Calendula Seed

Imagine these seeds into garland crown
golden flowers strung to celebrate

along the streets of ancient Athens.……“Mary’s
Gold” Catholics called them…….and you’ll see

crimson blooms sail past pyres to honor
those long gone…….hung as sacred décor

for Hindu deities along the Ganges.
Battlefields welcomed petals pressed

into open wounds to stop blood
from spilling into mud…….as hope

to aid healing…….antiseptic…….from sunshine
stored in those brief faces.…….In German soups

spun into salads of the Middle East
sweet engines of life grow and detoxify

worn ways.…….In the Philippines
they are “boho”…….bad smell…….planted to frighten

insects from eating rice and cassava.
Children sometimes plant such seed…….like these

you left for me…….to sprout toward light
to watch golden petals glow from dirt.

Spirit Rise

“At the hour of zazen I ate chocolate instead.”
―Kathryn Hunt, American poet, from Spirit Fox

Instead of joining the sangha for an hour
cross-legged on a cushion……I invite the dog
…………..out for a walk.

Golden poppies perk between cracks in the sidewalk.
Red ones wiggle in the wind.

We don’t talk much between crosswalks
though I smile at her eyes locked with mine
…………..before she trots to her next snuff on the other side.

I guide the dog though she’ll never understand
how a speck so light……a poppy seed

grows and leads me onward:  Upright and brilliant
…………..I see it now……crimson and gold
………………………..petals on fire

……………………….when the sun has shone enough
……………………………………..and I am awake.