now when it arises
anger resentment regret fear
i feel a tinge of excitement too
down in the swamp in the mud
in the darkest steaming depths
if i stay face to face with it
i find at last what my belief withheld
not yet fully seen but a sense
an openness to some bright dawning thing
that formerly could not be imagined
it is a love filled and glorious possibility
©John Greenleaf-Maple – text and art
was apparent death chaos loss
of everything yet i stepped through
my mother’s ghost to a timeless realm to
a truth just beyond the veil of appearances
where somehow i was always held
and in this moment still am being healed
i felt it most strongly at first
beneath a warm green Ozark lake
8 years old i dove fearlessly deep
trusting the capacity of my breath
the mammalian instinct to slow the heart
to glide fluidly through the caress
of soft sun-bladed living water
other times i was alone in the trees
a clear brook wound through mossy cedar
disappeared beneath a tangled web of roots
and emerged again into a channel
a startling slap of beaver tail
further up an otter gliding peered up
briefly as he sinuously rolled
both of us planning trout for dinner
the wind rustles its way through tall grass
glinting sunlight ripples along wavelets
a current of light broadens onto a vast lake
not visited by man for months the ducks
explode into flashing flight hundreds of them
all of this is real, all happening now
i breathe with all of life in ascending hues
its exuberant expression washes through me
and in every aware moment i am reborn
this is real, all happening now
i love the ache of lungs as light approaches
the transition from water into sky
the dazzling droplets flung in celebration
for this indrawn breath of miraculous new life
©John Greenleaf-Maple – text and art 20190112
where now i behold in you
the light of your spirit
the way your particular hue
flows across wintry prairie
to arrive here in this moment
you know it’s required that we recognize
the improbable magic of the heart
that arises in the absence of comment
this is nothing personal you see
we hug like the family we know we are
completely in this moment at home
we are floating away as personified love
©John Greenleaf-Maple – text and art 20190101
when i was 6 years old
my 3 younger sisters at grandma’s
dad at work our tiny little house
unusually spacious & quiet she killed herself
there arose among the shuffle of
assembled police, detectives & coroners
a story tragic suicide by shotgun flashlights
swept across the bed where recently
we both were lying one peacefully dreaming
one slowly dying of unknown suffering
i have almost no memory of her but
i know she was terribly frustrated & angry
that much i do remember vividly how
i first easily slipped out of my body
i was still in diapers had made a mess
& she was disgusted mad as hell
kept spanking my bare red ass
while i screamed bloody murder
& then i was observing floating
high near the bright window
where spring sunlight spilled in
& i knew i would always remember
this moment of calm & absolute safety
and that one day late in life
gathered with you i would share
the real point of the story which is
that very few things are actually true
that death is not the opposite of life
that one power courses through us all
and has always sustained our survival
has been steadily lifting us to this point
where pages scatter across the floor
& we fully relax into our bodies &
willingly open hearts release our death grip
on the burdensome stories we think are ours
now when we are offered
moments of grace
following wordless silence
let us be ready
to accept the offer
let us be present
to receive this gift
the one we’ve
frantically searched for
all of our tragic lives
until now
©John Greenleaf-Maple – text and art 20181226
winter solstice full moon rises
hangs huge above the eastern horizon
the chill clear air so still
light is given greater definition
i have this sense of only knowing
things relative to where i am
how our planet corkscrews around a sun
hurtling through space at 450,000 mph
in a giant spiral orbiting Sol
at 70,000 mph racing to catch up
we only see a gentle tug
on the blanket of stars
and are serenely transported along
with our thin film of breathable air
held close to the ground for us
how intertwined we are with a
fragile membrane of balanced elements
and one another as well do we know
that this moment is our only chance
to claim and live our earthly lives?
how can we still feel poor,
standing on our piles of treasure?
©John Greenleaf-Maple – text and art 20181221
sometimes i see
on moonlit nights like this
a trace of frosty mist it
delineates the darkness
i release from me always
there is more it’s necessary
without this tracing
of the inky midnight air
would i ever perceive what is
clearly here in every moment
would i ever truly receive
the luminous shivering gift of this?
©John Greenleaf-Maple – text and art 20181208
Macha, Talulah and I still plan to do a promo video for this effort to help support daughter Beth in her cancer recovery, but beloved has hoarse voice today. Hopefully tomorrow.
Art I am offering for sale as canvas or metal reprints can be found at
https://m.facebook.com/jgreenleafmaple/albums/10211218970976216/?ref=104
The same may be found on at Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnniemaple/
Please no downloads or reprints without permission. Price range will be $150 – $200 depending on size, effort expended and medium. The square images will print as 14 x 14 inches. Please contact me at jandmgm@gmail.com with Art as Subject in your email regarding any items of interest.
The easiest way to reference the photo of interest from Facebook is to click on the photo, then share, then copy link. Paste link into the body of your email. Please see example in the photo I added below. Requests from Instagram may be made in like manner as shown in the second illustration.
Payment may be made by check or to my PayPal account paypal.me/jgmaple. UPS shipping costs will be added if request for home delivery is made. Orders take approximately 2 weeks to fulfill.
Sincere gratitude from our hearts for your support. May your holidays be joyful.
For requests from Facebook album:
For requests from Instagram:
