The Echoes of Darkness

 As the night falls, I can hear the Morning Doves

Giving off the last notes of their song.

Off in the distance, I hear the Coyote

Howling its lonely cry.

The cattle bellowing as the night skies fall

Into the echoes of darkness.

Crickets giving away their hiding places

With the quite chirps.

The mellow breeze of the wind

As it whistles through the treetops.

The sun finally sets behind the clouds of grey

Drifting off below the horizon

Bringing up its beautiful colors of red, oranges and off set yellows.

I see and hear the Ravens, flying into the sunset

Silhouettes of black and the caws of their sound.

It's all calling nature into the night

With the echoes

The echoes of darkness......

Michael VanDyke    C@ 2025

The Pond...

 Jump into the pond

What's on the other side

Are you a time traveler

Going into the past

Or maybe to rush into the future

Take a leap of faith

Exploring the other side

What if there's a fog

Danced over by the mist

Go beyond what you see

Like the pond with a mirror of calmness

On the water so still

Jump into the pond

What's on the other side

Dive into the deep end

Step into the unknown...

Michael VanDyke C@ 2025

Going Home

 Can you ever go home

As of the times before

Seeing that old white door

Can you ever go home

Or is it of never no more

My memories can take me there

It also lets me leave

I see the long driveway

The little house

Just sitting up there

Saying come on in

The mailbox by the highway

As it always was

Would the little dog named Skippy meet me

Maybe our old dog Jeff

I see the old shed

With its paint weathered off the outer walls

A few old cars

Parked here and there

The garden as big as it ever was

The smokehouse off to the corner

These are the good memories I see

I could go home just for these

The family, life

Of old times had

Are but of memories

That I'd never want to see

The memories I can shut down if I please

Our home was a house

Just ceilings walls and floors

Nothing more, nothing less

I hear the yelling, the screams

Now I shut my memories of yesterday

No, I can't go back home

I will divide the memories

Ones to keep

Ones to share

Ones to own

Ones to care

I walk away looking back

The white door getting smaller and smaller

That's my memories being buried deep....

Michael VanDyke C@ 2025 

It Had to Go

 I've seen the battle of evermore

It came from the walls and floor

I kept thinking I don't want to see or hear this anymore

I was fogged I was confused

Days were long of nightmares of home

Staying away was easy, because of the peace I felt

Like a war, do you go to the fight or pull back to safety

To get away from it all

The nightmares of reality

I pushed it down, so far down that it couldn't control me anymore

I've seen things that most adults couldn't handle or want to see

Never talk of it, just push it away or push it deeper into my soul

It was to the point I had to forgive; I had to let go

Release me from hell, my life I wanted back

It's not the blood that bleeds, it's the memories that flow

Do you put them in a barrel to burn, let the ashes blow away

It's better than what I had, no way could I carry that today...

Michael VanDyke @C 2025

Into The Path of Yesterday

 As I see the setting sun with its vibrant colors of golden yellows, fire reds and marigold orange,

It brings the day to an end, with darkness to follow, as into the path of yesterday.

The black silhouettes of the trees in the distance, the birds in flight, finding a place to roost for the night.

The calmness of noises, as the night blankets the sky, with the feel of tranquility.

It's time for the earth to rest, gliding it into the path of yesterday.

Michael VanDyke @C 2024

Autumn

 The new season of the earths cycle has arrived

Fall, the cool temps. of the night, chilly days.

The colors of autumn, trees of green, golden yellow, lemon, chocolate brown, watermelon red, brilliant orange.

Trees shedding their leaves, as they glide to the ground, making the earths soil rich in colors. 

Blanketing the areas with a natural insulation for the little critters below.

Squirrels gather the leaves for their nests, for the winter comforts coming soon.

Insects burrowing deep with the leaves for their blanket cover.

Clouds drifting over, setting low, loaded with rain, other areas with snow.

The winds blowing the chilly air upon us.

We bundle up with warmer jackets, long pants, boots, maybe gloves too.

It's a beautiful break from the long summer months

The earth does its magic with its cycles it goes through

Enjoy the colors, the changes from summer to fall.

The coolness, to chill the bones.

The football games of your hometowns.

Children laying in the piles of leaves.

The different smells of leaves burning, as the piles vanish from the fires.

 Oh, the autumn months bring magic to our eyes, mind and soul..

Michael VanDyke @C 2024

      

The Mountain that hid

 The beautiful drive to the mountain.

Trees of green, tall, so tall they seemed to touch the sky.

The morning was of blue, clouds here and there.

The weather cool and crisp.

As the road took us upward, higher and higher.

The trees were everywhere, to the bottom of us, the sides of the cliffs, the valleys and hollows.

The running of the creek below, its rushing waters, cold as the snow-covered mountain above.

Waterfalls blending into the glazier rocks, as its tumbles to the valley below.

The clouds were getting darker, lower and heavier.

So thick, from the skies, down to the roads.

 Thousands of feet above the valley floor. 

Nothing to be seen, no trees, no sky. no valleys, no roads.

Stay in place was the safe thing to choose, two, three hours, we didn't know.

Then like magic, the clouds were lifting higher and higher.

It opened up the beauty we were missing.

We could see the treetops, ever so green, so tall.

The mountain peaks, valleys of snow.

The rocks of grey and white laying on the mountain side.

As we walked, we could hear the gathering of the head waters, as they floated to the valley, ice cold from the glaziers above.

We could see the bird's gathering food, for yet another day.

The temperature was cold, this old flannel shirt sure felt good.

As we descended down the mountain from 40* then 50* up to 65*, it was like a heatwave as we headed below.

We didn't get to see it all, because it was the mountain that hid.

Are we glad we took the trip, yes, we are glad we did.

Michael VanDyke 2024 @C....