Author: Jeff Shapiro

I know everything about the wild…
The mountains and the trees…
I know they have an inside like the rest of us…
Often smiling at the miracle.

I understand nature’s maze of stitches…
Can follow the needle work all the way down to the root hairs…
I treat nature with respect and love…
As one visits a friend.

I know everything about the city…
Bustling like bees…
Sips of whisky instead of milk…
Even know the alleys that turn me all the way around.

Like nature, the city is made of a myriad of fabrics…
With new adventure within the patches…
The city ebbs and flows…
Like a love lorn country song.

I am still learning about you…
Your quiet lowered glance…
I’m so blessed that God pointed you out to me…
So, we can have a lifetime of discovery.

I love you,

Annie

When I’m in nature, I find….

Silence belongs to Her…
Depriving fear of its power…
Enlarging the spirit…
Casting a spell of freedom on every living thing.

When I’m in the city, I find…

She walks down streets and alleys in silence…
Never asking directions…
Into the teeth of it all…
Her feathers fluttering downward.

As I sit and ponder….

I embrace Her silence…
I almost always can find it…
I squint my ears to hear Her teaching…
But I hear nothing at all.

It is so difficult to comprehend…
And accept that growth can come from silence…
It takes a do-or-die courage…
To take our foot off the gas.

Together we sit…
Drinking from chipped teacups…
She nods at me…
I nod back at Her.

I love you,

Annie

Is it possible for me to be too optimistic?
Be flush with too much cheer?
To believe the smallest chance will turn into the biggest?
To replace every drop of fear with hope.

Why am I so optimistic?

I have not yet tasted the best fruit…
Even though I know that I will…
As I focus on the positive…
My loves, my friendships, and everything in this life becomes perfectly clear.

People say, You crazy pup!
Sooner or later your optimism is bound to break…
Look around you, this world is a mess!
Wait until you are really in the midst of it…
We’ll see if you can defeat despair.

My answer is simple….

Despair! Let’s get rid of that word right now!
I keep that word ten steps behind me…
Despair is just a mindless stutter…
The killer of the soul.

I believe the best is yet to come…
That I will always end up on solid ground…
Is it possible for me to be too optimistic?
Nope, no way!

I love you,

Annie

It is not for my lack of trying…
I keep thinking that the summit is just a short scramble up…
When the far side is still a long way off…
And the bottom has no bottom.

I will go to the bend in the river…
I know its waters are sparkling clear…
I’ll slide into the sunlight…
And ask the churning waters.

She whispers….

Search for the language deep inside you…
You knew it fluently when you were a child (puppy…)
Haven’t you wondered why words and phrases keep popping up in your memories?
Like you’ve lived a 100 lives before.

Who told you that this journey would be fast?
That there would be no dry and barren places?
Why are you surprised that the clock moves quicker than it should?
And time has so many bends and twists.

It is difficult to find yourself among so many sudden changes…
Life comes at you unannounced…
Like me, you need to keep flowing…
And soon you will find your way to the sea.

So says the river.

I love you,

Annie

Last night I woke myself with my own snoring…
Thoughts erupted through the floor of my brain…
I was startled by all the crazy thoughts
And I wondered…
Can I really see myself?

Yes, there is that reflection in the mirror…
Yes, I can see forward and back…
But what about the parts of me that matter?
What about the parts that are really me?

One thing I know for sure is…

I can see you…
And you my friend are a wonder…
Your kindness has touched me so many times…
Your love has been so warm and true.

I can see you through your actions…
I can see by their results who you are…
To me, you don’t have to say a word…
Your life is written plainly, in black and white.

Maybe we are meant to be each other’s mirrors…
And there’s no need for pretend…
Perhaps there is no other way of truly seeing ourselves…
Other than the reflection that comes from each other’s eyes.

I love you,

Annie

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