talents to the fullest often means that we don't make as much money as what would otherwise be possible. Is that actually bad, though? To be fully human, we must value humans more than the little pieces of paper and metal that we are so fond of accumulating. What does it look like to live as though the money doesn't matter? To live in a way that does truly value people more?