Friday, August 31, 2012

Together

Two blooms reaching through the heat of the day;
Two sisters of the same purpose,
Growing together, tasting life together,
Helping each other in the process,
Supporting and encouraging each other.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Yellow

If any color can cheer you,
Can make you smile when you're down;
If any hue speaks joy, of course, 
It's yellow!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Blue Flower

Climb
Climb the fence.
Reach
Reach
Pull yourself 
Pull higher 
Higher.
The sun in your face
Take hold.
Stretch your
tendrils,
Grab hold.
Pull,
Pull,
Open to the light
Grow.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Petunias

Nothing's quite 
As happy, 
Quite so full of 
Joy and song,
Nothing's quite 
As gladsome, 
As handsome,
Free and strong
As these piles of 
Pink petunias 
Hordes and heaps of
Pink petunias,
As these beds of 
Pink petunias
Are to me.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Building

Bricks and stone may endure
A few years, but quickly and sure
They ruin. So wood and glass
These soon will pass
On, worn and weary.
Used up and dreary
Fascia cracks, a crack leaks
Soffits warp, time keeps
Moving on, marching on.
 Bricks crumble. Paint fades.
Boards rot and mold trades
Place with what once was prime.
What stays? What transcends time?
What of my work when my life is past?
Only what was done for Christ will last.


Sunday, August 26, 2012

Peaches

End of summer peaches taste tangy tart and sweet
 From the fuzzy blushing peelings to the hard and crumpled seeds
The smell is more than scent, an aroma strong and deep 
 Oh, if I could only find a way to make the freshness keep! 

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Roses


A year of roses gone to rest
Sweet still to humans noses.
Don't hurry past the soft remains
Of my year's glorious roses.

The petals sweet remind me still
Of a fresh and bright bouquet,
A pink bud, white, and crimson
I see like yesterday.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Shells

What sort of house would you prefer
If you should live at sea?
What type spiraled architecture
Would you dream your dwelling be?

Would you choose a small apartment?
Stucco? Pointed roof? Alabaster Siding?
Conch of pink with pearly accent?  
What sort of home would you reside in?

Rustic? Victorian? Talk of Frank Lloyd Wright!
Twirly, swirly, curvy, curly? Stripe?
Spotted, speckled? Solid white?
Of seashore cottages, say what's your type?

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Bird Girl

If you've never stopped in a garden
To rest and sink back in the glow
If you've never spent a peace-filled hour
There, then you may never know,
How fine, how sweet, and wonderful a place it is to go.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Song Birds

Song birds perch in the morning sun
And sing the day away.
Under the roof of the azure sky
Their talents sweet display.  

God gives them daily His loving care,
As He also cares for me.
So I shall sing and trust His hand
And ever grateful be.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Finish Strong

This summer was a hard one.
The days were hot and long, then
Locusts and grasshoppers came to town.

But if you have a stout heart,
If your song is bright,
Circumstances fail to keep you down.

Embrace the color left you,
Turn your face toward God,
A smile can always overcome a frown.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Glory Sound

Defying drought and heat
Snowy trumpets 
Reflect the summer sky
Waiting,
Asking,
Pleading 
For cool nights
And sweet rain showers.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Seeds

Basil's sharp scent
Wafts strong 
Along the garden path,
Like warm yeast bread
Baking, drying 
Seeds in the late 
Summer sun.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Bloom

Symmetry and light
Swirl of silk butter cream
Streaked with wine
To lure the late and the thirsty
Bees to its pollen.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Green Unfurls

Green stem unfurls 
Puts on delicate blooms
Like a flower girl's headpiece
In a miniature wedding
Tiny ivory trumpets
Like fairy goblets
Each centered with sunshine
Trimmed with rims
Of peppermint. 

Thursday, August 16, 2012

God's Fabric

A cloth so fine no human hand could weave,
No lace so perfect,
No silk so satin-soft as God's fabric on this 
Orange-pink sunlit rose.
How did He do it?
Does He have a loom?
Does he use needles or shuttle?
Masterpiece after masterpiece.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Salad

Fragrant of summer,
Food from the garden,
Bright on the table with family all round.

Crisp lettuce, red radishes,
Onions, sliced tomatoes;
How we will miss you when summer is gone.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

SoftBall

Baseball games at City Park 
Kent and I rode the squawky swings
While Dad played outfield
The lights came on round the field
June bugs flew to the glow
We tired of swings
Wished for a hot dog,
Or a bottle of Orange Crush
Dad handed us dimes over the fence
Not much happened in the game
Seemed to me, but Dad loved 
The smell of his leather mitt
The "shump" of a ball caught
The crack of the bat
The thrill of a run, an out, a safe
At home.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Seed Pods

Heart-shaped pillows toasted 
Cinnamon brown
Fill the air with music
before drifting to the ground.

Inside each folded valentine 
Like an oyster curls,
Nestling seeds
Like shining jet black pearls.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Apple Pie

On Saturday night
Apples from the tree by the orchard gate,
Stripped of their green,
Sliced white into a crust, baked,
Till the house is scented with cinnamon
And sweet brown sugar
Take me back
To childhood and home, to
Autumn with red and orange leaves
Rustling in the wind;
Becoming more than food for stomach,
True food for the soul. 

Friday, August 10, 2012

Blue Sky

White on blue
Clouds in the sunlit sky.
Baby boy's blanket against white crib sheets.
Sea foam against the ocean waves.
Periwinkles swirling amid white phlox.
Blue bird at the feeder on a snowy day.
White on blue


Thursday, August 9, 2012

Rain to End Drought

The trellis holds a leafless rosebush.
Grasshoppers have eaten the green
Left behind by the blazing sun
And dry cloudless days.
The grass, dry and brown, crunches underfoot.
Cracks form across the thirsty ground.
A rain has fallen though
See a drop lingering on the wrought iron?
 Hope.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Fig Time

Late summer
Slanting sunlight,
Find the broad leaves,
Ripen the figs.
Imbue them
With the earthy smell,
The heady scent
Of summer's end.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

On the Pasture Gate

Little girls climb
On the pasture gate
To watch the horses run.

Summer sunshine
On  your unruly manes,
Barefoot and having fun!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Eggs in Blue

Farm eggs are 
Different every day
Some are speckled,
Some white, some gray
Most are brown
Some tan, some beige.
So pretty in blue!

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Splash

Cold and fresh
Dive right in
Nothing quite as sweet-- 
Nothing as summer 
As watermelon!

Friday, August 3, 2012

Butterfly

Divine
Afternoon snack for a
Balancing dancer,
Strawberry soda in a tall 
Green goblet.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Emma

The great old oak holds
Arms spread for nesting birds overhead
And squirrel's retreat.

He blesses us with 
Shade plus, in fall, an orange parade, 
Acorns mark the beat.

Hospitable friend
Swinging happy children singing aloft
On ropes and wooden seat.


Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Madison


Little fingers
Little girl
Counting
Thinking
Working
Playing
 Learning.