a wisp of…
crossing the street
and walking down
the sidewalk in front
of me. two girls,
really young woman, but they are
smiling, laughing, chatting
almost skipping along like girls.
they even have their arms
looped through each other like
young girls might.
as they walk by i catch a wisp
of their joy and my
lips curl up into a little
smile and my discontent
loses a little of its grip.
b.d. burton
09/21/06
This moment is
a good moment.
Let me rest a
bit here
before
the sun
peeks it’s golden
globe
over the
eastern horizon.
Let me rest in
this twilight,
this sacred
in-between,
this stillness,
even before
the birds
begin their songs
for the day.
Let me not
rush ahead
with worry &
planning.
Let my eyes
absorb the orange
light
as it reaches
into the blue
sky of a
new day.
bd burton
3/16/2025
To
the
multitasking
dog walkers
all ear budded up
appearing
to be
talking into
thin
air.
I am sorry but
you just missed
a morning
breeze coming
out of nowhere.
It started with
the gentle
quaking
of leaves, then
the tall
grass quivering,
A
soft
cool
feather
like
brushing on my
skin.
Culminating
with the turning up
of the corners
of my mouth
Into a smile.
bd burton
8/18/2024
Sympathetic Joy
When your mind is bent towards
the troubles of the world & your own
worries about your life
then
a young neighbor girl skates over
wearing
pink roller skates & matching knees, elbows,
wrist pads & of course a pink helmet as well.
She enthusiastically starts telling you
about a new trick she taught herself, with no
help from anyone else.
& of course she has to
show it to you.
You respond with applause and a big
smile. She goes on chatting & wants to pet your
fluffy blue eyed husky, who never gets
enough attention.
&
you realize your mind is not so bent
anymore and
your heart is tickled by
what Emily Dickenson calls -
“Hope” is the thing with feathers-
that perches in your soul-
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
bd burton- 5/22/2024
The Gift of Snow
1st sunny day in a while.
50 degrees, following 3 arctic
blasts that came down from the north.
Most of the snow has melted.
My blue eyed husky & I take our
last walk of the day. I see a nice
patch of untouched snow.
I decide to give Nova
a gift of snow.
He plops down rolls around
like he is taking a bath.
He lay on his belly,
buries his nose in it,
eat’s some of it. Then looks
up at me with his joyful baby
blues.
With the warm sun on my face
I look to the west at the snow
packed Rocky Mountains
& notice a smile growing on
my face & a tenderness
in my heart.
bd burton
2/22/2025
