Tender memories
Child’s early steps remembered—
Milestones filled with love
Young boy clearing path
Throwing shoveled snow behind—
Never looking back
Coming dearest wife
Arriving in a jiffy—
Lifetime partnership
From the words of English novelist and poet, Mary Webb: “Nature’s music is never over; her silences are pauses, not conclusions.”
Creation’s wonders, lasting treasures
Beyond compare, by any measure
God’s unique Spirit molds, creates
Earth living as His domain, first-rate
Forests dazzle with matchless beauty
Witness to our Lord’s sacred duty
Animal species roam, some quite rare
Others appear to be everywhere
Distinctive flowers color the land
Their music soothes, like any jazz band
Unequaled majesty reaching high
Rugged mountains climbing to the sky
Creatures with their eccentric pursuits
Actions showing off, fun attributes
Man taking note of what God has done
High praises, He stands second to One
One and only one master designs
Each day, smiling at His nature shrines
From Genesis 1:29-30: “God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so.”
Originally published October, 2020.
From Colossians 3:1-2: “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.”
Experiencing God’s grace
Feeling His generous love
Tasting heavenly goodness
New life found in Christ above
Renewing spirit of grace
Casting aside former ways
Escaping darkest trials
Christ’s sunrise erases gray
Drinking from God’s well of grace
Reading His Word, laced with hope
Sharing His righteous message
Faith matures, viewed through Christ’s scope
Embracing truth in God’s grace
Nourishing faith, now rejoice
Sustaining joy with each step
Christ’s glory in risen voice
Harvesting gifts from God’s grace
Setting mind on peace above
Filling heart with blessed hymns
Harmony flows from Christ’s love
From Colossians 3:15: “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”
Patience
Rejoice always
Embracing each moment
Trust in God’s promises
Answering
Courage
Faithfulness leading
Mercy opens door
God’s refuge of light
Unflinching
Grace
Deepest love
Acceptance with humbleness
God’s passion for life
Forgiving
This series of poems (written in the German-inspired style of Elfchen or Elevenie) shares a total of eleven words in each poem, with a sequence by line of one, two, three, four, and one words.
Early morning light
Missing in action
Shrouded in darkness
Each tiny fraction
Heavens open up
Twinkling Milky Way
Lighted gateway beams
Eagerness to play
Midnight comes calling
Harvesting full moon
Nestled with intrigue
Dish capturing Spoon
Gentle breeze waking
Stirring quiet chimes
Composed every night
Harmony’s crisp rhymes
Horizon still sleeps
Casting morning’s net
Awakened at dawn
Sun’s rising reset
From Joel 2:12-13: “Yet even now, says the Lord, return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment.”
Even in our darkness
Hearing call from God above
Troubled waters’ rising tide
Vanquished by boundless love
Caught in sin’s wilderness
Mourning with daily fasting
Come now, embrace repentance
Trusted peace, long-lasting
Born in sin’s emptiness
Pursuing redemption’s door
God, create one more clean heart
Wandered away, no more
Broken righteous spirit
Escaping evil’s fire pit
Better days waiting ahead
Restored faith now submits
Hope’s journey pursues light
Thirsting for faith’s risen place
Glory waits at Calvary
Witnessed in Savior’s grace
From Psalm 51:10-11: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your holy spirit from me.”
Witnessing upsets
“Cinderella” storylines–
Underdogs rise up
Time for spring cleaning
Hey son, use more elbow grease—
Ouch . . . tennis elbow!
Humor striking out
“Generation Gap” witnessed—
Dad’s jokes falling flat
In December, 1989, the Romanian Revolution ignited with passion, which would no longer wait in silence. The rest of the Eastern Bloc countries under Soviet influence had already experienced peaceful change from communist dictatorships. Under Nicolae Ceausescu’s harsh leadership, Romania was the final holdout as the democratic wave of freedom blitzed across Eastern Europe. The city of Timisoara was the first in Romania to secure its freedom, with the rest of the country to follow. This poem shares some of this revolution’s story.
Ruthless, authoritarian rule controls the cards
Harsh, brutal regime crushes dissenting voices
Quietness hides the remaining, burning embers
Daily life conceals wounds, offering few choices
Citizens endure lack of even the basic needs
Challenging days, facing endless heartbreak
Darkest days of winter, hunger and little heat
Voices stifled, experiencing numbing heartache
Freedom routed, plummeting to rock bottom
System of repression forcefully controls lives
Defiant opposition, beaten down to nothing
Dictator’s untruths cover up with empty lies
Scattering of small voices continues to speak out
Smoldering protests fueled with hungry passion
Government crackdowns to silence any dissent
Voices growing bolder, backed with compassion
Massive protests ignite courage in a distant city
“Timisoara” becomes a rallying cry for liberation
Unexpectedly, dark and evil house of cards folds
Season of change witnesses rebirth of a nation
Originally published October, 2020.
From the “General Confession” found in the Book of Common Prayer: “We have left undone those things which we ought to have done.”
Skeptics whispering with doubts
Tomorrow shall never come
Priorities breathe empty
Hearing enemy’s distant drum
Disciples praise God each day
Indeed, His kingdom shall come
Priorities set on Christ
Hearing blessed, heavenly drum
Skeptics gather in darkness
Distant worries always come
Priorities ignore light
Hearing only, that hidden drum
Disciples find hope in God
Heaven’s light rises to come
Priorities embrace truth
Hearing faith’s righteous, heartfelt drum
Skeptic’s voices now wither
Tomorrow will surely come
Priorities flee darkness
Hearing echoes of faithful drum
Disciples accept God’s grace
Through Son’s love, sunrise will come
Priorities witness peace
Hearing redemption’s trusted drum
From 2 John 8-9: “Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for but may receive a full reward. Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”
Faith’s
Goodness breathes
Mercy shall lead
Surely found in God
Hope
Delivering
From darkness
Victory over enemy
God’s still waters flow
Restoration
Trusted
Divine love
Lighting righteous path
Walking toward God’s eternity
Peace
Big Sky Buckeye 