Mother Moon

Tonight the Mother Moon rises pregnant in the sky

shining her resplendent light upon the world

dazzling us with the fullness of her being

reminding us that we are never alone.

Some say the full moon triggers madness

unleashes wild desires

untamed hopes and dreams

unchecked passions.

I say the Mother Moon unloosens hope

and the promise of transformation

her light a beacon, urging us inward

to claim our lunar memory

find our way back

to the original womb of consciousness

that soul-seed of the world that

birthed the human psyche

syncopated the beating of the human heart.

St. Joseph’s Day March 19, 2011

In Italy, San Giuseppe is a hero, not a cuckold.

He married an unwed pregnant woman

raised a son who was not his own, without complaining.

On his feast day a table is laid, a three-tiered altar

adorned with flowers, candles, fava beans, wine, cakes,

bread and cookies made of flour

to honor the beloved carpenter’s saw dust.

In America, in enclaves like New York City, New Orleans

Kansas City, Chicago, and Providence

Italians give bread to the poor

filling bellies emptied of sustenance

filling hearts emptied of hope

to pay homage to this regular Joe

a man of the people, a soulful soul

who listened to the angels, not the cynics

who did the right thing when the right thing was called for.