I am proud to have one of my haiku selected for this week’s THF Haiku Dialogue! The theme was ‘failure’… and I felt sure the dung beetle, rolling his hoarded treasure toward home and oblivious to the danger, was surely headed for it! Blessings and peace, my friends.
loud mooing…
Al Gallia 2023
the dung beetle blunders
into milling hooves
quivering sawgrass
Al W Gallia
focused on the same spot
we wait, the hawk and i
How gorgeous the red-shouldered hawk looks in the morning sun, so intent and alert to its environment! Yet it allows me to stare and marvel at its uniqueness and beauty without any apprehension. I am so thankful whenever Serendipity chooses to expose her hidden secrets to me as she did at this moment.
“A taste for the beautiful is most cultivated out of doors”
Henry David Thoreau
Out of the chill wind, I lean against the sun-warmed brick wall. A brief mid winter warmup lures my thoughts toward coming springtime in south Louisiana.
limp banana leaf
a young anole warms
in the winter sunfeeling the sunlight on my face
Al Gallia 2023
I too thank our loving God
An impatient commuter honks his horn at another car! For the moment, I am brought back into the real world where we humans continue our endless, chaotic struggle of cultures, morals, religions, money and power. But only briefly, as then I let my senses flow back to the blessed solitude, peace, and oneness of God and nature, to the promised hope and deliverance of my Christian faith.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find…”
Matthew 7:7
bare cypress quivering…Al W Gallia 12-31-2022
tireless wavelets scurry
before the icy wind
Lake Martin, Louisiana in the winter! Not an egret, heron, or alligator in sight. Sunsets, cypress trees, blowing moss, shadows… all provide such beautiful settings and colors for poetry and photos. Love it!
The complete absence of sound…the smell and sight of fresh snow…my memories flow back from my winter walkabouts in Montana! So clean, so quiet! Yet I always sense God’s nearness. I do miss it sometimes. Blessings and peace, my friends. Happy New Year!
Sitting on a pier at Perdido Bay, Florida on a still winter evening, i feel so blessed as the sunset kaleidoscope slowly turns.
‘raw sienna’ drips
Al W Gallia
from the artist’s brush…
winter blaze
I sense God’s peace and comfort settle in my soul, and I hear His whisper, “Be still and know I am your God. I love you!”
a seagull settles nearby
Al W Gallia
unimaginable colors
beckon my soul
a withering leaf…/ remnants of nature’s beauty/ litter the forest
Al W Gallia
Some things are timeless… not related to human manipulation and degradation. The beauty of unspoiled Nature in her virgin glory, a gift from our loving God, is at the top of my list:
A golden leaf swirling in a stream’s eddy; mottled sunlight on a blossom; a cardinal sitting on a limb; a sand-fall down a canyon wall; even a new dandelion rising through a cracked rock. Whether a fading leaf or a wizened old woman, innate beauty never changes and remains locked in time, unblemished forever.
a circling butterfly
Al W Gallia
touches down on her finger tip
breeze blown wildflowers
True beauty has no need of mankind’s touch, but only to be left alone to radiate and be appreciated.
Whether Covid or flu, surely most of us have experienced the helpless feeling of being trapped with no escape!
nearby coughing…
Al W Gallia
the old man wishes he had
brought his mask
That lurking evil virus or cold in the crowded waiting room…will it find me if I sit apart, stay still, and keep a low profile? Probably! Blessings and peace, my friends.
Last light of a hot summer day. As the hum of awakening mosquitoes grows louder in my ears, I pause for a last look at monotone surreality.
still waters…
Al W Gallia
hushed swishing
of heron’s wings
And I whisper, “Lord, thank you.” No more need be said..
(Image is AI generated)
As early sunlight breaks over the trees at an Alabama state park, a light breeze begins to tickle the lake’s sleepy surface. A cardinal pair chirps nearby. The aroma of hot coffee wafting, I take my first sip slowly and begin to muse on God’s blessing of nature’s uncorrupted beauty,
summer morning…
shadows rippling over
reflections
Al W Gallia
A gentle voice I’ve heard so often in my mind reminds me again: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” Jn 14:27
Searching for Serendipity 