Karinaland River

How Little It Takes   Maybe just a ginkgo leaf falling into your lap? The winds of winter are blowing hard. Making me feel a little homesick and lonely. On my way home from errands, I spontaneously stop at the outdoor latke tent at Saul’s. This decision seems random, but it highlights my vague longing for comfort. Last day of Hannukah, dusk is falling fast. Solstice with its longest night. A warm rain storm to arrive soon. Everyone I am encountering today is kind. The tired cook fetches the last hot latke for me and asks if I like applesauce and sour cream. Yes, I do. He is generous with the applesauce, just the way I like it. I meander over to the bench to devour this snack which makes me feel home. An elder gray-haired gentleman sits there, quietly waiting for his take-out order. He looks kind. Me, an elder white-haired lady, completely absorbed in my latke delight, my own small world. Taking bites from the crunchy treat which is cooling down fast. Savoring. Entranced by tastes o...

  Winter Angels – Engel   cement is bursting again and again, delicate tiny blossoms break the heart of sidewalk unfathomably bright faces, fleeting presence   just as we might freeze stiff with cold, fear, gilded greed we also might melt into an ocean of gratitude, forgetting our untrustworthy desires, arbitrarily chosen smallness   sometimes an angel appears with modest gifts leaving them in your shoes or under the tree then flies down the many stairs and the little girl rushes to get a glimpse of angel presence and… – she does   in winter we wait, we welcome the dark sister precious glow of flame, snowy night flickering inner fire warms our fingertips, toes, and soul   we remember the sick and lonely, we send care packages, later we hum and sing in harmony, eat Stollen und Lebkuchen , connecting East and West   sometimes, filled to the brim, we turn light as a feather we dance to the floor, spiraling, whirling swirling bowing to God, Grace, Gravity,...