There is this cave In the air behind my body That nobody is going to touch: A cloister, a silence Closing around a blossom of fire. When I stand upright in the wind, My bones turn to dark emeralds.

Practice good personal hygiene. Wash your hands before you eat. Be aware of good clean water and food sources.

In a pine tree,/ A few yards from my window sill,/ A brilliant blue jay is springing up and down, up and/ down./ On a branch./ I laugh, as I see him abandon himself/ To entire delight, for he knows as well as I do/ That the branch will not break.

It goes without saying that a fine short poem can have the resonance and depth of an entire novel.

There is this cave In the air behind my body That nobody is going to touch: A cloister, a silence Closing around a blossom of fire. When I stand upright in the wind, My bones turn to dark emeralds.

Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota

Suddenly I realize That if I stepped out of my body I would break Into blossom.