Author: Jeff Shapiro

In the act of becoming…
Friendship is always enough…
It is time to change the focus of our eyes…
And see that love is all around us.

Friendship is the path of paths…
Within me, within you…
Echoing forever…
In hushed whispers.

Yes! We can include each other in our calling…
Share the trail, hand in hand…
Together gather enlightenment…
And separate ourselves from the pangs of guilt and sadness.

Just as the sun is meant to give light…
And the plants are meant to grow…
We are meant to be together…
And take our cues from each other’s angels.

Come and taste freedom…
Before the last of the dirt is settled…
In the act of becoming…
God has given us each other.

I love you,

Annie

This morning, I had a revelation…
I don’t see as well when you’re not next to me…
I don’t hear as well without your presence…
If I ever lose you, I will lose part of myself.

Alone, I have myself with all my worries and anxieties…
I often try to escape them…
However, it proves to be just a short numbing of my senses…
And though I flee myself a thousand times, myself follows me there.

My thoughts with you, are the most beautiful thoughts in my world…
Magic things happen when we walk hand in paw…
That spot stays shady most of the day…
Filled with sighs and laughter and smiles.

Without those memories I am stuck with my own…
They are not nearly as dear…
Most of them are about digging holes…
Finding juicy grubs or burying bones.

You know, only the depth of absence robs our happiness…
Placing us somewhere tightroping on a narrow rope…
Focusing on the single black rose in the bouquet…
When we could be focusing on each other.

I love you,

Annie

I am a mountain lover…
Mountains give me a sense of all things…
I lust for the joy of the summit…
No matter how long it takes to reach it.

Mountains are dotted warmly…
More rock than wood…
With a blanket of vibrant colors, sprinkling the sheets of white…
Knowing all the moods of the weather…

On the mountain life is harmonious…
Absorbing my worries, anxious thoughts, and fears…
I stand enthralled by the strangeness and the beauty…
Until my mind is quiet.

It is easy to forget that the outdoors exists…
Yet without it, something doesn’t feel right inside me…
My mind becomes a thoughtful melancholy…
Only one brick wide.

Yet when I stand in the middle of a mountain…
I become long-sighted…
The magnified minutia all disappears…
Yes, I’m a mountain lover…
They are peace to me.

I love you,

Annie

Throw another log on the flame…
Watch everything sparkle as it catches the light…
The fire knows how to switch from one language to another…
Making everything meaningful to everyone.

Let’s wait until we cannot feel the cold…
Where we can better appreciate the darkness…
I know that you have been to a place like this before…
And you know, that here, lies all the great secrets.

Now, we can walk securely through dangerous places…
Talk of miracles until they become the truth…
Watch, as all the numbers spin into place…
And witness the sacred door open.

I am always in need of a good thaw…
Aren’t you?
A place where steam stops coming out of my nose…
Where marshmallows and chocolate make the perfect meal.

Yes, this world is electric….charged!
The more you ascend, the less you worry…
Oh, life can be filled with such sweetness…
Just throw another log on the flame.

I love you,

Annie

Beware of any sea gull that doesn’t fly away…
Sitting alone, watching the waves of the sea…
I think to myself, “I can’t leave this bird untasted…”
Never once thinking that there are “hot heads” among this breed.

I am fooled by the far away look in its eyes…
That it is not roused by the weather….
That it seems perfectly at peace….
Waiting, waiting for something…
But for what? But for what?

With a growl that says, I have come to eat you bird!
I am not afraid that you are larger that me…
I will pick my teeth with your bones…
Another warning to the reader, beware when the bird just looks and nods.

And then I pounce…
The bird becomes faster than any express…
White feathers continuously exploding before my eyes…
A yellow beak hitting me like a jackhammer.

All dog’s on dog beach barking…
I guess they are placing bets and choosing sides…
But there is neither winner nor loser…
Just a lesson I will never forget, “Beware of any sea gull that doesn’t fly away.”

I love you,

Annie

Of course, I can talk to animals…
It is something in the feel of their sounds…
I know every animal language better than most…
Each day I call out to anyone listening.

I announce the beauty of the Mother of all things…
Listen for the soft pops and crackles…
Then, without saying a word…
I wait for nature to come and greet me.

I can understand you too…
I can read the sadness in your eyes…
I can see what lies inches below the surface…
By the way, you look much younger when you smile.

I say yes to each of your heartbeats…
As with you, so with my own…
I know your mind can’t understand all you have to give…
Until it starts giving.

The animals never have too much to say…
They are too busy taking care of their young, and seeking shelter from the cold…
On the other hand, the world waits for each of your words…
Words of truth, words of kindness, words of love.

I love you,

Annie

Why is the light always shifting?
Scattering into a disorganized jumble…
Like faint wisps of dust…
Slowly fading into the horizon.

You are the most beautiful when…

Your eyes catch the light…
You are unmistakably you…
The dark becomes pure white…
Your face reflects the brilliance.

When I see you in these moments it seems…

You are looking at the voices in your dreams…
Climbing a ladder to the throne…
Entering the heavenly world…
Near, oh so near.

Your eyes have unhindered range…
Seeing beyond the seasons…
Starting in early Spring…
Ending when the snowflakes come.

All in just an instant…
And then the instant is gone…
Each day anew…
Time again to seek that heavenly world.

I love you,

Annie

Today has the air of discovery…
The notion of opportunity…
I hope when it is through, I will have many exciting stories…
Far away from empty remarks about the weather.

Hmmm… which train shall I be taking?
Maybe into the hills and mountains…
The hills are full of astonishment…
And smell of violet and rose.

The quest is to find the indestructible part of me…
To stop arguing with my own reflection…
It is worthwhile to keep looking for it…
Don’t you agree?

This is just the first leg of a long journey…
A tale too slow for the impatient…
Following the great chain of being…
Until I see that there is nothing higher than what is inside of me.

I go to catch up with my own story…
To add a verse to the many verses in the holy books…
So today as I wait at the station…
I know exactly which train I will be taking.

I love you,

Annie

My sister is the waters…
My brother is the mountains…
My mother is the earth…
All, a miracle of grace.

The most and best of my wisdom…
Sparkles down from the stars in the night…
Piercing my heart through a tear in a curtain…
There is no reasonable explanation.

My beautiful world, speckled and spotted…
Screaming, Dive in! Dive in!
Adorning me with the elegant and the splendid…
Making me a joy to myself.

Yet there is another world within me…
With too many shoes too much commotion…
Always another rabbit to catch…
Always wondering where I buried my favorite bone…
Each being a new source of anxiety.

Yet, my sister, brother and mother are not in these places…

They live in the fragrance of the flowers that are blooming…
The wink of an eyelid from a friend…
The sunset yellow, orange, then red…
Yep, it is as simple as that.

I love you,

Annie

Tell yourself a story about how wonderful you are…
Make everything creatively visible…
Translate your life into colors, shapes, and sounds…
Infinite oceans of beauty.

Tell yourself how wise you are…
Your words, the words of words…
Look in the mirror and unleash the power…
Separating yourself from the herd of many.

Now, step out of the shadows…
No need to be a ghost in an empty room…
Your life is like a wide-open country lane…
Let’s go! I am ready if you are.

So,listen to the one who walks on short legs…
Me, born in the smallest of worlds…
But in my eyes, I’m bigger than any dog…
I tell myself that everyday (among many other things.)

I love you,

Annie