Everything in Beauty

Red beetles shuffle over glittering sand,


shriveled rose sheds pink petal by petal,


a limpid tear swells with the final closing of the eyes,


stealthy hawk drops with a thump


on squealing rabbit, the grumble of thunder


rolling down the canyon, yellow finch flaps


black girdled wings at my approach,


the lonely whine of traffic on a wet road,


amber mushrooms on a rain dark log,


rippled muscle of mud at clear stream's edge,


bump of bodies board the city bus,


magenta bleeds through umbrage


in the last light of day,






how intensely important it is


to celebrate each flash of life as it fades,


drink in what shimmers, embrace what lingers,


notice more than we can name.