Plastic Rose

Incongruous

Orange flower of

Faded plastic

Drinks in winter sunlight

Waiting through the cold outside

Alone, still bright.

Mum

Whiter than a dove's wing

Touched with palest green,

Winter flower, you are a

Tea cup of spring's promise.

Sea Shell

Curves and curls,

Pearled and striped with brown

Spiral record of ocean time

Counting years like tree rings.

Boy in Snow

Smile in Dad's eyes sparkles

And the grinning of his son. 

Brighter even than the sunlight

In joy at his boy's fun. 

Dove

Noah watched and waited

At the window of the ark

Would the dove he'd sent

Return to him that day?

Then a flutter in the morning

Caught his ear, proved

To him God remembered. 

Healing had come. 

In his beak the dove carried

A green olive twig

Flood over; life back

Earth dry. White dove -

Messenger of peace

Carrier of hope

Tomorrow's restoration

New beginning.

Holiday Colors

Red and green

Christmas colors

Pine boughs and candy canes

Poinsettas and ivy

Glass balls, blinking lights

Fir trees, mistletoe

Ribbons, cherries

Little girls in velveteen dresses

Packages swaddled in bright paper

Tied with red bows

Christmas colors

Red and green

Wreath

Even the tiniest wreath can say

Welcome to our house Christmas Day.

Scent of forest come inside

Lures us to the countryside.

Christmas Eve

Colors and lights

Sparkle and spangle

Shimmer and glimmer

Christmas tree.

Glass and wood

Plastic and metal

Shimmer and glimmer 

Christmas tree.

Joy and delights

Good tidings and cheer

Shimmer and glimmer

Christmas tree.

Winter Sky

Sky,

Blue as a baby boy's blanket

Winter sky,

Azur like an ocean

Filled with rolling white breakers

A seascape awash with clouds,

Sky,

Lit with cool daylight.

Tree branches bare themselves to you

Sunbathing on your 

Earthy shore.

Light Show

Whirly,

Swirly trails of light

Orange, red, blue, 

Yellowey, green;

Strings of incandescence

Waves of musical brightness

Twirls and curls

Of 

Shimmering 

Shining show!

My Own Front Door

Home 

Front door 

Welcomes in

Neighbor and friend,

Stranger and vagabond,

Welcomes

When I am far away

Calls to me,

Beckons me home.

Joy

Little lamb

Jesus

Come to earth

Born in a stable

Little lamb 
Little lamb
Jesus 
Precious lamb of God

You bring

Joy!
 Joy! Joy! Joy!

Pomegranate

Pomegranate

Mysterious fruit 

Whose shape graced 

Ancient temple walls

Whose skin, shiny and thick,

Hides brightest red crystals

Bursting with tangy juice

And bitter seeds

Pomegranate.

December Flowers

Flowers of winter

Blooms 

Whiter than snow

And crimson

As red as cardinal wings!

Gold like the dawning light

Green as a fir tree.

December blooms

Chrysanthemums. 

Christmas Candiy

Chocolate fudge,

Pecan pralines, peppermints, 

Divinity in sweet white fluffs,

Candy canes, creamy caramels,

Lollipops, truffles, sugar plums,

Ah, the treats of the season!

Watering Can

Wood is ready for the fire

But still not needed

Today the sun is warm

The watering can still out 

From summer days

Is blue, sad, unneeded,

Firewood is happy for the reprieve!

Gray Barn

Past your prime, 

Weary and bedraggled,

Barn, you once were the talk 
Of the countryside.

You were the jewel of the farm,

The envy of neighbors. 

Bright and new, efficient,

Well-designed and nicely appointed

Convenient, warm and loved

You once housed cows and horses

Chickens roosted in your rafters.
 Piglets were born 
Behind you in the pigpen.

Your loft held sweet summer's hay 
And a place to play on rainy winter days for 

A farmer's children
 Later for his grandchildren.

Your big double doors opened wide
 To warm summer days, 

Held out sleet, snow, and icy wind on 
Frosty December and January nights

Old barn, now you sit resting from your work,

Aged with the work,
 The weather, and the years.
Your farmers are gone on 
To their rest 
Before you.

Winter Berries

Winter berries 

Brighten the brown and gray world;

Splashing the drab page with orange paint

Singing the color of autumn pumpkins, 

Summer zinnias, 

Shouting the orange of spring tulips 

All winter through.

Cider

Apple cider like caramel 

From a tree; every drop

Beautiful and sweet

The juice of windfalls,

Over-ripened red and golden beauties,

Gathered and pressed

Salvaged like hidden treasure.

The taste of autumn's sunshine

Bottled up to be enjoyed 

Again on cold winter days.

Tea Time

To share a slice of sweet cake

Still buttery warm from the oven

And a cup of fresh hot tea

With someone you love,

Makes a wintry day a celebration

Of home, family, and friendship

Name Change, Please

Startling colors for winter

Your leaves brighten days and lift spirits

Your curls and swirls amuse me.

Croton, your name doesn't fit you;

It isn't playful enough.

Ginkgo

Ginkgo leaves, like tiny fans

In the hands of proper southern belles, 

Wave and flutter in the trees. 

Soon they will lose their grip, then

With no more sound than a whisper,

Drop into the golden circle 

On the grass below
To become a part of the past.

Mosaic

The pieces of our lives 

Arranged in rows and lines

By months and years.

In groupings

The light and the dark,

The bright, the colors,

The textures of

Happy and sad,

Of lonely times,

Of family times,

The touchings of friendships

Glued to each other with love's mortar.

Each piece large or small 

Fits together, like a patchwork quilt;

Makes our unique picture

Our humanity

Our stories 

God's design for our days.

Definition

What men can create, craft, design,

Becomes your art when you play 

Light and shadow on it.

I see this iron fence in rain;

Droplets running down each curve

Like the surfaces of country roads in spring.

I imagine it with whitest snow 

Along the top bar and the spaces of the lower edge

Filling the lower curves of each circle.

I know it in summer with hot sun

And shade of towering oak trees, 

Making shadows dance there to silent music.

A gift you give to the sons of man 

To let him create objects of beauty and usefulness

You made us like you in this way. 

You add the crown of change

To that men makes, builds, grows

You define beauty.

Savannah River Bridge

Like another ship 

With wind in its sails,

The river bridge straddles the river.

In the afternoon light.

Blue sky with wind-whipped clouds

Is another ocean of crashing waves

A sailor longs to cross.

Decorations

Lights and chimes

And nursery rhymes

Christmas's dreamy side.

Satin wisps 

And candle drips

The heady scent of pine.

Spick and sparkle

Tinsel and twinkle

Christmas sure is fine.

Morning Flowers

Cups to hold sunshine,

Color and dew

What would my morning be

Without you?

Paris Roses

One busy day

 I rested

In a small shop

Sipped a French Soda

At a round marble-topped cafe table

Sweet and simple pink roses

In a fluted silver vase

Sang to me

Smiled at me

Joy, simple, sweet!

God's hand in every place

Gives me flowers.

Praline

Sweet confection

From sugar cane growing

Tall in summer heat,

From groves of spreading trees,

To my waiting mouth.

Who imagined you?

Who created your mix of butter, sugar, and pecans;

Who boiled and stirred; 

Who beat and stirred and spooned you 

A puddle of wonderful sweetness?

Praline

Savannah

Aged city crouched waiting above the river

All rivers run to the sea

All rivers run to the sea

Port city where laden ships come and go

All rivers run to the sea

All rivers run to the sea

Brick city weathered by time and salt

All rivers run to the sea

All rivers run to the sea

Camellia Sisters

Sisters growing close and looking alike

The shy one standing a bit behind the other

Feeling safer in the shade of the brighter 

And more outgoing personality.

Sisters together, strengthening each other

Holding tight, needing each other,

Staying close, upholding each other

Sisters cheering each other on

Sisters, taking a bow.