Farm’s eternal footprint
Memories held tight
From each generation
Nurturing what’s right
Kitchen table’s witness
Writes each diary page
Chronicles history
Filling life’s rain gauge
Precious hope’s future link
Tough times overcome
History comes alive
Leaving each bread crumb
Confidence builds each spring
Another crop sown
Expected fall harvest
Paying back bank loan
Farmer’s faithful outlook
Every season’s birth
Tomorrow remains bright
Blessing Mother Earth
Every day in a life feels the whole life with expectation and memory.
There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.
C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) was a British author and Christian theologian. His full name is Clive Staples Lewis.
Raking piles of leaves
Trees now empty of color—
Autumn’s leftovers
Morning’s icy breath
Winter playing hide ‘n seek—
Goodbye autumn friend
Lonely tree branches
Always full of memories—
Final leaf falling
Albert Camus (1913-1960) was a French philosopher, author, and journalist. In 1957, at the age of 44, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Autumn is a spring when every leaf is a flower.
Yoko Ono (born 1933) is an Japanese-born artist, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker.
Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence.
This poem is dedicated to the many lives which have come and gone along the tracks of the Great Northern Railroad from years ago. Perhaps you can feel the living spirit still riding the Empire Builder passenger train across the Hi-Line of Montana.
Feeling a bit like heaven
Blessed Big Sky, almost home
Paradise spelled as two words
Riding free, spirit’s train roams
Scanning God’s creative touch
Mountains shaped by nature’s hand
Valleys carved out by rivers
Dreaming of this treasured land
Stirring up past memories
Iron horse roaring at top speed
Long ago, been here before
Coming home, spirits now freed
Flashing by Hi-Line’s vast farms
Cropland caresses these tracks
Golden fields of wheat ripen
Waiting for harvest’s comeback
Fading daylight turns to night
Darkness covers Montana’s peace
Town lights twinkle here and there
Thinking back to life’s past lease
Climbing through Marias Pass
Glacier Park saying good-bye
Big Sky’s wonder never fades
Ageless spirit, dropping by
Originally published December, 2020.
Horizon in motion
Ocean’s endless expanse
Mystery’s eternal depths
Human voice seeks to dance
Moonbeams highlight each wave
Travels to distant shores
Midnight’s faithful companion
Tales from ancient folklore
Tranquility escapes
Lost in approaching storm
Each draft shredded over time
Empty memories swarm
Resilience remembers
Words waiting to arrive
Every star invited in
Ready for next test drive
Tomorrow will arrive
Darkness finally leaves
Sunrise gathers novel thoughts
Writer’s patience believes
Fateful ember glows
Another shared memory—
Seeing tomorrow
Kindness extended
Grace added with every breath—
Character defined
Diploma in hand
Open road’s invitation—
Adventures ahead
Early morning walk, going back in time
Autumn’s breath creates thoughts, filling with rhyme
Trekking along canal’s ancient pathway
Thoughts caress past moments, plenty to say
Gentle breeze, sending leaves twirling on down
Mind arrives at different time and town
Dreaming . . .
More simple times, without high tech living
Days invite, delightful and forgiving
Riding bareback along this old canal
Looking for trees to climb with school-age pals
Fishing one final time, nearby pond waits
When icy winter comes, change to ice skates
Creepy, storm-filled nights, reading classic prose
Edgar Allen Poe’s words, scary shadows
Looking for literature’s lighter themes
Whitman, Hawthorne, Melville adding to dreams
Quiet evenings filled with family time
Gathered around for radio’s primetime
Crisp, fall afternoon, gridiron titans clash
College football rivals looking to smash
Romance blossoms, courtship takes center stage
Life filling with sweetness, each turning page
Back to reality . . .
Journey runs into closed gate at Rager Road
Turning around, grateful for time borrowed
Looking forward to walking here real soon
Fondest memories, let them sing a tune
Originally published October, 2020.
Every wilderness journey
Another footprint unknown
Tomorrow always uncertain
Turning over each heavy stone
Lost among daylight’s darkness
With every tentative step
Smallest ember of light’s beacon
Finding vacant cabin’s doorstep
Door’s rusted hinges swing free
Waiting, barely hanging on
Vivid memories gather now
Warmly colored with worn crayons
Bushel of thoughts now arrive
Rekindled glow from fireplace
Yesterday no longer frozen
Gentleness cradles weathered face
Surrounded in breathless peace
Slumber’s cherished whisper calls
Weariness at last overcomes
Cuddled under nightly dream’s shawl
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
Big Sky Buckeye 