Friday, April 30, 2010

subtle
























amidst the yellow
red
and blue

i see this cluster
of subtle hue

a quiet sigh
escapes my lips
its beauty none shall feign
eclipse

Thursday, April 29, 2010

blue

















i wonder
what the story is
behind this simple scene

behind the curtains
so serene

i'm assuming
(something i shouldn't do)

that a woman's hands
placed these vases
few
a stunning cobalt blue

where one day
my eyes
would rest

and in that moment
be most
blessed

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

blossoms























their short time
here

a poignant reminder





*All flesh is grass
  and all its beauty is like the flower of the field
  the grass withers and the flower fades
  but the Word of the Lord will stand forever.
                                      ~Is. 40: 6, 8

  (And the Word of the Lord says that He has
  provided the way to eternal life; that life which does
  not fade or pass away.)

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

side by side
























shall i call them
"building buddies"

they look like
friends

a mutt and jeff
harold and maude
or felix and oscar

yes
nice it is
having someone
to lean on




*Can't pass up the opportunity for a couple of favorite quotes:

"Friendship is a much underestimated aspect of spirituality.  It's every bit as significant as prayer and fasting.  Like the sacramental use of water and bread and wine, friendship takes what is common in human experience and turns it into something holy."
~Eugene Peterson

"To lend each other a hand when we're falling...perhaps that's the only work that matters in the end."
From "Brendan" by Frederich Buechner

Monday, April 26, 2010

roofline


















i like his vantage point
just think
of all he sees
from the simple perch
he's chosen

such goings on
below

he though,
is still
unruffled
and quite content
with his place
in the scheme of things

Sunday, April 25, 2010

yellow eyes
























you beautiful feline
you, with the yellow eyes
dainty nose
and cotton candy fur

you shame me
for not being
a cat lover

what an exquisite being

you make me long to see
through your golden eyes
for just one day
one hour
or even one
magical minute

Saturday, April 24, 2010

blues night
























he goes by "Watermelon Slim"
and when i read the article
about him

i thought
this is for me

an evening of blues
at "Knuckleheads"
down by the tracks

and when i called for tickets
they actually had some left

it was meant to be
this memory

cool starry night
old friends, laughter
Watermelon's raspy voice
and his harmonica




*When you get those "this is for me" moments. Go for it!  The desire and opportunity are there for a reason. :)

Friday, April 23, 2010

morning prayer

















Dear Lord,

may i be this day
like the lilac

a fragrance sweet




*What an amazing spring we've had.  Seeing the lilacs bloom this week brought to mind the following quote:

"Everything is blooming most recklessly
if it were voices instead of colors
there would be an unbelieveable shrieking
into the heart of the night."
                          ~Ranier Marie Rilke

Enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells today.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

contrast
























Mr. Picasso,

I agree
that no one can explain

how two colors
side by side
can make each other
sing.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

antique

















just because one has had
several seasons under the sun
doesn't mean one
can't be fun
colorful
and quite unique

roll baby
roll

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

ewe

















oh the loveliness of spring
its colors and textures
fairly sing

Monday, April 19, 2010

crab apple

















such a name
for one so beautiful

therefore,
i bestow on you this morning
the title:
"Lady Apple Angelica"



*I was reminded after writing this of how the Lord often "renamed" people and places. Here are a few examples:

Peter: Rock
James and John: Sons of Thunder
Sarii : Sarah (Princess)
Abram: Abraham (Father of Nations)
Israel shall no more be called "Rejected" but "My Delight"
Those who mourn : Oaks of Righteousness

C.S. Lewis reflected this "renaming" in his classic "The Lion, the Witch, and Wardrobe"
Peter: High King Peter the magnificent
Susan: High Queen Susan the gentle
Edmond: King Edmond the Just
Lucy: Queen Lucy the Valient

Exciting, it is, the thought of being given a new name in heaven. (Rev. 2:17)
Enjoy this beautiful day!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

spring burning

















clear night
i step onto the deck
hot tea in hand

florescent flames
ebb and flow
across the horizon

farmers tending their fields

like You
burning shaft from my heart
so new life might flourish

this evening
the smoke smells like
comfort

Saturday, April 17, 2010

apricot

















the softness of your
shade and hue
your fragile arms
outstretched

it seems to me
for us below
and He above

to bless




*note~ It's "tulip time" in Topeka. The gardens at Lake Shawnee are quite spectacular. Thus, you'll see several tulip images sprinkled through the blog in days to come. I like this quote by Shakespeare:

"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything."

Enjoy your day....

Friday, April 16, 2010

tulip
























though i love the gerber daisy
you still
my favoirte be

for the cheer of your demeanor
and your sheer
simplicity

Thursday, April 15, 2010

someone's yard

















the gift of gardening
spreads joy and hope
far beyond the imagining
of those who spade the earth
upon their knees
and scatter tiny hardened
seeds

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

tulips

















this evening
i say thanks
for tulips in a field

and the white
luminescent light
of morning

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

excuse




















they have an excuse
for not seeing

but we?

we can sweep back our hair
and open wide
our eyes

to the wonder

Monday, April 12, 2010

redbuds

















such sweetness
their lavender blossoms
bring

a sublte
pianissimo
in the sonatina
"Spring"

Sunday, April 11, 2010

wash bowl

















oh, the simplicity
of days gone
by

no, not ease,
simplicity

wash bowls
homemade soap

and not so many choices
at the mercantile

Saturday, April 10, 2010

sisters
























short, but interesting lives
they led
those Brontes of Hayworth

though some might find
their lifestyle boring
i rather like the sounds
of heather in bloom
and afternoon tea in the parlor

charlotte, emily, and sweet anne
along with brother branwell
the other siblings gone
ahead
consumption running rampant
cholera, too

life on the lonely windswept moors
where jane eyere
and heathcliffe,
brought into existence,
were but

reflections

Friday, April 9, 2010

stepping out
















let us don our hats
and step into this gift
of sun
and weather

let us greet with eager feet
the greening grace
of spring

Thursday, April 8, 2010

pear tree

















she's blooming now
in all her hope and
glory

her fragile flowers
a prelude
to the symphony of
spring

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

when

















when the time comes
that dad passes on
to glory beyond

and i find myself
standing in the old garage

looking at things he's left behind

i'll see this rake
and perhaps say something like
"his hands held you
his feet stood in this very soil
when he set you
to rest

oh sacred rake
come stay with me
a conduit
of God's comfort
be"



*a note to my friends who are grieving; I need not say to you, “YES, we grieve” for you know full well that Easter and our Hope of resurrection do not take away all pain. But our Father in Heaven is not one unacquainted with grief. The tears of his children are most precious to Him. Not one tear you shed goes unnoticed by the giver and lover of LIFE. Cry and carry on. You are not alone.




**this ends my Easter series

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

and now
























and now
we wait

expectantly

Monday, April 5, 2010

invitation
























come close, thomas
touch my hands
my feet

look at my side

come greet
your risen
Lord

draw near
my brave
dear doubting
thomas




*Eight days later, Christ appeared to Thomas and the others. Having been away when he first appeared to the ten, Thomas insisted “unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.”


As Frederick Buechner points out, “Imagination was not Thomas’s strong suit. He called a spade a spade. He was a realist. He didn’t believe in fairy tales, and if anything else came up that he didn’t believe in or couldn’t understand, his questions could be pretty direct.”

I like Thomas because he isn’t fake and doesn’t try to hide his doubt. I am comforted that Christ spoke to Thomas in the same “direct” way that Thomas questioned.

As Buechner sums it up, “He had no questions left to ask and not enough energy left to ask them with even if he’d had a couple. All he could say was, ‘My Lord and my God’ and Jesus seemed to consider that under the circumstances that was enough.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

miracle to come
























oh, oh, oh
oh, oh

to think that from these
tiny hardened buds

will spring forth
luscious lavendar liliacs

is most more than i can fathom



*Footnote:
It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead
Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we
die, but they will be raised forever.

Our bodies are buried in brokenness but they will be
raised in glory.

They are buried in weakness but the will be raised in
strength.

They are buried as physical bodies but they will be
raised as spiritual bodies.

For just as there are natural bodies. There are also
spiritual bodies.        1 Cor. 15: 42-44



Saturday, April 3, 2010

john























there were four at his feet
when it was
finished

three women and the beloved
john

few words could come
from a body
so torn

"behold your mother
behold your son"

mary and john
bound in grief
and His desire

that they
carry on



*and from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
                                                           ~John 19:27

Friday, April 2, 2010

at the cross

















darkness covered the earth
as all of creation
trembled

led as prophesied
to slaughter
the lamb of God
without blemish



*Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us.
                                                                              ~1John 3:16

Thursday, April 1, 2010

interpretation

















notice the exaggerated leaning in
of the men who
chose to follow Him

as judas
his cloak tinged
in green greed
and envy
his feet clean from the washing
slips out
to put in play
his promise

splotches of red
in the background
like His blood
matted on the ground
and spattered on the clothes
of those
who would ream the cat of
nine tails

black at his feet
for night ahead
awake and alone
in the garden

purple:
magestic royalty
of which He was
and that given up
for these very men
and us,
to follow

everything is bathed
in blue
the cool hue
of sadness

there is no ray of light
shining on His face
no trace of His kingship
or favor

human, as we
in the dread of bitter
suffering

but note the table
bathed
in light

the bread
the plates
and cups of wine
He called
symbols of Himself

take, eat
drink
and remember

the body of Christ
given for
you





*A few thoughts from Frederick Buechner concerning the last supper:

On his last evening, they eat supper together for the last time, the rider and his friends, in some large room, upstairs somewhere in that city, a real room with things in it carpentered out of wood, coarse cloth, ragged moth at the candle flame, clink of pottery.

Hands of bone and muscle move through the air, the sounds that men make eating. One of them wipes the back of his hand across his bearded mouth. another eats like a drunk, never once taking his eyes off the one face of all their faces that is still, in the way the air just before a storm is still………

Ever since, the bread has been broken, the wine poured out….some come, not so many any more but always some, and the Lord knows why they do, why we do….probably because though there is much we cannot understand ……the inexorable life in him draws us to him the way a glimmer of light draws a man who has lost his way in the dark. Because we are hungry for more than bread. Because we are thirsty for more than wine.