Wild Poems

Far from my Minnesota home
sits a research station at the edge of a peninsula.
Restored to its jungle origins,
the little station holds clear just enough space
for a few sleeping areas, a place to gather and eat,
and a base from which to study.

This Costa Rican paradise is far from comfortable
with heat and […]

Take a breath.
Close your eyes.
Exhale.
Listen.

In the north country this year
we’ve had long-lasting cold temperatures.
We’re tough, we manage.
We suit up and go on with our days.

It’s fine, if a little wearying –
the weight of all that we wear.

Perhaps you’ve noticed the change in light
the angle of the sun
how daylight is slowly […]

Most of us have met dogs
that we think look like a wild one:
a coyote, a fox, or a wolf.

Sometimes they get named
in accordance with their wild cousins.
And perhaps, we wonder,
if we saw them in the woods on their own,
might we mistake them for their namesake?

Truth is, when you see a […]

There is a pause now
this quiet Solstice time
before light slowly lengthens.

The temptation?
To count the days.
To hold our breath
until daylight stretches into evening
and early morning forces back the darkness.

What a relief it will be
these light-starved eyes
to see again
no longer fumbling in darkness.

Still,
somewhere deep inside
past resistance and reason
you know this darkness, […]

In a day, we went from 60 to 0.
Degrees that is, at least the wind chill.
It had been unnaturally balmy for early December.

Then big winds brought a front
that arrived at our doorsteps,
quickly cycling from
rain to ice to a little snow.
And the thin jackets from the day before
looked laughable hanging on […]

For the peace and promise of a sunrise.
The quickening of breath that comes
when we take in the beauty of our surroundings.

For the mystery and humility
of daring to see how we are all connected.

For the opportunity, over and over again,
to choose joy.

For waking up every day to the unknown
and the courage […]