sing, laugh, cry

i sing because i am too small

  to contain what i feel

i laugh because the joke is on humanity

i cry because the joke is not funny

i sing because i live with deep joy

i laugh because my loves needs to believe

   i am well

i cry when they discover i am human

i sing because i am part

  of a great vastness

i laugh to cover my inadequacy

  and pray for compassion

  and forgiveness

i cry when i cannot do what i see needs

  to be done

i sing because i am only part

  of the universe

“I” gone

headstones in old cemeteries

tell stories in names, dates and epithets

we can conjure but never be sure

loved ones may never die so long

as we live in someone’s memory

but that means “we,”  “I” will disappear

“I” will cease to exist, even in memory

but was I not part of something vast

beyond my comprehension?

was  “I” not merely a trickle in a brook

the merged into a stream  that joined

a mighty river to the sea?

April 8, 2024

eeriness of a sudden chill

birds fluttering, darting to nests

bats lifting from inverted sleep

giraffes shifting to shelter their young

horses meandering, sure only in line

with others, also restless and uncertain

dogs whimpering, cowering

or crawling to be near awed masters

standing, arms raised, intent upon

the midnight sky barely past noon

with blotted sun exposing only odd

ring of blue- or gold-white coronet

lasting minutes between diamond

and diamond

rare, beautiful, strange

gift for a lifetime shared with so many

experiencing as never before

their common, frail humanity

acknowledging the vastness of reality