summer’s child

what child hasn’t taken that deepest of breaths,
whispered the private-most wish in their heart,
and gently blown a precious dandelion into the wind?

we spent many long summer days
lying on our backs in the cool grass
all wrapped in fairy dust,
telling stories, as magical creatures wafted slowly by
against the summer pale blue sky.

a thunderstorm breaks the spell
cold blobs of rain plopping hard on our sunbaked skin
as we ran for shelter.
there is still nothing like the wet-dirt taste of a summer storm in the air.

hot summer nights, chasing fireflies
and watching the night sky for the perfect wishing star
it was easier to be a kid back then.

it is unbearably sad
that i could not give my children a carefree childhood
and even more sad
that their children
will grow up knowing that it will be up to them
to keep their world alive.

(c) 2020 BGeiger

freedom


i love the freedom
of my advancing years.

i speak my mind,
and
love without walls

i was young once,
what a lot of trouble that was.

wisdom grows from pain.
freedom is a gift
that you give to yourself
after the wounds of youth have healed.

(c) 2020 BGeiger

if only


if all of life were this lovely
perhaps
there would be no fear
or anxiety
or troubles between people

if all of life were as innocent
as a flower,
and every sound
as peaceful as petal dust,
if every breeze brought only lovely summer scents
and fireflies,
then, just perhaps,
people
could be kind and lovely
to one another as well

(c) 2020 BGeiger

details


tomorrow is only the wind
but today is the cool grass between my toes
flowers turning toward the light
birds pecking for worms in the morning
crickets singing late into the night

i am engrossed in the great beauty of now
there is so much joy in the extravagant colors of flowers
catching sight of a flock of birds
dancing together across the sky
my heart follows the soars and dips and swirls

i love the wonder that surrounds me
i am in awe of the extraordinary details
in the tiniest of beings
the vastness of the universe
and my own beating heart

this moment is my reality
it is what i have
a moment
and a heartbeat


(c) 2020 BGeiger

the smell of water

I walk here every day.
The hill is steep for my old knees, but I persist.

I will smell the water,
before my feet even reach the deep, cool shade
of the little oasis beside the road.
It feels like visiting an old friend.
There are always birds here,
and small critters I can hear, and imagine,
but not see.

I whisper to the trees, grateful for their constancy.
I reach out to low hanging branches
touching their tender leaves with my fingertips and my breath.
It feels like a kiss
and i hold it softly to me as i walk past.

I walk this hill to touch my universe,
to experience life in its many forms.
I walk this hill for me,
for my soul much more than for my body.

(c) 2020 BGeiger

spring


it is spring
there are flowers everywhere.
joyous
stretching
kissing the light
shocking colors that only god can make

i memorize them, for darker days.
wild
as they are.

at dusk
they fold inward.
sleeping until dawn.

my soul opens into the night
it is peaceful
the air is thicker,
closer to my skin somehow

coyotes running free
singing to one another
and to me

 
(c) 2020 BGeiger

cold winter sun


The cold winter sun shares her harsh light begrudgingly.
hiding,
then fairly screaming at me from between the trees
as she dances lower and lower on the horizon.

I increase my pace,
struggling to stay warm.

A patch of lavender comes in to view,
curious
i move closer

I am overpowered,
the scent is visceral
I must stop

The bright new flowers
have rushed to open after the recent rains,
sensing light through the eyelids of their souls,
urgently unfolding into the new day.
stretching
reaching
gloriously becoming

I take a picture, but it is washed out
the light is too bright.
I move my body to create a shadow
and try again

I breathe deeply,
memorizing the moment.
joyous
unwashed
unchanged by chemistry

Today I have learned something

Light is necessary for life,
but shadow is necessary for vision.


(c) 2020 BGeiger 

updraft

imagine having wings
soaring effortlessly
on the lightest breeze,
playing
in gusts of wind

imagine
having that life
the one that didn’t go as planned

imagine the freedom
of no regrets
of life well lived until the end

lift your wings
catch the breeze
and begin again


(c) 2020 BGeiger

living in color

we want time,
and time,
and more time, to what end?
will we die happier if we live a long life
or if we live gratefully
for temporary things,
love, kinship, a smile, eyes that truly see

look at the trees,
i doubt they complain about the years they don’t have.
it seems enough to stretch their branches toward the sun,
to witness thunder and soak up fresh drops of rain,
to stand tall without demanding eternity.

breathe in the beauty and strength of the trees,
endlessly renewing, shedding the old and moving on.
it is the way of the universe.
we live, we grow old, or not, and we die,
maybe we change form and shape and live again,
somehow or another
or maybe not
it doesn’t matter to me
one life is magical enough,
if i don’t waste it living in desperation and fear.

(c) 2020 BGeiger

heartbroken

I’ve seen that look before,
you think that the problem is you.

Sunset pulls mightily upon your soul.
Stars and moon sing their own songs of freedom,
the night birds,
screeching and cawing to one another
delicately unfold their wings,
lifting themselves
on the faintest breeze,
above the earth,
toward the growing darkness.

And you keep shoveling mountains of guilt
over your already tired bones.

You are only reaching for that part of the sky
that belongs to you.

Do you think it is within your power to change
the soul that inhabits your being?
Many of us have tried
to squeeze ourselves into that perfect person mold
biting our tongues,
hiding our tears,
screaming into our pillows.
It never ends well.

Be who you are.
follow the moon and the stars,
unfold your soul wings and fly away



(c) 2020 BGeiger

fragile

this heartbreakingly beautiful
tiny bit of the universe
took my breath, and my soul
by surprise today

beauty
can be found in many things
and joy
can come from out of nowhere

if i had tried to pick it up
and move it out of harm’s way
it would have been destroyed.

i left it where it was,
knowing that it would be crushed
or blown away in only a few moments
knowing also,
that my interference was not required.

it felt quite personal,
as though this moment was a precious gift,
meant only to touch my heart
before this tiny treasure was returned
to dust
as all things are,
and should be

(c) 2020 BGeiger

dying, with sparkles


there is no filling the empty soul.
it closes up around itself
and refuses to take nourishment.

nothing is right,
nothing lights the darkness.

the soul needs to sing and dance and play,
joyously.

if joy has gone of its own accord,
or been sold to the highest bidder,
the soul will starve.

take back the joy.
let go of the shiny substitute,
death hides in the sparkles.


(c) 2020 BGeiger