Coffee Mug

Tension by way of pressure
points equaled inside and out
stack clay into a cylinder worthy
of stretching a round silhouette
resembling a wide hipped woman
carrying a belly full of grace

Assuaging Loneliness

Four miles up into the mist
mountaintops tip homage
to their maker. The trail floor
springs back - meeting every
step with years and years
of cushioned forest loam. Ferns,
bracken and berries soften the edge
of the shady path I follow to
Hart Lake. I go by myself -
to see it different. I pray. I sing.
I listen. My heart pounds when
I see signs of a bear who recently
passed through, foraging as he
went. The water falling down
granite walls imbues me with
energy and enthusiasm.
The lake gives me peace like
a much needed transfusion. On
the way back, I stop to eat lunch -
then hitch my hammock between
two trees by Horse Ford and
swing to the rhythm of water
rushing over rocks. It's nice
to be lonely alone.

Wrecked by Raku

A kiln is built

with an arched roof

a chimney hole

a removable door

and a peekaboo

glazed bisque placed

in the preheated oven

turns hot orange -

matching the walls

without melting

the door is removed brick by brick

and long tongs reach for one

piece at a time to bury

in sawdust while a pail

waits to smother flames

one smoking piece at a time is

baptized in a bucket of water -

we gasp as humble clay

surprises us with patches of

unpredictable beauty

George Lowe and Daniele Maeder doing Pottery Vespers - Holden Village 2016