Friday, September 29, 2017

Ode to Bluegills





Ode to Bluegills

Though you are small,
you are mighty,
fighting like a fish ten times your size.

You make us cheer
and call for the photographer.
And you make us cringe

when we remove the hook.
Why must you swallow the fly
so far down it takes magic to extract it?

Never mind.
All turns out well for you in the end,
and you swim away gladly.

We thank you for your spiky dorsal fin,
the distinctive black beauty spot near your gill,
your iridescent scales.

We thank you for the tug on our line,
reminding us that we are connected --
the two of us; all of us.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2017


Friday, September 15, 2017

Bike Ride Blessing 3.0 -- A Counting Out Rhyme



Bike Ride Blessing--A Counting Out Rhyme

One for the moon
in the morning sky,
two deer watching
as I ride by.

Three steep hills
to make me work,
paired with coasting--
that's the perk!

Four herds of runners
clog the path.
Ring my bell,
pedal past.

Three ponds total--
rising mists.
Two geese honking--
they insist:

One is presence,
patience, too.
Eyes and ears,
one is you.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2017



Saturday, September 9, 2017