Stillness

  • Releasing

    So many questions,so few answers,so little needto stress about either. Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • Dismissal

    Give me a balcony(somewhere on the East coast of Mexico),air scented with hidden hyacinth(sweet, exotic, sensual),a waning moon and the evening's first star(just freed from the hazy horizon),and a fresh-pressed volume of poetry(Rumi? Oliver? Collins?). You may leave now. Text… Continue reading

  • Circles

    Within your heartspins a circle of longing,an emptinessaching to be filled. It frightens you;what if you brave this nothingnessand disappear? But how can you not enteryour place of Ultimate Yearning? Welcome the Mysteryyou were created to embrace. Text and image ©… Continue reading

  • Seeing Good

    Today,right now,make the decisionto see the good around you:    beauty,    kindness,    color,    play,    love,    diversity,    possibilities. Observe the goodfor just 15 minutesand you will be    calmer,    more focused,    more creative, … Continue reading

  • Remembering

    i sit at a windowin the restauranton the 20th floor of my nyc hotel    cold, february night    snow piles in gutters below    frozen streets reflect homeward headlights i look down on the 9/11 memorial park    two… Continue reading

  • 5th Ave., February

    New York City,held tonight in winter's fat paws,going nowhere. The lions freeze solidon the library steps. Cats breath rises from street grates,wraps in ice each twig,car antennae,pigeon feather,rat's tail. Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • Winter Meal

    Beyond these windows,just two feet from me,the temperature is five below. Incidental flakes sift downunenthusiastically;this meager snow's merely the side dish,lightly tossed. The cold's the main thing,the entree:a big slab of frigid, served raw,biting back. And for dessert?A slice of… Continue reading

  • Fault Lines

    We all have fault lines–    hidden veins of weakness,    those places where,    when stressed,    we are most likely to crack. Patch them with holy spackle:    bread and wine,    exchanged embraces,    stillness. Text and… Continue reading

  • Sophia Again

    She stepped from the broom closetlike a dinner guest exiting the powder room."Missed me?" she asked. "Like gas pain," I answered. "You know I'm here to relieve the pain?" "Yes, I know that." She eyed the box of Russel Stovers… Continue reading

  • Another Serenity Prayer

    God, just for today,grant me freedomfrom the desire to beanywhere or anyone else. Amen. Text and image © 2014 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading