It's what's on the inside that matters.

Devoting time to

Melting down layers

Of powder

And falsities.

Attending to love and grief, anger and bliss.

Burning away concealers

And peels

Glow true from the inside out.

Haggard with wisdom, weathered with life.

Pure, always at home.

She spun a web that was

fibered with peace; the bridge thread on truth.

Me, caught in the web of austerity;

facing the pain with fierce action and love.

Then soreness falls away.

Joy is fuller; love is deeper.

You know when she's there and look for

her when she's not.

Unattached, yet still connected.

When joy knocks on your door,

Please let her in.

In the same way we acknowledge anger and grief,

Open to joy.

Look for her. Listen to her. Accept her as she is.

Your beauty lies

In the way you move

Through the world.

With steadiness

Ease

And ferocity.

Accepting your reality.

Maintaining your aim.

Breaking free.

Moving through.

Following love.

Taking in life.

And resting when you can.

A touch

A glance

A whisper

A care.

Falling in love is simple and easy.

And happens over and over again.

My heart is full of emotion

I work to make space to contain what I need of it

And let the rest overflow into something tangible -

A poem, a painting, a look.

Honest words.

How can I share the way I'm feeling?

Is there a way to recreate the depth?

Receiving something heartfelt from another requires attention and vulnerability, too.

Are you willing to open up to it?

At what point

Did you begin

Taking care of

Yourself

For the sake

Of

Yourself?

To hold more

Love

And

Life.

What does the pain uncover?

Where do I stand if I never began?

How do I face it

And not feed it?

Boundary lends a path.

Space invites epiphany.

My breath and story live within.

Do you have the

capacity to see someone as they are.

Their unique channel of feeling loved.

And send some in their direction?

Are you able to let yourself be seen.

Aware of how you receive love.

And openly let it in?

Expand to connect.

Feeling cared for

Can be as simple as

Being considered

When decisions are made.

I got a mammal with floppy ears to protect me.

His furry body is armor against over thinking.

His wagging tail a sword that cuts off apathy.

And his warm body a barricade against loneliness.

What does it mean to be imperfect?

Embracing each crack in your wholeness.

Integrating tarnish into your being.

To be imperfect is to be vulnerable.

To show up sincerely as yourself.

Facing imperfection, without flaunting it, is nearly perfect.

come back to it, dear.

the warm intention you set

and then lost track of.

amble there with love.

reminded why you began.

believing in life.

Love is in the waiting.
Joy is in the surprise.

In gratitude, you’ll find hope.

Yesterday I saw you hear me.
Your eyes were big, brown.
Taking in what I was sending out.

It feels like my heart finally split.
Cracked for a while,
But with a full view and forgiveness, the levy let go into something more soft.

With more space to see and love. More room to receive and take in.

Open, but still cautious of when to weave up.

I miss the water.
The same way I miss being a young girl.
The same way I miss leaning into my friend.
The same way I miss that time that was hard, but it really wasn’t.
I miss it the same way I long for my tiny hairs to stand up from the energy of the warmth and balminess of our skin touching.
I miss the buoyancy, I miss the sun.
I miss being carried away, light as a feather, across the depth, weight, and mystery.

And at the pace of a bear or a butterfly, I will not sit and wait, but rather, I will seek and find the things that are facing me.

They face the sun.

The mammoth flowers that grow taller than me. With dark, round faces and bright pedaled hair. Their stems are long, strong, and life giving.

The hills were plowed and seeds were planted. We gazed in awe and wonder as to what miracle God was unfolding.

The sun-loving dancers gradually rose - radiant and captivating. They bounce to and fro’, stable and confident in their stem they grow.

In resolve for a life that was lost, they gleam.

Their bumbling wind-blown rhythms exude hope

And celebrate grace rising from dark things.

Awake with joy
Plants dance
Not competing or comparing
Confident in uniqueness

Let’s be honest like the springtime.

Divinely placed
Trusting
Roots growing deep, twined together
Sharing light, showing glory

Let’s be honest like the springtime.

Candid
Flaws transparent
Epiphany of a gracious Creator.

Let’s be honest like the springtime

swamp fox daydream

giving up the woodlands
taking in the marshy coast

bringing the kayaks, pottery wheel, 
and man I love the most

breathing in salty air
moisture on my skin

trading in sweet rainbow trout
for fish with harder fins

twisted oaks, locks of spanish moss
fiddler crabs and palmetto bugs

screened porches and sandy ground

a wetlandish film
covering the people and town

I’m giving up the woodlands
taking in the marshy coast

see you when you get here
I’ll cook up some plantains and indigo toast 

One room. Two zipper doors. A screen roof. And nylon walls. 

Our first home will always be full of promise. 

Promise of lightning bug lullabies and soul sought adventures.

Beauty comes in the form of nature’s surprise.