# BlogElul 11: Trust

I Trust You to Use it Well

My mother’s philodendron lived for thirty-seven years—

twice repotted, watered frequently, and in a place filled

with light that streamed in between slotted blinds—

My mother bought the plant, a vacuum cleaner and a dining
room table after I moved into my own home

Each month she sent me money to do with as I wished

She never asked how I spent the money she sent 
when she received my father’s pension check

It never occurred to me to ask what she did without

BlogElul. 10: Forgive

Unread

To forgive requires a backward glance—

the sweeping out of corners,

flooding the past with strobe lights

and holding what is found 

until you decide to forgive

even when you know that your words,

shrugged off as unimportant

will remain unread

BlogElul 9: see

  The View

My favorite spot to view the ocean,

to watch the waves climb over

rocks set in their appointed places

is a flat rock that tilts to the left

From that rock I see the horizon line

and the way the ocean blurs a clear 

demarcation between blue hues

I wrap myself in kelp for warmth

and watch the ocean inhale and exhale

BlogElul 8: Hear

A Hymn to Words

They listen to the wind 

unravel between branches, 

toss twigs, launch acorns 

No one else is on the trail—

it belongs to them 

Before the sun retreats

they hear their words echo

in the space between said

and unsaid words

BlogElul 7: Understand

Misconstrue

Only three letters

separate understand from—

“to misunderstand”

#BlogElul 6: Want

    Not Yet, Perhaps Soon

Is it selfish to own many wants

when others own a paucity

Some wants remain silent

They carry themselves from

year to year, brushed off,

reworded in the hope that

they will be fulfilled.

#BlogElul 5: Commit

   The Binding

More than a passing fancy,

an intellectual conundrum

It requires a shift in thinking,

a transformation from one

place to another

It requires words said aloud—

each syllable consecrated

To commit to anything

tames the Tightrope Walker

who resides within

#BlogElul 4: Choose

 The Quandary

To choose 

To elect a choice from

myriad possibilities

requires turning away

and turning toward

As if it’s ever that simple

to say either or

when you own both sides

#BlogElul 3: Prepare

Unexpected 

You can’t prepare for

every contingency, our

life writes its own script

#BlogElul 2: Seek

Mending Fences

When you wander

within a maze

barriers alter paths

and force 

a change of direction

I seek a way

to cancel out walls

and mend broken places,

to create a new itinerary 

where paths intersect

and roadblocks disappear

#blogElul 1: Decide

     A False Premise

Some stories rest 
under unspoken words,

beneath layers of years

Shall I excavate 
a buried narrative,

dust off the detritus, 
shake it 

and let it breathe 

The story itself is tame, 
but spools 
into a chronicle 
that rests on a flimsy base

Authentic history 
requires primary sources

Yet, I cannot decide 

Another Space

They sat on either end 

of a honey toned oak table

with mugs of Ceylon tea, 
a plate of shortbread cookies

an earthenware teapot, stacks of books,

and an Appalachian mountain dulcimer

Poetry and music conjured up

sylvan settings where time

expanded and contracted

—and words loosened from boundaries

—and songs without words

set up new perimeters

Improvised sounds carried melodies 

to places 

unencumbered by time

Friends and Lovers

They kept a book of words,

constructed from inverted letters 

and  sounds that lacked 

pronunciation —Each word stood 

in for one  found in a dictionary

They wrote notes saying 

what couldn’t be said

in plain English—They hid

behind their code certain

that no one else knew

their secrets

A Carousel of Forbidden Tastes

I delight in 

falafel sandwiches brimming 

with diced vegetables

 tri- cornered humentashen 

raspberry frozen yogurt

piled four finger’s high

ratatouille made with zucchini, 

purple eggplant, shallots, 

and miniature sweet peppers

I score cucumbers with fork tines

create ringlets of carrot ribbons,

and slice mushroom caps

into moon shaped slivers

i create paninis 

with left-over chicken

years ago

I prepared layers of lasagna

in two pyrex dishes

and left one dish on the table

when I left the house 

to dine with women 

who brought platters

of dining delights
seasoned with spices
I learned to love

The River Stream

             I have a deeply hidden...desire
              for something beyond the daily life.
                     Virginia Woolf

stepping stones led us
around a bend and into
a place of desire