SIN

                              
                               
                               In              

                               Gra

                               Tit

                               Ude

                               Is

                               The

                               Fir

                               St

                               Sin

PAINTERS RESTAURANT OASIS Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY

Here, surrounded

By warm noise

Chattering patrons

Gossiping regulars

Jazz from the City

I feel comfortable

As though home.

Even on a cloudy day

They keep the lights low

And my mind

Slows to dim.

Coffee in a sailor’s mug

Arrives at my table

As I sit down alone

With room for six.

Without offering a menu

The owner takes my order.

He calls me warmly by name

And I thank him

The same way.

I return day after day

To read, write, eat

And nourish my soul.

They know me here;

I feel love.

THE FOURTH BLOW

The sixth lesson                                                                  

Watercolor by Pat Morgan

That taught me to survive

Wasn’t any deeper

Than the previous five.

The fifth knock

That opened the door

Wasn’t any louder

Than the previous four.

The fourth blow

That split the tree

Wasn’t any harder

Than the previous three.

The third stone

That twinkled like new

Wasn’t more precious

Than the previous two.

The second effort

That got the job done

Wasn’t any greater

Than the previous one.

This last stanza

That needed to be said

Wasn’t profounder than

Those already read.

ENVY RUINS EVERYTHING

Ocean envies land

Striking it wave after wave

Washing it away

Resorting to tsunami

To soak it miles in.

Land envies mountain

Shaking it to its core

Quaking it till it falls

Loving each avalanche

It can cause.

Mountain envies sky

Blocking the light

Channeling the wind

Creating rain on one side

Desert on the other.

Sky envies ocean

Blowing hard over it

Whipping up whitecaps

Making unwilling waves

Crash against the rocks.

Ocean, Land,

Mountain, Sky

Were perfect

Before there was envy;

Envy ruined everything.