Rise and Shine

Rise and shine all mankind
Come and greet the day

Yawn and stretch every synapse
Wash crusty sleep from your eyes
Let light enter your windows
Breath deep dawn's cool air
Smell the moist breeze
Floating in from the sea

Eat of the crusty bread
From daily prepared table
Drink of nature's bountiful waters

Gather your strength while ye may
For there is work to be done

And life is lived this day only

HEY YOU, OVER THERE

Across the river is another country
An imaginary, arbitrary line drawn in the water
Separates you from me and versa vice

Yet the birds flying overhead see no division
See no separateness and fly north and south

The fishes under the surface
Swim east to west and west to east
Each diurnal journey
With no discernment of separation

But we
We intelligentsia
Say this is true
Our lands, our traditions
What we honor, what we hold true
Is not what you may hold dear

This is us and that is you
Because we say so
Because we do so

And we agree upon this
We make laws upon this
We set up barriers upon this

Yet the birds fly
And the fishes swim
Unhindered by arbitrary lines
Free in reality

Ron Eklof 2007
*

A Weaving

In the warp and weft

Of our daily walk
A thread is woven into
The fabric of a life
It's vibrancy tempered
By hues of attitude
The vicissitudes of the times

Day after day the loom is worked
Using blends of colored thread:
The blood red of anger
The black nights of the soul
The magenta of yearnings
Bright yellow of hopes
Deep blue of understandings
Soft green of new awakenings
The pure white of grace

As the shuttle moves back and forth
Guided by the Master's hand
A pattern emerges on the loom
And becomes a tapestry
Admired by others
Showing a life well lived


In remembrance of Ken Kilmartin

Ron Eklof 2010

What Did You Build

I've built castles out of sand
Watched them crumble in the wind
Wash away in a storm tide
Leaving no trace of effort
Nothing for others to see
Only a memory, mine
Glimpsed in idle reverie

I've built castles in the air
Made of dreams, ideas and fancies
I've moved in and found a home
Away from roiling humanity
Far from the clutches of earth
Gone, now, as the morning dew
Disappears in reality's sun

Thence to wander aimless
Across a barren waste
Cut by dull knives of inconvenience
Bruised by uncaring egos
Stopping to pare my nails
To be close to my own self
To attend my own issues

Whence an inner resolve builds
A determined frame of mind
A realm of the heart
A place where the power
That knows its self
Is nurtured
And is allowed its reign

Ron Eklof '10

For Ed Girard

In order for the male of our specie to mature
We need role models
Ed was such an exemplar

He showed what it means
To be a man of quiet dignity
Soft of speech, quick of wit
He showed how to use wry humor
To get a point across

Recently I spoke to him
Of a situation I had
A character defect
Which rose to the occasion

After listening, he said,
"The bomb is still there,
But the fuse is longer"
How apt and prescient he was

They’re going to enjoy you in heaven, Ed
Like we did on Earth

Fare thee well
You made an impression
On all you touched

Ron Eklof 2009

*

Blue Skies

Some would have nothing but blue skies from now on
Clear as far as the eye can see
With nothing to cloud vision
No blips on their radar

Yet, for me, some clouds now and then are welcome
Something in the sky for the sun to hide behind
To shade me from its fiery flames
To make a difference

For the sky is a white canvas
With blue paint from horizon to the corners
Minimalist art for nouveau galleries
But nothing to write home about

Show me clouds for morning light to color
Soft pinks among the somber grey
Thence turning to bright white puffs
Contrasting with the blue

Delight me with a parade of fulminating clouds
Marching to the whims of the winds
Through which rays of sunlight stream
To touch the ground, pooling light amid the shade

More clouds at the fade of sun
With brilliant hues to astonish my eyes
Edge the purple with gold
That make me turn round and gaze the far horizon

Give me pulsating rhythms to silence the white noise in my ears
Give me the taste of hot and cold, sweet and sour, crunchy and smooth
Allow the scent of jasmine in the cool of dawn
Let me feel the curve that bends the straight

Give me the spontaneous at any time of day
Give me more than just blue skies all day long

Ron Eklof 2009

*

Snapshots 1

Zephyr

On a warm September morning
Windows and doors wide open
A zephyr pushes its way
Through my home
These thoughts pause
As my skin wakens
To a refreshing breeze

Norfolke 2009

BY AN UNWEPT GRAVE

By an unwept grave
Leaves scatter to the ground
A bell sounds three times
The wind sways the branches
Shriveled roses lie on a nearby stone
Birds are silent in the grey afternoon

I walk in the quiet
Between the remembered and not
Not searching but gazing
At names and dates
On chiseled granite and eroding marble
Through land set aside for the past

Broken columns
Cherub faces on flaking slate
Biblical names unused in this day
Words carved of heaven's reward
Dates marking too short lives
Relations noted

Dry grass crunches under foot
My shoes scuff the dirt
As I walk to the wrought iron gates
I know/knew none in this place
No tears left by me

Ron Eklof © 2009

The Dancing Spirit

On polished floors as lights swirled around the ballroom
You, entranced by the sound, followed your passion
We watched the sway of skirt to bouncing rhythms
Saw you laugh and delight in your partner's arms

All to soon the dance is done and we've said our adieus
Parted as the lights dimmed to black
The music has stopped, the band has stepped out for a cigarette
But sweet memories remain and floating tunes linger in our ears

The ship has passed into the night
As sultry sounds wend their way to heaven
And we know of one who still dances the night away
Who is swinging among the stars

For when we look up to the night sky
See the motion of the heavenly bodies
We will hear the laughter
We will remember your music

It was a pleasure to know you, Mary.


Ron Eklof 2008

CAT / MOON

The cat doesn't mind the moon
Outside the window
Where he sits

The movement of small critters
Of that
He is aware

The moon gives shine
As, in the day, the sun

But, the cat doesn't mind
How many times the moon appears
Nor count his trips around the sun

Ron Eklof 1997

FOOTSTEPS

The sound of footsteps in the darkness
I walk through the misted gloom
Pass under a streetlamp and pause
Still hear the sound of shoes
Now they stop
In the darkness beyond the circle of light

I cannot see movement
I feel the presence of danger

I start walking
Feel the wet air on my skin
Hear my own scuffing shoes
Change direction and move into an alley
Into a doorway
And wait
The sound of footsteps continue
Now stop
I stay motionless
Looking for a glimmer of movement

Nothing
I look at the day glow watch on my wrist
5 minutes pass
No sound
10 minutes
A cat meows

I'm walking again
My footsteps echo off the walls in the alley
If I can't see anyone, they can't see me
Didn't think of night vision goggles

I feel the hand on my shoulder
Turn in a defensive posture
Feel the knife enter my ribs
Fall to the wet cobblestones

Hear footsteps echoing as they fade in the misty darkness
A leaf blows against my face
I smell the chill damp
The silence deafens my ears
My eyes close

Ron Eklöf © 2008

*

WANTING

There are those
Who want all
That money can buy

And then

There are those
Who want all
That money can not buy

Both are found wanting
Not satisfied with what they have

It's not all the one
and not all the other
But,
a little of both,
perhaps

What do I want?
What do I have?

Enough for today

Ron Eklof '08

*

MYSTERIOUS PATH

As we walk this mysterious path

We see that everyone is on one

The difference between us is

With whom we choose to walk

Those who have gone before

Return to tell what they have found

Yet, when we round the bend

We find our own path

Our own riches and delights

To rely upon other eyes

Is to miss the sights right in front of us

Distracted by what others said would be here

They have their ways

They have their wherefores

I chose to walk with you

And share this adventure together

I chose to walk with you

We had some fun, didn't we?

Ron Eklof ©2006/2008

For Neda

Attend your heart gently
With all your mind and soul
For where the heart is there lies your love
And the one with love blesses the whole world
In every act of kindness
In every sharing of love

ron eklof 08

Don't Act Your Age

Don't act your age
For that is but a number
And maturity is not
A numerical value

Rather, act your heart
For this is an unleashed spring
Watering the arid land
As does the oasis in a desert

It's not how many times
We've gone 'round the Sun
But if our heart has opened
Even once

COME UNTO ME

Come unto me O vapors of earth and I will fill the sky
With brilliant whiteness
To spread in the Sun's heat and stretch across the heavens
My crisp edges bend and flow into new shapes

I reign upon your parade, push up the daisies
And fill the hills with daffodils as far as the eye can see
Fill your ponds and aquifers to sate your thirst
Make rivers that float your boats to the sea

Come unto me O vapors of earth, give me your energy
I can be soft as cotton as fierce as a sword from the sky
I thunder your doors, flash light through bedroom windows
Where kitties scurry under the bed and children cling for dear life

Now, I disappear for days on end leaving blue skies all alone
Then come floating back to cast overcast and hide the sun from you
I darken the day and make everything shadow and grey and gloom
I let loose sleet and snow by the shovelfuls for this is me in winter

Come unto me O vapors of earth and fuel my engine
I cool the hot summer day and let my brother wind free
To blow the hats off gentle men and lift skirts with gay abandon
A willful rascal, he, with no respect for laundry nor ships at sea

As a cauliflower I billow in summer and reach the stratosphere
As cumulus and nimbus and wispy stratus
Look at my theater; you may see faces and bears, a witch on a broom
For I am a screen to your fantasy
Before the curtain closes with the advent of night

Come unto me

Ron Eklof '08

WHITE EMBERS FALL

White embers fall
Grey Moon, white sliver
Grey smoke smudge
Thump
Flash white streak
Red burst
Faces shine red
Upward chins
Eyes glisten
Ooooo
Wowwwwww
Thump
Falling white spirals shriek
Flash white streak
Green burst sparkle
Red thunder
Oooooo
Wowwwww
Blue dissolve
Falling white embers
Grey smoke smudges
Parade across black sky
Below white moon sliver
Do it again
Thump
Ron Eklof 08

SHINE ON

There are those who walk ahead
And those who walk behind
But those who walk side by side
Oh, they're the bestest kind

Through hard lessons we have learned
And shared our fresh insights
That joyful mirth and warm embrace
Make our burdens light

From the shambles of our past
Lived on desperate streets
We came to know that that dark hour
Was a lamp unto our feet

To help others on this road
We meet on common ground
With common problem, common solution
Impart the commonwealth we found

I'd not have tread this road so well
Were you not by my side
We shared the wonder that we saw
Each the other's guide

Shine on, Nicky, shine on

Ron Eklof ‘08

In remembrance of Nick Natale

A WEAVING

On a loom are we created
And have our breadth of days
Our web fashioned by unseen weaver's hands
Deftly spun we become the woof
Now the warp
Slowly turned into tapestry

The filaments of our lives entwine
Each strand touching others
Soft wool, hard jute, supple linen
A spectrum of color and feel
Amid the rough fiber find gold thread
Blended with those of common mettle

Each sees their texture but dimly
For we busy ourselves in being the yarn
Yet, in heaven's time is revealed an artful plan
A fabric woven from laughing hearts
From joyful love's embrace
And, too, of sorrow's tears
On the humble trail we trod

Shall we now lift our hearts
In sweet appreciation
For a life well lived,
For a life well spent;
Fashioned from recovered cloth
Into a weaving made divine

Ron Eklof ‘08

In appreciation for Nick Natale

Cherubim of Snow

Thanks Chicago Jim
For the sideways view of snow
Imagination

I had turned the photo on it's side like this and saw Botticelli's works: The Madonna and a cherubim.
What do you see?