Compassion Poetry
Peace poetry can save a life and brain health.
Hermit Crab
Sapphire sandy scene
stuck in my head
a red and white hermit crab
scuttles about
one large claw tinged with blue
his face sticking out
of an old baby doll’s head
An uninhabited South Pacific island
not remote enough
13,000 brittle sharp toxic plastics
blowing up his beach every day
and he selects a ghoulishly pasty orange
face from the supply of homes
Baby Goat
I cut a maple branch
ripe with emerald leaves
a welcome to your new home
a naturally green gift
Night night Jackson
sleep well my small friend
dream of verdant pastures
just beyond the gate
A new world opens to you
full of love and friends
my snuggly community oriented
billy goat
Koala
You are lumbering out of your trees
leaving the security of home
in search of water
Dry Eucalyptus leaves
plump with water no longer
sustaining
When I heard the news
I drove a little slower
walked a little farther
Most of all thought
what can I do without
so the koalas will have
an abundance of water
and plump juicy Eucalyptus
Gratitude for Air
A deep inhale I look up to the left
and remember
the crisp thirst-quenching apple last fall
On the exhale I look up to the right
and imagine
a tiny walnut sapling big in a few years
Another breath I take in alive
as I look around at fractal patterned trees
the elm still healthy
tall pine trees
shady maples
leaves bigger than my hand
Little chemical plants
where photosynthesis magically turns
the energy of the sun
into matter
that matters for homes
I can almost hear them breathing out
oxygen giving me life
every moment rich
with their fertile beauty
Originally submitted to The Compassion Anthology on July 1, 2017.
