Land Mines

When the news came

that my best friend

had ended her fight

shortly after Valentines day

2009

I indulged and comforted

myself in these words...

May you make your own

list of blessings

in between land mines.

Land Mines

Tiptoeing around

the land mines of life

nothing to do...really

but...

make paper airplanes,

enjoy red roses heads wired high

and the tuft of hair

on Kaia’s shoulders

turned gold by sunlight,

a card with shoes on it

that remind me

I am home and grateful,

for my lovers smile beside me

dazzling & easy& here.

Nothing I can do

except drink strawberries

in champagne

by the water

to trust and believe life is unfolding

as agreed to...

to hold on to the ones

I can still call daily,

to colored kites in the sky

and the slightness of tears

in my friends eyes,

the ferry hum

I can consistently count on...

on the hour.

Nothing I can do but

be witness to the blueness

of the water,

the strength in the mountains,

the wildness of the underbrush...

the crunch of feet on desert gravel,

the roar of boats

at play on February water,

rock sculptures that defy gravity

a partnership of art and earth,

movies that make me

forget my own name

and old songs of comfort

like the weight of silk skin

spread across me.

Kisses and laughter that continue

to take my breath away

and fill my head

with immediate wonder,

for a dog that smiles

only on the right...

with equal anxiety and joy,

for phones that buzz with

"I am thinking of you." wishes

and every moment that passes by

in sunlight,

for this red nest

that comfort and protects,

for sunsets that say farewell

to the day

and its gifts of living

and breathing

and all the blessings offered

in between the land mines of life!

Pam Piper Rain

Photo by Ed Earley