Lesley S. King

If I could travel back to that moment when I accepted that seductor’s invitation and instead simply say, “No thank you,” saving me a world of hurt…   If I could go back to that dinner in Africa and not eat that amoeba that stayed in my belly, stealing my strength for decades…   If I […]

The lizard lifts high on his legs and sprints alongside your bike. His pointed nose and yellow stripes blur, as he churns up the dust. The raven swoops low over your shoulder. Her wings say whoosh, whoosh as she breaks open the sky. The water spider skates on an invisible membrane. His Martian shadow dances […]

  The dog you rescued with a scar on her brow  wags her tail and looks up at you, dark eyes shining mouth curved in a little smile.   But that lonely road where you found her limping stays branded on her heart.   In a tough moment, as she huddles in the corner wrapped in […]

  That challenge you face today with your mate or employer, your bank account or health, it is an egg.   It’s not just part of an omelet, though, or a scramble with onions and peppers.   It is more like a finch or hummingbird egg. One day the chick will peck its way free […]

Out here in the far reaches of creation, I sail the Cosmic seas between stars.   Like Voyager as it swings past Jupiter, frolics among Saturn’s rings, and discovers Titan’s thick blue haze, I relish life’s encounters as they arise within.   Each one brightens me, lightens me and all of creation as well.   Now, […]

  It drifts in from the west a cloud, dark and churning. Sitting on a ridge top, we watch its drunken steps as it careens toward us.   Do we hunker down? Do we run for cover?   We stay still trusting the promise hidden within its vapor.   From my lips escapes a prayer: Please […]

In this desert where even the most sensuous kiss dries to a crisp where the greatest artwork, blows away in a dust devil, where even a tear drop sears to nothing in the relentless whirling of time, I call out to You.   With a heart desiccated as that giant saguaro corpse laid out black […]

Just now, under the frozen earth the seed awakens. Its heart begins a faint thump, thump, and its tiny hands tucked in tight tremble with a life ready to burst forth in spring.   So do I, kissed by a warming sun feel the pulse of new energy beat within.   What do I do […]

The pain in my stomach the wrangling with my neighbor the bills the restless winter nights, these are the water in which I learn to swim.   “Can’t I just stand on shore while You teach me?” the mind pleads.   “No.”   I dive in so the Beloved can show me how easily I […]

That hurt that stops you like a bear trap, metal teeth cutting to the bone is really but a raindrop on a hot rock. It sizzles and then evaporates.   But the mind tells the story of pain and blood, and a cold winter storm until the hurt becomes a bomb dropped on the city […]