Jun 27, 2012 | Last Line First
Unblemished by judgement (Her own or anyone else’s), The raucous-patterned butterfly Goes about her business. Her work and inclinations Keep her unaware of the Human child hiding there Among tall grasses Shrubs and wildflowers. Paying rapt attention To the flitting...
Jun 26, 2012 | Last Line First
As you remember it You came into this life Consumed with Passion— Loving loudly and with gusto Many things that Made their way across Your newborn path. Choosing for a mother One whose passions Were expressed In raging at her children And in playing Chopin etudes On...
Jun 25, 2012 | Last Line First
Before you get there, You pull over, Take a breath, then Looking in the Rearview mirror, you Fix your hair so That the curls Regain their Random sauciness, and– Though you want to Only pay attention to The way things really are – You wish the last Ten years hadn’t...
Jun 22, 2012 | Last Line First
Because you can’t know anything more than what you know right now— This “now” a rich compendium of everything that’s come before— Because your best guess has you referencing the way things used to be which only can approximate the way things are, You think perhaps the...
Jun 20, 2012 | Last Line First
To be awakened From a dead sleep By a ringing phone. To hear your older brother At the other end Repeating to you, Till you get it, Till your mind Discerns that This is not a dream: “He’s saying Kivi’s dead,” You hear your own voice Speak the words So that your lover...
Jun 20, 2012 | Last Line First
At the dawning of the day Your cat, an urban stand-in For a crowing rooster, Bats your glasses From the nightstand To the floor. And just in case The message Hasn’t reached you, She makes her way Imperiously Across your body Plops down On your pillow And loudly...
Whether through Shamanic practice, through ministry, or through art, Riva finds peace and practice in spreading love, compassion, and empathy for the self and others. 