Call and Response: Day 53: Endings

We gather
round mugs of coffee
like fire in the kiva
or a lover's smile
looking for heat
erasure of care
communion
waiting for wishes
we gather

Hills

now winter
the hills put on green
if you climb to the top
where soft and moist
moss
a place to lie down
a place to dream

Call and Response: 52: As Carols Linger

From one city of faith to another

I tilt this candle to light your own.

Hold your breath for the incoming

new. I imagine you,

wrapped in the dark warming

your hands and light the fire

under this

last post - more fragile than

winter on a damp cheek.

Abundantly, we concede, the future.

Call And Response: 51 and counting: Deciduous

gently the old year wanes
a few stubborn leaves remain
most branches are bare
though camellias and calla lilies
rush to bloom
and I spy the first pink
magnolia
today

Call and Response: 51: The Wet Gift of White

Today there is snow where

yesterday there was none

The crook of the tree

gathers its wet gift

Call and Response: Day 50: Wind's Come

December winds enter
we trim the tree
rain clouds cluster
It's Winter
for a week

Call and Response: Day 50: coffee

the coffee shops in Oakland
filled with people
ands curved around mugs
steam and foam rising
while outside the streets are wet
and the leaves that can fall have
fallen in rich red patterns
oak and maple
nearby the camellias are blooming

Call and Response: 50: Joy

Swivel neck reindeers

are appearing on lawns

Small brown sacks

of sand and candles

draw attention

to the night walk

canyon road

and the door

Christmas will enter quietly

when you are not looking

and are otherwise occupied

with Joy

Call and Response: 49: Plaza Lights

With our heads in warm hats

and hands brushing the dusk trees

we watched until, impatient,

we escaped to the Five & Dime

for frito pies in one hand and

hot chocolate in the other.

Then stepping back into the cold

we see night had pronounced

the season had come

without us

but gifted us

with tumbling quilt light.

Call and Response:# 49:December

these are the days of endings
of bitter
and sweet
goodbyes
and putting away

the nights deeper
the day crisp
and clear
tears
and remembering

these are the days of endings
of cold
and frost
hopes
and returning