Thursday, February 27, 2014

Seasons

Each season has its own beauty...a picture which was 
never been seen before and shall never be seen again.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Last summer's brown periwinkle vines,
Late autumn's dried crape myrtle pods,
Leaves that fell from the spreading oak,
Tangle atop the snow together.

With the changing seasons God finds a way
To bless my heart with joy and delight,
To show me a shape, a shadow, a line,
Weaving shadows and light together.

Spring sprouts green and spongy bright
Summer is hot, slow, syrupy–mellow
Fall comes on cool, with apples and pumpkins;
Winter knits the whole year together.



Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Snow Rocker

Enjoy when you can and endure when you must.
Johann Wolfgang Goethe

Seems my summer rocking chair
Enjoys this frosty winter weather;
She takes on blasts of icy air,
Sleet and freezing rain together.

Along beside her rocking twin
She winters better than the rest
Because she's learned to work with wind,
Nestling safe on my porch, her nest.

Stoic through the long frigid night
When afternoon settles down to nap
She enjoys her soft blanket of white
Across her ample unshaken lap.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Pink Rose

Happiness held is the seed; happiness shared is the flower.
 Unknown


As delicate as butterfly wings
As soft as baby's breath
As gentle as a summer breeze
 Scented sweet as clover

As light-filled as a fluff of cloud
That drifts across the sky
As generous as grandma's hand
Gentle as a springtime shower 


Thursday, February 20, 2014

Dancer

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow.
Helen Adams Keller

Twirl and spin—like a little girl with a new Sunday dress
A pink dress, ruffled, soft as taffeta over a white net petticoat
Dance, dance, dance, spin and twirl, swish and swirl;
Dream a tinkling music box song and yourself a lovely ballerina.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Glass and Shells

The world is so full of a number of things, 
I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.
Robert Louis Stevenson

Sea shells from the ocean,
Pinecones from the tallest pine,
Gingko leaves dried and twirled
Into tiny golden roses,
 A colored stone from the lakeshore, 
Amethyst crystal from a cave;
 Treasures these are—extravagant 
Not costly.
A blue Jay's bright feather,
Dried pink zinnia from summer,
Twist of satin ribbon left behind by the holidays,
Don't be deceived!
 Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder 
So much as in his heart.


Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Blue Vase

Faith takes an umbrella when she prays for rain.
c.e.hollis

The shop door was propped open
A dreary day, and chilly,
I wandered in to see what pretty things 
I might find there.
Cases, racks, and shelves held treasures of all types
I chose a blue vase
A vase I had no flower to hold
A vase that reminded me soon
The winter with its leaden skies and cold winds, 
Snow and iced sidewalks would
Pass on and God would keep His promise
To Noah and his descendents
That spring would come
In its ordered time
Spring—followed by summer
With tulips, and daffodils, sprigs of lilacs, and roses 
To fill the blue vase

Monday, February 17, 2014

Running Horses

Their appearance is like horses, 
and like war horses, so they run.
Joel 2:4

Herd of young horses on a winter day, 
Run and play in the pasture
Like schoolboys
On the playground;
Chase and whinny, flip their tails and manes
Feel the wind, soak up the sunshine, 
Play tag and follow the leader, 
Run races,
Roll in the grass like children at recess,
Race when they hear feed poured into the trough,
Or a tractor at the gate with a fresh roll of hay,
Like children
Galloping when lunch is called.
Seems they love the sound of their hooves,
Like thunder,
Love the clamoring, pounding, 
Rollicking beat of them.


Sunday, February 16, 2014

Two Blooms


Lord, I sing for joy at what you hands have made. 
Psalm 92:4

Red and pink what would you be
Without white and green?
Would we note you against more red or a field of pink?
Would we love you so much 
Without brown and gray?
You sing and shout—fearless, 
Happy, bright, joy!

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Rose Bud

The lilies of the field whose bloom is brief;We are as they;
Like them we fade away As doth the leaf.
Christina Rossetti

Infant set to unfurl in youth
From there to full bloom. 
Bees buzz and seeds swell, 
Dry and fall.

Colors fade and petals droop 
With age—wither and wrinkle 
Dry and fragile as old skin.
Leaf and petals

Drop and the bloom is gone 
Seeds are all that's left behind
Blow away with the wind.
We see it everyday; 

Still we don't take it to heart.
Life seems robust and enduring yet 
Our days are numbered too,
And soon will pass.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Glittery Rose

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, 
but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.
Martin Luther

Someone added glitter to this rose;
I wonder at how silly we humans are!
To think we could improve on
Something so lovely as a rose,

Is like saying the sunset needs 
Better shades of red and violet,
The sky needs a different blue,
The ocean wetter waves.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Pralines

There is nothing quite as sweet as knowing you are loved.
c.e.hollis

Sweet, 
Sugary sweet!
Kitchen 
Smells
Like toasted pecans, 
Like Louisiana at Christmas,
Smells 
Like happy voices, 
Ummm-yum of family meals,
Smells
Like love and warm,
Smells
Like Grandma and a hug,
Like sweetest memories;
Smells 
Like happiness.
Like home.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Filly

All things bright and beautiful, 
all creatures great and small, 
All things wise and wonderful, 
the Lord God made them all. 
Cecil Frances Alexander

So small and fragile
The little girl munches hay,
But can't resist
Coming to the gate to be petted.
She leans toward our voices,
Listens for sounds she knows,
Sniffs our hands to see 
Whether we brought a treat, 
Watches our feet and
Shyly pretends 
Not to look at our faces.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Richly to Enjoy


Be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches,
 but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 
1 Timothy 6:17

Afternoon light glows on the table
Inside my kitchen
Where the fruitbowl waits to offer
Apples with names like Gala,
Jonagold and Pink Lady – Oranges 
That grew on trees beside the ocean and
Miniature mandarin oranges 
Were harvested, I think, by children's tiny soft hands
Across the world somewhere
Where soft warm wind blows.
What a sweet offering.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Sky at Evening

I avoid looking backward and forward 
and try to keep looking upward. 
Charlotte Bronte


Winter evening 
Clouds have formed 
Layers of cotton candy
Across the blue.
A snarl of tree branches 
Waves in the wind,
Like little sister's unruly hair
After she has run and played
Out in the wide world all day.
Breezes comb the tangles.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Leaning Tree

And this, our life... 
finds tongue in trees, 
books in the running brooks, 
sermons in stone...
William Shakespeare

Beside the creek– 
Water low within its boundaries,
Frozen in its slow places,
Banks edged in white;
An old tree leans out tentatively
Trying to bridge the icy water,
Touch the stream it shaded
 Last summer
Next year 
It will be firewood
Stacked neatly in the barn
And along the back porch
To warm us for another
Season to come.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Apples on a White Dish

If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must
first invent the universe.
Carl Sagan

Red on white, 
Like cardinals against snow,
Apples on a white dish
Shine under green collars 
 And bright halos of sunlight.
So good of God to make 
Such mundane things as fruit
So beautiful to our eyes.
What if all apples were brown
to their cores? 

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Orchid in Green

Just when we are certain we have seen everything wonderful 
in the world, God surprises us.
c.e.hollis

Symmetry and design
Too complicated not to have been planned
Constructed by an artist architect;
The orchid on my tabletop
Peeks at me in the afternoon light,
Whispers to me that there is a creator
That he is a person who loves 
Light and hope, 
 Gentleness and strength,
Beauty and truth, 
And especially loves you and me.