thorns

during yesterday's woodland walk
i was led
as it were
to this very tree

never seen
before
by me

afterward,
i journeyed home
covered with stick tights
and a fresh awareness
of His sacrifice



*The next week's posts will be dedicated to Resurrection Sunday and the events that preceded and followed it.

nearing the end of winter

oh tree,
if you could hear me
i would say,
"i love the way
you raise your arms
to heaven"

your semblance
strong
in winter's fading shadow

oh tree
you dare me see
more clearly

robin

his solitary silhouette
whispers "spring"

bless you
oh messenger of hope
among the branches

palm sunday

it was one like you
he called for

to ride through the crowd
palms waving

his feet nearly dragging
the dusty sod

what a privilege
oh small one
to carry the lowly
HOLY
son of God

sewing machine

my mother had one
like this
i remember her teaching me to thread it
and i can still hear the sound
of the foot pedal
up and down

she spent hours
making shirts and
dresses

through the years seen since then
i've seen
that like the stitching of garments
so is the making of men
an art
of vision
and patience

books

oh, the smell of old paper
the feel of the page
the faint underlining from
someone else's pen
kin
on some level

like an unmet cousin
on the "literature" side

pillar

i find it helpful
from time to time
to ask myself

what it is i'm resting
on

is it flimsy, soft,
and fluid
like circumstance

or SOLID
FIRM
and SURE

spoons

if we are given
the gift of years

we too
shall grow
rusty and worn

but never
shall we cease to be
His implements

"playing" cards

oh George,
you WOULD be the jack
or otherwise known as knave:
a deceitful and unreliable
scoundrel

at least you were "out there"
in your scroundrelness
and our laughter
gave proof
that we, too,
knew insecurity; 
an insistent bedfellow

structure

it started with
a vision
and a plan

then one brick
picked up
and laid
on another




*Sorry, another footnote.......two separate thoughts come to mind as i view this image:
1. Our lives are best lived "one day at a time".
2. YOU are God's building....1 Corinthians 3:9
Have a great Monday.

march madness

the games have begun
t.v.'s and radios everywhere
tuned in to basketball

brackets filled out
and thoughts of winning the pot
however small it be

me?
i picked Duke
an unpopular choice
in the land of Kansas

Of course, I’m really rooting
the wildcats on
and would give up ten pots
for them take home
the trophy

a nice diversion
it has been
since the snow and wind started up
again




*I wrote this post yesterday before the games; my condolences to my wonderful KU friends on the disappointing loss. The Hawks had an amazing season.

branches

under the cover
of last night's snow
their form
becomes more realized

like people's souls
in times of cold

and loneliness






*the weatherman was right. .  .but spring IS coming!

reprieve

the subject of this
morning's e-mail
“shine sun, shine!”
a friend cheering on the spring like day

so cold
rainy and
dreary has it been
months on end

but alas
the weatherman was right
and spring
like a shy lass
shows her face
warily

more rain and sleet to come
this weekend

after being out and about
i’m struck by the countenance
of most everyone i see

a visible lifting of their souls
along with children on the playground
their voices like so many birds chirping
their coats thrown hither and yon,
two vehicles vied for
my attention

the tattered truck
its bed full of dead leaves
and gnarled branches
ready to be emptied
and the model T
shiny and black
that pulled out of the alley
half a block before me
off with his master
a sheer pleasure ride
sure

the weather binds us
in our frail humanity
brothers and sisters
in blizzard
draught
flood

and the coming of
fresh green
spring

lemons and lime

ever felt like the
odd man
out?

it's ok to say "yes"

everyone has
sometime

until they realize
there is no "in"
we are all just men

under the shimmering stars
of heaven

green

it's st.patty's day
and i can't go
without saying
"top o' the mornin' to ye"

hope you enjoy the wearin'
of the green
even if you aren't irish

better yet, enjoy
green
for just being green
the melting together of
yellow and blue;
the symbolic meaning of something
new

for tufts of grass
and tulip leaves
emerging through
winter's bonnie blanket

faces

"For age is opportunity, no less
Than youth itself, though in another dress
And as the evening twighlight fades away
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day."

yes, Mr. Longfellow
i agree and gladly see
promise
in both these faces

and true it is
that stars shine brightest
in the blackest black
of night

prayer to myself

"what is this control
so tight
i see

a covering
a shelter
over me?

it's heavy
and dark
in my homemade cocoon

oh, please
let me out
to see the moon"



this morning i came across
this sad little plea
penned by me
many years ago

an apt description
of my state
then

it's been a process
but i'm happy to report
that i'm beginning to see

and the moon
is quite remarkable



*.....and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. ~Jesus

farmhouse

and what could evoke
more sense of peace
than this?

do not we all
long for that
place called home

at cliff's edge

if they could talk
what would they say?
these rugged
dwarf trees
on the coastline of
county clare

night
after wintry night
they cling
enduring
arctic north wind and
saltwater spray
i wonder what they would say
about their harsh existence

and as i sit here, eating my lunch
i'm amazed by what a surprising thing
is cauliflower mixed with
imagining

keys

keys to the house, the car,
the office

keys to the heart, the mind,
the soul

key ideas
key people
key moments

ah, moments
and are not all moments
key?

stressed

and if i asked you
what is the cause of your stress
what is making you less
than attractive today

hair mussed
ears back and eyes
bulging

could you say?

is it caused from without
or within
and how will it end?

relax
take a breath
ask for help from above
and simply start over
again

perspective

what seems so BIG
loud, and hectic
below

looks different from
above
especially through the eyes
of uanabashed love

yesterday's walk

i went
to see
to look and find

perhaps a slant of light
through one leaf
listless and alone
provoking of
praise

or a thistle
sending off
it's seedlings

but it was in the stirrings
of the morning
that the gift lay

a cardinal's song
from bushes
brown

then from treetops
to the east
a distant
woodpecker's tapping

a solo each
clear, in the quiet
of the cold
blue morning

the lab puppy
full grown
but still a little boy
rushed by
nose to the ground
panting heavily
barely able to keep up
with himself

then leaves underfoot
soft the sounds
of their pressing
to the ground


*Psalm 19:1-2
The heavens declare the glory of God and the earth shows forth his handiwork. . .
Day to day pours forth speech. . .

prodigal

both
bask
in the light
of forgiveness

lunch time

it's tuna salad
and sun chips
today

and that unhealthy
diet pepsi
i can't seem to do
without

such fun
seeing the sun
shine through the kitchen window

headed for bliss
am i
sandwich, sun
and soda

homestead

i wonder how many
generations
have come and gone here

how many lives
have called this
home

apples

i didn't know how
beautiful they would
be
when i placed them in the bowl
and set it on the kitchen table

i didn't know they would
catch my eye
throughout the day

their shape, color
and crisp promise
of sweetness

sheer gifts they be
reminders of
His mercy free

country road

it looks old
and crickety
like i'm beginning to feel
some mornings

but isn't it peaceful
and don't you love
the purpose it serves
by just
being there

with its bends, curves
hills, valleys
and worn down gravel

getting there

i used to have a lot of those days

you know,
the "teeth grinding" kind

my boys would laugh
and say, "she's grittin'"

i'm pleased to say
i've come a ways
in my ability
to change the grit

into a sigh of
soft acceptance


*note: This morning in my quiet reading time. I came across the following quote. I thought it fit well with today's post:

"Honest sighing is faith breathing and whispering in the ear; the life is not out of faith, where there is sighing, looking up with the eyes, and breathing toward God."  ~ Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661)

Hope you have an "accepting" kind of day! :)

wrigley

i came across his photo
yesterday
and had to stop to say
thank you Lord

for cameras
and the capturing of
little paws
in such a hurry

thanks that though his heart proved
too big
for his tiny body here

i am quite sure he's near
you now
face into the wind

taking in
the glory

display

he's a turkey vulture
and his stance is called the "horaltic pose"
serving him well
by drying his wings
warming his body
and baking off bacteria

perhaps it would serve us well
to learn from him
and lay ourselves open
to the Light above