Original Photography

Graceful Governance

From the Big Bang 
To global warming,
We are here.

From evolution 
To revolutions,
We fight to be here.

From independences 
To globalization, 
We speak up to be here.

From all things actualized
To their demise and re-emergence,
We continues to be here.

And so here we are
Encapsulating a gratitude,
Denoting a day.

To remember and share
The privileges, gift, abundances gathered
Over the history of mans toil.

All along, the almighty power 
The indestructible,
Which was, is and will be

Sustains, an entire universe
A galaxy 
An ecosystem.

Transferring, transmitting 
Evolving, so life permits
That you and I can be.

Insufficient is then, a mere day of thanks.
Like life,
Let gratitude permeate each moment

Which comes from the deepest understanding, 
Born from accepting our fragility, 
And a graceful governance 

Where the birds and bees, 
Flowers and trees
To man himself, 

Are all held,
Yet free 
To live and be.

Photography by Asvina Brown

Dawn Sky

Photography by Laurie Ramont

All facets of life 
Incapsulated in a moment, 
From undoubted beauty
To looming fears.

Voluminous clouds
Mightily they float,
Threatening to spew 
And drown you out!

Yet the intrigue
Of color and form,
Capture both heart and breath,
A moment now, forever lived.

Do we more often
Get lost in fear?
Of what may come?
What may happen?

Forfeiting the present
In which we can feel
Simple joys,
Gratitude and inspirations.

This grand gesture of beauty
Is bequeathed each day, 
As the love from within
Will shine in our eyes.

That guiding presence 
Then shapes your day
As you see the treasure
Lined up for your pleasure.

Rock, Water, Sand.


Defying physics you stand
Your strength is daunting
Your stature mighty

Yet here comes the ocean spray
Wave after wave
And you welcome the attention

You dance and yield
With the passion of lovers
And caressed are your contours

Your union brings forth
Countless grains of sand
Capturing the essence of time

With every turn
There is awe
In these simple cyclic laws

When elements work together
Magic happens
The impossible is possible

For how can a mighty rock
Be so transformed
Into the tiniest of particles

And no less
Than by drops of water
One wave at a time

And within me
One breath at a time
Is revealed a celebration

Of existence at its finest
Carrying a simple joy
Which even lapping waves can teach

Beauty of Remembrance

Oh poppy, you rise to bloom
With petals of royal red
And the deepest dark core

Giving unambiguous symbolism
Signature of reverence
For those never to be forgotten

You embody a pained dignity
In the midst
Of life’s most difficult times

You show me strength
With your inherent form
As you adorn my lapel

You drive me to confront
My challenges
And learn from your qualities

Remembrance:
Painful to embrace
But laced, she is, with deep love

Dignity:
Humanity’s stature
Measured by compassion

Clarity:
The fruit of growth
Despite the desire to revert

Poppy dear,
You’re nature’s gift
As you grace my garden
And bring gratitude to my heart.

April’s Resurrection

With the unexpected
Mandatory isolations,
Arrives a resurrection
Of lifestyles of old.

Families gather
Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The elderly are watched over
With keenness and compassion.

The poor and homeless
Fed and sheltered.
Communities work
With united forces.

With efforts big and small
True mindfulness and consciousness
Regain strength and center stage.

Within the self
Something deep is touched,
Stirred and begs to rise
As another resurrection.

Stripped of the usual noise
Busy-ness and distractions,
There is an exposure
Of the decluttered self.

The self that knows consciousness
That feels the depth of gratitude
That recognizes the greatest love
Of the One who always cares.

With no concepts to cloud
And only a few and basic
Needs to be addressed,
The obvious is made clear.

The preciousness
Of the ultimate gift
Yet non-permanence
And fragility of life.

The question begged to be asked.
What is it that you resurrect?
Your goals and ambitions?
Your achievements and certificates?

Neither past nor future matter.
The unexpendable commodity
Is this moment now.
The frame of existence.

Resurrect your being
The qualities that enliven you
Not by what surrounds
But by what lays within.

Allow in this quiet time
Listening to the voice
Lost in the usual noise.
And resurrect what you know
You’ve always been.

Madness of March


From the maddening crowds
Masked with mayhem,
To voluntary quarantine
And prohibited movement

The making of mass hysteria.
Heads rise above the cellphone
Our seeming invincibility
Suddenly cracked open

Finally we see each other.
Is it with empathy or fear?
Is it with comradeship or disdain?

With opposing forces
Hand in hand
How are we to survive?
How are we to accept them all?

Looking to Mother Nature
She shows constant dichotomies
Where the unlikely
Co-habit and even thrive.

On the hardened brittle bark
Beauty resides
As blooms spring forth
Soft and sumptuous.

From murky stagnant pools
Emerge the pristine lotus flowers,
No looking back or down
Just rising with a divine grace.

So this March
Is like no other,
Tests and trials
All yet to come.

Let not madness reign
As the confusion may prevail,
Rather rise with fortitude
And generosity of heart.

What comes, must pass
So lose not sight,
And ask of yourself
What are my powers
Which are constant,
Restoring and sustaining.

Departing January

January you arrived 12.01
With sparkles and sizzle
Must you fizzle
As you depart?

Taking with you
The glimmer of hope
Planted in the dark

No! you bring beginnings
Opportunity to start afresh

Yet each year brings too
My detectable age
With my luster
Working harder to push through

Searching and embracing
Ways new and old
For truer gratification
I survive the winter

The winter where the sun
Barricaded by thick sheets of cloud
Leaves brittle and dry

The winter of separated lovers
Conforming to conventional expectations
Hearts ache and cold

The winter of lost souls
Deafened by laws and rites of religions, traditions
Confused and wandering

Whether the season
The heart
The soul

January
Thank you for your lesson
Your message of hope
To seize each moment

As this gift of time
Despite the seeming ease of renewal
Is the keeper of all things

Depart now
Leave with me my resolutions
My aspirations
As I pray to circle once more
Around the great one
So as we may meet again

Night Beauty

Bright beauty
Of the night sky
Waxing and waning
Sickle like or full
Applauded and acclaimed
Yet you remain
Most egolessly
Humble and servant
To your Sun
You teach me
To see
You and I
Are the same
Reflections of the Almighty
Vessels of the Great
You accept
Your position
Your role
Your rotation
Yet I struggle
In my place
In myself
And my time
Watching your grandeur
On nights of your fullness
You leave me with patience
For dreams of fruition
When through me
There’ll be shine
Perhaps just as much
As to light
A few dark corners
In a mind or a heart
But even more so
To give myself
The chance to acknowledge
The One that chooses me
And bestows the life light force
One breath at a time