Wings

A cage was emptied today
and a soul was freed
Free to be free, truly free
Wings in motion, finally

Weightless now, limitless
Tightly bound wings.... or arms as we call them
get heavy
Now there's sweet relief.. burst suddenly free
like a busted levy

Flowing wildly in waters raging
Our soul is again young, ending its aging
Renewed, re-purposed, re-born some day
Not too soon, she needs her rest
Taking the human route sure is the long way

Or maybe just the wrong way....

Cradled In Time

He found her, functional, content

or so she thought

He was ready, open, allowing

or so he thought

Connected in time and place

perfectly

Unknown to them was the power

they possessed

together

She guided as they grew

and got weary

He got blown away by the

intensity

One day she realized she was running too fast

he slowed her

Bringing an awareness of the truth

She was a front runner

Emotion came full on then deeply, fully

She processed

He listened and reflected

holding steady

Gifting him with the garden in their care

he accepted

He now guides as she slows her pace

finding their rhythm

The tick-tock of many clocks, their rhythm section 

Keeping the beat

As they write the song and the story

of their love

Steady and sure

The rhythm and the rhyme

Rolling on the beat

of their courtship cradled in time

 

We are so blessed.....

Welcome all, thank you for being here. I am most honored to offer the blessing on this fine day.

As I gaze out on your faces I feel so much in this moment. We are all here today because one man had a dream, one man had a vision, one man lived the life he came here to live. Daniel Grayling Fogelberg is this man we honor today, his energy surrounds us as we celebrate his life, his path, his gift to us all. There are miracles each day, and we are living one now. We are so blessed.

Dan, we know you gave us a gift we never can repay. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Some of our family members have transitioned to the spirit world since our last gathering. Like the Eagle that flies in the Western Sky, into the setting sunset, we bless and honor those who have flown away…..leaving feathers now and again to show us the way.

We honor Wynn Drumm for his heart for Dan and his heart for Dan’s art.  Wynn was a pioneer in the cyber world for Dan; he was the webmaster of The Treehouse Fogelberg Fan Page since 1998. Wynn transitioned on March 28th after a four year battle with cancer.  He was 58 years old. We honor Wynn for his beautiful heart. There is a butterfly bush here at the memorial planted in his honor as a reminder of the love he so freely shared.

And, Patricia Jameson-Sammartano, Dan sis who made her transition in April at only 60 years old. Patricia, know you are loved here always, and we celebrate your reunion with Sean whom you so dearly missed while you walked here among us. And know, if you ever should need your fam; well, the offer still stands….we are here.

To all of you dealing with loss in one way, shape or form, may you feel healing today here as we meet.

We know there is no fear where these souls are now, and love is the only thing that matters. As Chief Seattle said “There is no death, only a change of worlds”.   

We will take a moment of silent reflection now to honor Dan, Wynn and Patricia. 

As we process all of the emotions we encounter today, the peace, the joy and the pain, I am reminded of Ecclesiastes 3 that tells us there is indeed a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, a time to reap, a time to laugh, a time to weep; a  time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together. We are gathered here, now, in this time near these large stones, the Etched Boulders. Here at the memorial nestled along the river, under the trees, we are feeling so much, honoring it all and doing it together. And, when we all turn to head home from this journey, may we honor and be blessed by any tears as they flow from our eyes.  Let us taste their salt and know that they are the souvenirs of the love we all create here, there and everywhere that we allow our connection. We let our love shine, out from this place always…in all ways. We let it shine.

We allow the time NOW for JOY, as our laughter and our tears become one in the same. It’s the fall, harvest time, and with the harvest comes the feast of faces as Illinois “sees us” again! We are so blessed.

Truly blessed, truly connected, truly feelin' the magic of the moment. Let’s send a message to the world, we are here, collectively.  We celebrate all that we are, all we are becoming and all we will become because Dan Fogelberg walked his path and changed our lives forever.   

As we lift our voices to our wise and humble mentor, we know he hears us as we echo his wisdom back to him. As the moon ripens to full tonight, our hearts will be full of love as well; because, as we know, something can be said for love that’s pure. Let’s send love to each other now as we disperse and move into song and celebration. 

Repeat after me please. Ever On.

Of The Sea

Here his soul is his

Here it belongs to him alone

On the sea, he is free

Here he knows all things

or nothing at all

On the sea, he is free

Here he pens his next masterpiece

Here he converses with friends

On the sea, he is free

Here, far out in the cradle of the ocean

He is rocked gently to sleep

On the sea, he is free

Here, he received what he gave us all

Inner peace, solace, joy and understanding

On the sea, he is free

Here, she brought his ashes, after the Phoenix had risen away

Melded, connected, finally together with his liquid mama

In the sea, now of her.... he is free

I Sing Your Name

New name, same old rhythm and rhyme

wait, no, that's not true

New name, new integrated paradigm

Functional in flowing freedom, 'ol me... adieu 

A name does not one define, unless you let it

Life will flow and change like the weather

Can not the definition also change without regret?

I am who I am when I am her, and who I am not; never

I own the name Harmony now that I know the reality

My guides chose this name for me so many years ago

It is about patience and peace, there is no finality

It's about living your truth, naked of all ego

If you could choose a new name with a new tone

What name might you present into your present circumstance?

Such a sacred ceremony, to choose a name of your own

It is a rite of passage mated with a little fateful happenstance

Whatever name you carry

Carry it with respect

for the journey

that brought you the name I sing when I say it

 I sing your name

Noche de los Muertos

A trip back through time, a recall of days past
Faces aging; more beautiful than in our youth

Memories of moments steal back to my mind

Plastics class and parties

Laughter so detectable and familiar

in my ears again

Like an old song you know all the words to

Aging faces, smiles the same

Connection still there

as if we never missed a beat

The class of 79 is indeed fine

and alive and well

Memories resurrected..new ones birthed.. on this night of the dead

Hold My Hand Today

These hands have soothed ills

they have sauntered up and down halls

pushing evil pills

These hands have held new born babies

and held on to friends who were battling

with what ifs and maybes

These hands have sent others to the other side

and then held their loved ones in my arms

as they shook, wept and cried

These hands have clapped for musicians and artists

as they shared their gifts on stage

singing and vibing out their wisdom, now a part of us

These hands have waved hello as love walked into the room

and waved goodbye

as the love died...never to be exhumed

These hands have been held in precious moments by you 

as your fingers intertwined with mine

you held a part of my life briefly, too

In holding, you helped  me to raise a burden or share my peace

directly sent from my palm to yours

in the energetic exchange, you assisted in a joyous release

Hold my hand today....let yourself feel alive

take the time to feel me there

Find yourself in my touch and in my eyes

Like a Promise

Night breezes blow in gently
tempting the morrow to come
and come it shall....
like a promise

Knowing the day will relentlessly follow the night
comforts her
Knowing the night provides the peace of respite
after the long days spent
chasing
and
running
Her anxiety adjourns
for sacred slumbered hours so pristine and  precious

Chasing what?
Running to or from....what?

Running to keep from standing
still
For in the still moments
she is free to recall
the past
the void
the ache
the sad memories...

In the chase, she moves towards an end
that never appears
In the fevered cantor of the run
she feels the fleeting freedom
she seeks so strongly
yet can not gift herself

Breaking the ribbon of the finish line
first, alone
puzzled to have reached it
once again
She hesitates... scans her sector
checks her pulse
ties her frayed laces and is off
once more
no one there to cheer her on
no one there
no cheer

no one

Running to the morrow
back in the chase
Seeking that promise of the
new day
Always seeking

Knowing it will come again

she runs....

 

We

We see the same stars from different ground
     gaze lifted

                              We feel the same things in a different mind and body
                                    emotions evoked

We reflect on the same time gone by...... differently
hearts beating

                        We sleep in different beds dreaming the same dream
                                                  midnight meetings

We hear the same owl in a different tree
message received

                                        We say the same thing on different phones
                                                                           I love you

We........

 

At Arm's Length

Watching you watch me
silently
Your gaze settles on me
like a landed bird

So close, almost touching
yet taboo
The energy between us.. love
at arm's length

Souls connected in agreement
here, together
Navigating territory unfamiliar
strangely calm

Creating new life in a new
way
Reaching out with words...love
at arm's length

Staying when leaving might be
easier
Seasons flowing, providing precious
opportunity

You, me reflected in the glassy
water's surface
Letting it cover us in this
Love at arm's length

thoughts....

Re-connections, restorations, remembered
forgotten

Together, too painful, too many memories
replayed

Now, then, when
why

Doubt, gratitude, restraint
waiting

Wanting, craving, hoping
allowing

Tears, tales, tortures
relived

Me, here, in it
wondering

Knowing, processing, emoting
flying

me, here, in it

The Dive Deep

The depths of passion
A place of creation?
Or a place of death?
Humans get caught up in the net
and tangled in the web of
passion

Diving in deep, forgetting what last time

taught us

We dive aware, yet numb to the past

feeling, allowing, touching

Being......

The true test presented when the passion
brings about love
Can you stay in the love that formed....
growing in the moist soil of passion?

What cost passion?

perhaps freedom, connection

New beginnings, new directions

Soul renewed

Human no longer caught

able to move forward

Broken Ladies

They came in the BLACK 

of my night

My compass off, they helped

set it right

They spewed ugly, deep pain

in technicolor purging

Sending the message to my heart to 

allow my urgings

She showed me white, the holes in 

her socks thread bare

Without speaking she told me

"relentless running will get you one thing...

feet raw and red with wear"

After they taught me I 

released the gray

I had carried for so long, making clear

the blue of day

I saw again the dark night set

deep in indigo

As a canvass for the 

many stars aglow

They shared their colors

dingy and bright

And I reconnected to the full

spectrum of my light

These broken ladies I honor

here and now

For in their mending they also

showed me how

to

mend

The Very Thing We Sought

Ashes in the  dust

Love rapes trust

Inner struggle, inner war

Taking less while wanting more

of the very thing we sought

What we speak is what we create

Do we cooperate or do we compete

If we align and intersect

How soon until we reject

the very thing we sought

My voice vibes out into the waves

Telling a story about my days as a slave

To a bottle filled with guilt and shame

Inebriated and numb, dry and void of rain

..the very thing I sought

Inside the answers lie down deep

We shovel the shit on top of our joy... fast asleep

The joy bursting forth some how, some way

And you find yourself with a choice one day

To allow the very thing you sought

The spoils of my war is joy today

In your struggle you will find your way

The days deep become your best friends

Because you realize so deeply when the pain ends

Inside.... you always owned that very thing you sought

Dancing Fire...

Wrapped in the soft blanket, sitting silently near the hearth, fire dancing; her mind retraced her past. Knowing that tomorrow, she would be sharing the deepness of that past with others, she was pensive and reflective. Paging through the details, she stopped to gaze upon a a memory now and again as if it were a photograph returning her gaze. Smiling at times, grimacing and laughing at others, the tears of reality there in the corners of her eyes always in this journey backwards. Those tears have become revered mentors as she moves forward in this life she is crafting.

What would she have done differently, now that the dramas have played out?... she wondered. Hearts were broken, trust trampled, established love on hold while new love grew; it was all so real and intense. She had decided to place herself first for the very first time back then, and there were consequences.

Time and process had indeed brought her full circle, love restored, hearts repaired, trust triumphing once again. Perhaps the course she took was the only true course she could take. In the knowing is great responsibility, knowing on levels higher than others is a blessing and a curse.  Today, she owns this truth as she stares into the leaping flames of the fire, she feels the same warmth in her soul, now. She took the path, she owns it here, now.

Turning the final pages of this book of her past, she rests her grateful gaze on the memory picture of herself now. Connected to her truth, smile on face, heart well seated, in the process of courting her self and discovering the continued depth of her life. Swaying back and forth so slightly, the blanket surrounding her, holding her, she smiles............eyes on the embers and the flames of the dancing fire. She feels her soul begin to slowly dance as well. A waltz, sweet and slow, she glides to the next experience, ready and reflective.

Awakened Goddess

Waking a Goddess, that's a noble cause

What were you thinking, man?

Letting the words flow from your tightened jaws

In the heat of  your deep passion awakened again

The fire was hot and fierce and they melded

The intensity took him to a place of guilt

Now his passion has waned, in the fire melted

The Goddess left standing on the pedestal he built

Alone, she stands, moving forward in hindered stride

He unstirred now, unknown to him why

She confused, her need for passion pushed aside

He confused, wanting less than before, he cries

Woke a Goddess, he did, the poor soul

 Offering herself in joy with a hearty laugh 
 Full and effortless is her love, safely whole

Trying to respond in kind, he could only love her half

So be it, human she spoke to him in peace
 You are who you are, and I who I must be

 Let the turmoil with in us cease

Thank you for showing up to bravely wake me

Good Medicine...

The heart, such an incredible organ. It never ceases, it pumps and provides 24/7, 365 on and on and on. It is powerful, productive and a miracle, only one of so many miracles we carry inside us.

The only time we ever really give it away is if we die and have chosen to become organ donors (please do) and can share our heart, this organ with another human; possibly allowing them to live. The greatest gift one can give to another, LIFE!

Why then, when we fall in love, do we assume we give away something so precious?  Of course, it still beats within us, but so often in songs, or prose the assumption is made that another person, or a relationship can own something that is ours alone?

Let me clarify the harmonic concepts!  When you love someone and they love you in return, you gain something, you do not give over your entire being. Yes, I believe in soul mates, I believe we have many along our path as it intersects with the paths of others. Some are friends, mentors, some are indeed lovers and companions on higher levels. I believe in contracts of the soul to some degree, that certain souls travel lives with us over and over. This is the  case with some of my family in Peoria. We are returned to a life together to continue to move forward from a new beginning. Unfortunately, it can take a lifetime to recall this. It is all good, when you get there, be there. It's always a good time to move forward, right? Families wait, love knows no time restraints.

As I have written before, humans need to change the paradigm around love if we are indeed to vibe up to the true vibrations that await us all.  If you believe in evolution, have you noticed that since we came along it stopped, as if we are the best design, we are the tops? Ha! Sorry, I can not buy that. We are not the top of anything.
If you believe in creation and we really are like God, then we are so powerful we have only tapped into a very tiny bit of it. If we are God, then we need to be God, right? Either way, we are only a small part of the true power we carry. We need to evolve, or we need to God up, yes?
It's time to integrate the power on all levels. Love seems like as good a place to begin as any.... if you ask me. (you didn't, but I have your attention, so read on, please!)

So, if I have a point in my rambles today, I would say it is this: Empower yourself in all ways, and especially in love, do not fall into it, fly to it, you fall into a hole, yes?  True love frees you, so fly, damn it, let the wings spread fully! Stop fearing love, it's just not cool anymore, people!

Be the love, speak it, celebrate it, allow it, join inside it and connect your heart with the other person you have found.  Instead of giving your heart away,  blend it with your lover's heart, thus adding to each heart! Then love becomes medicine, the best medicine you have ever known. A natural high of epic proportion!

Thus ends the rambling.... go spread your wings, fellow human....

Catching Up!

A family of love has been re-birthed
in Peoria, Illinois where their souls mingle
and meld and cry and sing and wake up
to the realities of connection

Sharing and laughing, knowing again
That which they had forgotten this time around
That this was their "Next Time"

They live the next time of their souls...now
This is the time to heal that which went unhealed last time
Love, the glue... song and verse the crop they cultivate
together...the fruit they bear
Joy, the rain that assists them in growing

Their last assemblage was pure magic
Now they long for the next meeting so deeply
They can now remember, they are already there
and they are catching up to it
Their Next Time is this time
and they are all in love with each other
once again....

No longer alone
No longer forgotten
Fruit ripe and ready
picking each other up
off their knees
holding on
real tight when they need it
sacred and reconnected
Aho!

Outside the Lines

Wild and free, she runs

Not caring if she runs in the right direction

Or if she stays within the boundaries

that others have placed upon her

She colors outside the lines!

There are no lines......

There are no boundaries

There are only the wild places in her soul

that expand as she runs wild and free

The wild places live within her

She colors outside the lines....

Faces

The faces of our soul
Countless personas we present
Runnin so we don't get old
Holding on to the times we resent

Faces happy, faces sad
Gorgeous, frightening or grim
In shadows or masks they are clad
Hiding ourselves in limited lighting dim

The face we share will indicate our truth
in a situation with a foe, lover or friend
I sometimes feel like a sultry sleuth
Attempting to offer love but afraid to offend

The face of fear I shed so long ago
Why now, does its gaze reflect in my mirror
It gets cloudy and cold and  I miss you so
Longing for and wanting you here, near

I just want you near
I once again shed my fear
Daily if needed
Loneliness the only thing we have cheated
And a love like ours is never defeated
It grows and guides, sustains and nourishes
and in the spaces we create it flourishes
<3

Behind....Ahead

Behind every good woman is her past
Strewn with the love she has shared
The injustices she has quelled
And the ones she has heaved upon herself
taking it all on for others

Behind every good woman is her truth
She has walked it every day
Be it known to her or not, it has been below her feet
Supporting her as she glided, stomped and crawled
taking it all on for others

Behind every good woman that is a mother are hopes and dreams
that she co-birthed with her scions as they grew
Their hopes, their dreams, always most important
And his as well, the father of her children, his dreams hers?
as she took it all on for others

Behind every good woman is the knowledge from deep within
That she may do it differently if given the chance to go back
Yet, she did it well and with a heart of steel and feathers
A Guardian Angel to those she loves, watching over them
taking a little bit for herself as she aged

Behind every good woman are friends wise and weather tested
There to laugh with and cry with and grow with
Those who know her soul, some more fully than she
Walking alongside, pace matching hers on this road of life
as she learns to allow them to give and she takes in trust

Ahead of this good woman is adventure, abundance and awareness
She steps with intention, stride of confidence setting her pace
Head high, owning her power, her grace, her animal instincts
Giving love, taking it, making it, energizing her soul and her center
giving and taking in balance now, becoming Harmony

Watch What I Do

Strolling the ‘hood in the autumn mist

Ears full of harmonic Fogelberg bliss

Gaia shedding her colors in many hues blended

Exhaled breathe hangs in the cooling air, suspended

Head clears, life again in semblance of order

Restored and content to move forward to the border

of the old and the new as I honor the influx of change

It's comin in as it always does, I’m ready for the re-arrange

Like the leaves falling from the branches

I await Autumn to birth Winter's avalanches

Bring it on, Goddess! I will partake of it

Just watch what I do with it and what I make of it