freedom’s creed

 

The right to believe what you choose comes with

the responsibility to allow another’s free choice.

The right to say what you want comes with

the responsibility to listen to another’s view.

The right to publish your own words comes with

the responsibility to enlighten another’s mind.

The right to live where you would comes with

the responsibility to live at peace with another.

The right to act on your convictions comes with

the responsibility to let others act on theirs.

The right to experience the joy of being alive comes with

the responsibility to respect the life of another.

When faith, speech, or action no longer respects the LIFE of another,

then it forfeits freedom and it  must.

be.

stopped.

middle-eastern mosaic

 

sheep and stones dot steeply jaded hillsides

waves gently ripple across flashing sapphire lake

flock of creamy white gulls wing high on moist air

flowers pop like bright gems from monastic garden

blossoms clothe almond orchard in translucent pink

 

children chatter on walk to gate-guarded schoolyard

vendors persistently hawk a myriad of market wares

pilgrims from global village tour preserved holy site

devotees bow reverently in faithful, diverse prayers

soldiers drill younger patriots to handle heavy guns

 

traffic honks over chaos of narrow cobbled street

song of acapella worship echoes from chapel dome

aromas of food, local grown, entice to exotic buffet

history’s dusty layers exposed by digging ancient tell

cultures clash at civilizations’ crowded crossroads

 

next year in jerusalem

IMG_7109

anticipation of pilgrimage to

holy land for the christian

state of israel for the jew

and palestine for the arab

jerusalem, ironically named

“foundation of peace”,

salem (shalom) means

“wholeness, unbrokeness”

yet real shalom eludes us all

land divided

walls broken down

relationships strained

how will diverse people live together in sacred space?

who will take a vow of peace and keep a promise?

it is a land of no lesser miracles!


“The Lord watch between me and thee…”   see you when i return!

klompen prints in snow

snow tulip

tulip festival

snowfall surprises tourists

may not so merry

_____

may not so merry

frosted flowers weeping ice

parade is cancelled

_____

parade is cancelled

bakery sells hot koffie

windmill park empty

_____

windmill park empty

nature’s moods are capricious

tulip festival


Linking this cascading haiku with Carpe Diem Haiku Kai today…

entangled etchings

Link to d’Verse Poets Pub  featuring artist Danny Gregory of Sketchbook Skool…

 

untitled drawing by Danny Gregory, used with permission

untitled drawing by Danny Gregory, used with permission

 

if i could write

the story

of us,

i’d wake up

to you next to me

every morning

and watch

you breathe

regular

and gently

trace the edge

of your angular

shoulder blade

and feel your

warmth

even before

we sleepily

embrace,

entangled…

oh, van gogh!

Starry Night by Van Gogh

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

lonely dutch artist

paints his view from asylum

seeking blue-hued peace

_____

thoughts like colors swirl

calm by beauty of bright moon

dark tree gives balance

_____

roiling emotions

mind’s sky illuminated

brush-stroked starry night


Missed linking to prompt on CDHK but inspired to write this set…my 300th post!

summer dreams

Tranquil Afternoon by Louis Oscar Griffith
Tranquil Afternoon by Louis Oscar Griffith

_____

sit in shade with me

people-watching in the park

tranquil afternoon

_____

Link to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai

lead us not into temptation

 

Weak from long fasting,

Lord encounters Lucifer

in desert place; nothing

to eat here but rocks so

why not turnover a stone?

 

we live by vital words

from God’s own mouth;

deep, soul nourishment.

not using power selfishly

to satisfy one’s own desires.

 

_______

 

Life in the balance on top

spire of temple; high above

pavement, a suicidal dance

with the devil, who misquotes

scripture like loaded weapon.

 

don’t listen to lies saying

jump, tempting God himself;

death is not the solution and

fools twist truth on daily basis

but the wise wait in quiet trust.

 

_______

 

A mountaintop experience

with panoramic worldview.

prince of this world boasts

big promises: you can have

it all, if you will just bow to me.

 

you schemer, get out of here!

shortcuts can ruin better plan.

father provides all that’s needed

and i must follow the harder

path of obedience to his will.

elusive quarry

broad heft of wing span

silent predatory flight

shadow of the owl

photo of Great Gray Owl by Alan Belford, lake placed.com

photo of Great Gray Owl by Alan Belford, lakeplacid.com

what is truth?

 

even

when Pilate was

looking truth in the face,

he questioned and crucified him

…like us

 

 

ungrateful dead

 

whining

in wilderness

will dig graves of craving

in Hebrew: Kibroth-hattaavah

a plague

_______

A cinquain based on Numbers 11

 

lavender fields

 

Abbey in France with lavender field-"Sénanque 06" by EmDee

Abbey in France with lavender field-“Sénanque 06” by EmDee

 

Yon lavender fields forever

favorite perfume for supple skin

old clay jars laced with lavendar

mummy wrap fit for Egyptian.

 

flower heads added to bath warm

Yon lavender fields forever

cooking flavor for dish Roman;

this herb is centuries’ treasure.

 

queen’s procurer run shy, never

Victorian women freshen

Yon lavender fields forever

castle floors and drawers of linen.

 

essential oils for young living

de-stress with a drop whenever

smooth on pillowcase for sleeping

Yon lavender fields forever!

________

My first attempt at quatern form,  linking to Toads’ lavender prompt.

Yon is a river in the country of France…where lavender is grown.

Quatern Poem: This French form has 16 lines broken up into 4 quatrains (or 4-line stanzas). Each line is comprised of eight syllables. The first line is the refrain. In the second stanza, the refrain appears in the second line; in the third stanza, the third line; in the fourth stanza, the fourth (and final) line.

 

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