destination: jubilation

You have shown me the path of life;
in your presence is fullness of joy,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Ps. 16:11

 

 

Jesus, JESUS
you are my JOY!
fountain of Life,
Lover of my soul
you shine the Way
as Alpha and Omega
(Beginning to End) of
my earthly JOURNEY…

…another Year past is
yet a Day closer to
Father and YOU!
Speed us on with
your Spirit, protect
us by your Angels,
and bring us safely
home, FREE at last!

 

 


“Free at last” phrase from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

tuna cat

Tuna, baby
you’re the one
you make playtime
so much fun
Tuna, baby
i’m meow-fully
fond of you.

my son & daughter-in-love’s cat, Tuna

You’re a love ball
made of fur
and we love to
hear you purr
Tuna, baby
we’re meow-fully
fond of you.

(Sung to the tune of “Rubber Ducky” by Bert on Sesame Street)

human race rondeau

“I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” ~quote from Harper Lee in “To Kill A Mockingbird”, 1960.

I think there’s just one kind of folks.
In sinful hearts injustice soaks
To face ourselves is awful bind
Smug arrogance can make us blind
In victimhood momentum chokes.

True, different folks need different strokes
But racial focus racism stokes
Humanity bleeds red we’ll find
I think there’s just one kind of folks.

Abusive labels hate invokes
Hatred and fear division tokes
You may be privilege defined
My ancestors worse than unkind
We must end slurs, insults, bad jokes
I think there’s just one kind of folks…Folks!


A rondeau is a French form of poetry composed of 15 lines, each contain 8-10 syllables. Rondeaux are a fixed verse form of three stanzas: a quintet, a quatrain, and a sestet. The first line of first stanza serves as refrain repeated in the last line of second and third stanzas. Rondeaux have rhyme scheme as follows, with “R” representing the refrain: AABBA AABR AABBAR.

all must die

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

note gray hairs
another wrinkle
an ache in bones
or problems with
private plumbing

forget a name or
why (oh why?) you
came into the room
then go back again
to seek missing key

the key to wisdom:
remember you die
but why (oh why)?
death comes by sin
it’s without & within

fear of death and
God’s wrath; we
deserve both yet
He bore worst of
both for you, me

believe in Son
sent from the One
in whom justice
and mercy meet;
our Father & home


Inspired by sermon on Psalm 90 today by Pastor John Lee.

rough night

my full moon-struck mind

meanders across misted expanse

catching on pinpricks of stars;

bumped off-course by wind howl

awakens foggy with dreams shredded.

thank you notes

Thank you, Father,
for ears to hear the
cacophonous symphony
of your amazing world;
each ear catches sound
and plays its own drum,
as tiny hammer, anvil
and stirrup ossicles
vibrate liquid waves
through spiraled cochlea
where hair receptors translate
electrical impulse to brain,
recognizing robin’s song

Blessed are you, great Designer!

Thank you, Father
for eyes to see the
panoramic kaleidoscope
of your amazing world;
each eye catches light
and refracts it through
pupil and lens aperture
as it passes through
vitreous humour jelly
to focus image on retina
where photoreceptors
translate electrical impulse
to brain by optic nerve,
recognizing child’s face.

Blessed are you, mighty Creator!

 

 


Response to David Whyte’s “Blessing for Sound” and “Blessing for Light” poems featured at dVerse poets tonight. Whom do we bless? Whom do we thank?

contemplative craxis

We celebrate starlorn season
and imagine it will always be
the way of traditional reason.

A quiet comfort finds me
hanging handmade ornaments
on lisolia of worn Christmas tree.

Can’t ignore niggling etherness
of family Christmas gathering;
another empty place at meal.

Alpert trumpets carols on CD
which triggers sharp heartspur
as one of Dad’s favorites on key.

Once our parents leave home,
we become orphans in the world;
itchy heartmoor destined to roam.

Sleepy grandchild’s goodbye hug
and door closes in aftergloom of
wrapping paper and crumbs on rug.


Linda Lee Lyberg introduces dVerse poets to The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig…you may need it to figure out the words in this poem.

eyes to see

At advent, we may miss seeing God due to our own inattention.

IMG_2239

parade of purple

If you think of all the women gone before us…it’s like seeing a parade of “who’s who” pass by. Consider biblical real-life women like Eve, Noah’s wife, Sarah, Rebekah, Ruth and Hannah, Abigail and Bathsheba (both wives to King David), Queen Esther, Elizabeth, Mary mother of our Lord and Mary Magdalene, Lydia (seller of purple) and Lois, Priscilla.

Women of faith and courage; servants affected by sin. Royal daughters of God Almighty, moved by his Spirit. Each born for “such a time as this” with a purpose to live out. Some prayed earnestly for a child, others were chosen to bear one of special calling. Like us, they suffered deep grief and struggled with life’s challenges. By God’s grace, they obeyed his word for their lives, even when walking in the dark.

I dress in their stories patterned and purple as night.


Prosery prompt at  dVerse with (last) line taken from Kimberly Blaeser’s poem, “When We Sing of Might”. Please read more about Ms. Blaeser here.

fragmented insomnia

highest bidder
took the rook
who bowed ceremoniously
as the crowd realized…
myopic leprechauns
couldn’t read
last row of vision chart
for all the armadillos
in iowa.

now we see-through
(unpolished)
looking-glass
while learning to crochet
in the dark garden
with gnomes who have filed
judiciously brief amicus curiae
on behalf of sterile
crocuses.

 

IMG_0468

Gnome in Reiman Gardens at ISU – photo by lynn


A modern “fragment” poem for dVerse with Laura …not sure i achieved the goal but sometimes it’s just plain fun to play with words and write something nonsensical!

reasons to linger

what’s sweeter than a yellow pear

dripping ripeness, with a wedge of cheese?

what’s sweeter than a sleepy kiss

enfolding lovers with a warm embrace?

what’s sweeter than a baby’s toothless smile

dimpling cheeks with responsive coos?

thanks living

grateful to waken early
with breath in my lungs
brew savory cup of tea
hear ancient word speak

layer leggings & jeans,
turtleneck & farm coat,
wool hat with braided
tassles, insulated boots

grateful to leave house
in dark under moonsliver
glance of morning star on
walk to vintage white barn

feed (pet,referee) cats first
measure buckets for cows
clean out bunk and pause
by old hayshed, hear moos

of sunrise, watch that scene
unfurl glorious promises of
another fresh day above the
silhouette of neighbor’s farm

In response to two prompts: gratitude poem that starts with morning at Tweetspeak with Callie and  poem with a line from ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” (italics) with Lillian and Bjorn at dVerse Poets.

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