give me shelter, or show me heart (come on love, come on love) watch me fall apart / watch me fall apart

more on gratitude: to walk unafraid

Moving makes me feel like a first-year in college again: willing to participate in any activity / with anyone for the purpose of making friends. Cosmic midnight bowling? No problem! Whisky shots, nighttime graveyard walks, multiple coffee dates? I am down!

The nice thing is being a lot less insecure and a lot less anti-in-general than I was at 18. If you decide to be into it, anything can make you laugh, and most things can actually be pretty fun.

So I was more than happy Saturday when all these ridiculous hang-outs added up to a great hike with four other, more interesting, and less random, people. Not to mention it was in the 70s. Followed by an evening drinking tea and laughing at An Idiot Abroad.

The Black Forest, Germany

The travels continue. We are now in a small village in southwest Germany, visiting my friend Claudia, who studies theology here at a seminary.


Claudia opening her birthday champagne.

Happy Solstice!

Bad Liebenzell

Claudia and Laurie


Have been drinking good tea and weak coffee like it's my job, and longboarding a lot, and hiking in the forests around the hamlet. And chocolate! The Germans love their chocolate! I can't wait to get home and eat vegetables and protein again... It's a bit difficult being vegetarian in Europe. I am growing rather tired of bread, even good German bread:p But all the community and chance to rest more than make up for it.

bring out your rake and hoe again,
ready your shovel for sowing season
we'll work all morning, or dream of it at least.

and when our shadows lengthen in the afternoon,
i'll pour you a sierra, we'll sit on front steps.

oh, it's been many years since easter eggs were hidden for our sakes
(but maybe if we just close our eyes a little tighter)

you are not being so clear with me
(but i can't say i hold it against you)
unfamiliar forests are still green
there is world enough, and time.

d.l.g.

there's a woman as old and bright as the stars
whose wild hair looks different every day
a woman whose bare arms and legs dance and lengthen, toeing a rhythm,
leading the rest of us to hear her beat and melody, to hear our song

this woman rose up out of rocky mountains
she came west and dressed us in joy
and a certain boy is not quite not over her
but this woman is wise and patient, brave and hopeful
she hears a voice saying
wait,
be still,
come near

and she knows this is a season of new songs

and if i know anything,
it's that her brightness only gets brighter

r.i.j.

something happens when you come around,
like i can smell the north better (here in the tropics?)
autumn woodsmoke; crisp, full-bodied apples; sage & mint & pine
a tie-dyed girl with wild hair,
child of the island,
an unexpected sister.

always thinking & moving--longboarding, surfing, playing soccer
reading Wollstonecraft, the Prophet, Shakespeare
what is it that is so capturing?

i love your volvo & your scandinavian sweaters,
your yellow sports bras & capital-script handwriting,
i admire your commitment to depth, your honesty
each unfolding piece of story you entrust to me
you speak poetry and pour out prophecy
& i am honored by your patient listening and thoughtful questions

strewn with lavender, lilies, and sunflowers
the garden in your heart is lovely and teeming with life
you, dear one, are a woman of overwhelming strength and beauty
and everywhere you dance, you shine.

oh!
& you should know, that besides your carpenter hands and the way you call all grocers "the market,"
my favorite thing about you is not that you know the names of so many different woods,
or even that you listen thoughtfully and speak with sensitivity
(all of these being things i like very much, & would like to adopt, myself)
no, my favorite thing about you is your sincerity
so if you want a little honesty from me
(a little secret poem you'll never see)
here it is, sincerely.

my new Sierra heart

so much snow--6, 7 foot tall banks of white
on mirroring couches, friends draw close
yes, i'll have another glass, this gladdened heart.
in the mountains, you joyfully forget the old pace
you walk free and easy
each breath of thick winter air filling those forgotten spaces
in, out. you are alive.
welcome to the silence. to the shared journey.
welcome to the beauty & disaster
to that intimacy you've been begging for.

rosemarie springer

All of 77 years old and climbing 4 flights of stairs to your apartment,
Gnarled arthritic hand, gold rings, holding mug of tea
you gladly offer us our own.
Professional counselor, informal listener and friend
Still single, beautiful, and dating
Strong and powerful and not quite 5 feet tall
Wise and active, you have determined to "celebrate the days as they are,"
Oh Rusty, I hope I'm like you.