Purple Paths Poetry

  • Don’t Misunderstand

    Striving for justice and peace Doesn’t mean I won’t go to war. Striving for justice and peace Means that when I go to war I won’t see enemies, I will see the face Of a person who was once a child, And I will choose my tool wisely.

    PurplePaths

  • Am I Complicit When I Pray

    Am I complicit when I pray? When I seek and search to stay true To my baptismal promise In the face of true evil? When I remind myself of my vow To strive for Justice and Peace among ALL people And to Respect the dignity of EVERY human being? Am I complicit when I don’t…

    PurplePaths

  • Believing Again

    The New Year enters on a wing, and the wind, and whim. Searching for renewal, and resolution, and resolve. Finding a new way of beginning, and being, and believing, again.

    PurplePaths

  • All Saints and Souls

    Suspended between poles The lines whip and snap Under high winds. In an instant Plunged into darkness. The veil, Previously opened With moments of intention, Falls silent. A heavy velvet curtain Muffling your voice And my own. No more messages, No words, No muse. The days of Saints and Souls Have passed. Today? The footsteps…

    PurplePaths

  • Clothing Only

    The backward glance at Fuzzy pillows with sequins And glitter. Longing palpable. Her grown-up Pulling her forward. Desire Unnoticed Or ignored By necessity. The lady with the voucher Says clothing only. I search frantically – A jacket with sequins And glitter Must be here. A jacket makes a Perfect, Portable, Pillow In a pinch. We…

    PurplePaths

  • In the Shadows

    There are eight of us.Now late 50s to early 70sBut we were children once,And together.Camping in the woods.Everyone has stories.I don’t remember the eventsOnly the retellings.But as we walk the grounds,Glimmers of remembrance Surround me,The creek, the campsites. Tonight, as I sit at theOpen fire, the light fadingAs shadows emerge,I feel you there.A deeper look…

    PurplePaths

  • Naming God

    What do you mean,There is no God?Have you not seen theSeed bring forth blooms?The brook grow into theMightiest of rivers?Only nature you say?God’s name- Nature.The dunes only windUpon the sand?God’s name -The breath of the world.The garden bearing fruit,Only sun and soil?God’s name -Earth’s bounty,Your deepest knowing,Only human intuition?God’s name- wisdom.Great literature and works of…

    PurplePaths

  • COVID 2025

    Mostly, I post poetry,And I supposeThis could be that.But will it be enough?Will it transport you,My dear reader?Will it bring you to this place Of peace? I wish we couldAll take up Residency here.The raw groundThat has been Transformed,Now blooms With colorAnd draws the Soul to rest. We invited Guests to come,In those earlyDays of…

    PurplePaths

  • 1000 Lenten Prayers

    PurplePaths

  • Baptismal Pool

    She switches between the crawl and the backstroke Every other lap. Not a strong swimmer – 60 minute mile There are some days when one needs extra time to remember Their baptismal vows Sixty minutes is perfect. Lake, river, ocean, the pool at the gym; Full body submersion reminds her always that she can begin…

    PurplePaths

  • Remembering Tomorrow

    Half way through Lent I begin to remember.In these days when the sky cannot decideWhether to stay in the midst of winterOr lean into the light of spring.In these days just beyond the equinox,When through clouds heavy with unshed tears,Sunbeams makes themselves known,It is here, half way through Lent,That I begin to remember.It is here…

    PurplePaths

  • Kin-dom

    She woke a dragon princess Finding the Kin-domIn despair.That one dying,Another hiding,Sounding the alarm.Those with wingsMust lift them wideAgainst the casting of the stones.Her breath of fire,But one flame Against the approaching army.Wings expansive,A haven for those Who seek.

    PurplePaths

  • Ever Inward

    Turning ever inwardFollowing season’s lead.As darkness spreadsHerself full upon the earth.So too, do we embrace theOpportunity for stillness.Turning ever inwardReflection, introspection.Solstice silently slidingNight into day.Illuminated by the starsBlanketed from winter’s chill.Turning ever inward,The timing is short,The veil grows thin.Fire burns, flames dance,As we marinade in memories,Anticipating the returning of the light.

    PurplePaths

  • For Joan

    Striving to live in the moment,To be present, experience life.Yet I wonder aloud,Might we have become trapped in theToday-ness of it all?Might we have let yesterday go Too soon?Failing to remember,How we came to be?Letting go of all That brought us here.Losing sight of the greater angelsWho introduced us to ourselvesIn order to set us…

    PurplePaths

  • Thinning

    Obon, Samhain, Dia de los Muertos.Whatever your tongue,Call out to the ancestors.Call them forth. No matter your connection as they walked in flesh,Lean into the shadows beyond the veil.Honor the lost, the lonely, the unheard.Listen closely to the whispers,As they call your name.They know now the hollowed ground Upon which they once trod blindly.Outstretched arms…

    PurplePaths

  • Remembering

    The soul remembers -Words never spoken,Steps never taken.Still she knows.The soul remembers – She’s been here before.Memories from a brain,Not quite her own.The soul remembers -Inhales deeply, eyes unfocus.She recognizes what sheDoes not see.Breathes deeply, in gratitude.She has found whatShe did not know had been lost.The soul remembers.

    PurplePaths

  • SAFETY

    I was tired.Took a blanket into the park.Closed my eyes.Felt safe.Sun kissed skin.Bird songs lull.I fall asleep.Am safe.Awake, not refreshed, But illegal.Johnson v. Grants PassWas I ever safe?Humanity stripped.I must remember, To keep my open,Until we are all safe.

    PurplePaths

  • Complexity

    Shining brightly,You reach Individual Ray florets -Twenty or more,360 degrees.A protective boundary perhaps,For the dozens upon dozens Of disc sistersReflecting the color of sunshine,For the earthbound.How long, in the faceOf the joy you bring,Have I ignored your complexity?Basking in your beautyWhile ignoring the partsThat make you whole.A complex community inOne glance.And I have simply called…

    PurplePaths

  • Send Me

    Thereupon I walk,Solid foundationLo, not brick and mortar.Still the church walksIn the world,Within my heart.Holy week upon us,Spirit calls,My soul responds.Where shall I serve?Where will you send me?I wait… I listen… I whisper…Again and again,”Where will you send me?”I shall go.

    PurplePaths

  • SHINE

    Time change is tomorrow,An hour will be lost.Nothing compared, at largeTo the way our world’s been tossed.The light will last longer.The seeds will sprout anew,In each sapling birthReminded first of you.Four months ago this week, You left us in despair.We held the hope of healingMid word you took to air.One moment spring’s excitment,Fills my heart…

    PurplePaths

  • Edie Eddied Everywhere

    A pillar of energy,Edie eddied everywhere!Swirling,Whirling,Spiraling,No barrier a match!A dog, a cat,The wayward, lonely and lost,Drawn into her votexOf neverending love.

    PurplePaths

  • More the Near

    She hits the low notes,My voice lifts high.Her thoughts are grounded, My mind doth fly.She sits silently,While I spin tales.She speaks factually,I turn goldfish into whales. She trods mountain peaks,I, landscapes deep within. She knows flora, fauna,I know dreams and how to spin.Yet she looks to me for wisdom,I look to her for love.We both…

    PurplePaths

  • Muse

    Black and white wings,Unfurling, opening to full expanse.Unfettered by thoughtOr confines of processShe ascends.Plucking wordsFrom the universal pool,Delivering each one,Just so To pen’s tip.Again, and again, Until she has given voice To all she has to say.

    PurplePaths

  • Through Blinds Drawn

    Memories, as sun through blinds drawn. Light shines brightly, Yet shadowed,As I sort the year And reflect.Wedding, framed by fireflies.Dance floor, born of sweat and tears.Voices discovered as words find new tongue. Curtain falls on bright and Blythe spirits.Soon thereafter, your curtain tooWould fall.A year for rejoicing,A year to grieve.Skewed, Like sunlight through blinds drawn.

    PurplePaths

  • 1982-2024

    The match catches,Paper blazes.42 year old pages,Brittle and dry.Book upon bookShe burns them.Not because the stories Aren’t compelling.But because it’s time,To let them go.

    PurplePaths

  • Grief is a Bitch

    Picks you up with a clenched jaw,Shakes until insides tear open,Spill onto the floor.Blood, tears and slobberbecomeone.She doesn’t back down.Bites all the harder,Tears all the more.Flinging head Side to sideAs she beats yoursAgainst the wall.She tires,Retreats.A momentary reprieve.Catch your breath, Her glimmering canines still Shine around every corner.

    PurplePaths

  • Tears

    The sky turned grey today,As if the elements themselvesJust learned that you had died.Tears overwhelm clouds to bursting.The grief of a worldTrying to understandHow it’s supposed to go on without you

    PurplePaths

  • Edie

    Dying. Then death. Tears, laughter, tears. Hope, fear, hope again. Smothering in despair. Bones shift, Core displaced, Fundamental being changed. Come back to the moment, No, Run! Catching breath, Praying we’ll all wake up.

    PurplePaths