Friday, July 14, 2017

Earth Song




I love to think of nature 
as an unlimited broadcasting station 
through which God speaks to us every hour 
if we will only
 tune in. 
George Washington Carver





Earth Song
By Elece Hollis

Every flower a trumpet,
Each blade of grass a quivering string;
Everywhere we turn we hear the earth
Raise instruments a song to bring.


There's music in the meadow,
There's rhythm beating in the trees;
Over all the wind elects to play
A melody upon the breeze. 



Thursday, July 13, 2017

Summer Rose



A man who could make one rose…would be
 accounted most wonderful; 
yet God scatters countless such flowers around us!
 His gifts are so infinite that we do not see them. 
Martin Luther


Summer Rose
  by Elece Hollis

Late in the heat of July, 
Having feasted on spring eye candy
Flowers everywhere––daffodils, peonies,
Having our souls filled up with sunshine 
With bright festival zinnias and daisies,
Having been feted with fireworks
Having taken a stroll on the beach, 
Seen the seagulls wheeling in the bright sky,
Having filled our tummies with fresh tomatoes
With peaches warm from the trees
Dazed by the heat and full up 
With wonder we hurry past
The sweet little roses and never stop
To smell them.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Summer Is

Memory is the diary that we all carry with us. 
Oscar Wilde


Summer Is
By Elece Hollis

Summer is Crepe Myrtle pushing pink lace and sweet perfume,
Watermelon splitting open red with a luscious crack,
Corn ears––silk showing––waiting for eager hands to harvest,
Tomatoes ripening on the vine––juicy and sweet.


Summer is watching the wind make dancing leaf shadows,
Hummingbirds bickering at the feeders––cicadas thrumming,
Bumblebees hovering over honeysuckle vines,
Mailbox standing beside the dusty road––listing and thirsty.


Summer is children running splashing in the sprinkler,
Popsicles dripping on little fingers with wonderful stickiness,
Working in the hot sun and resting in the long evenings,
Chasing fireflies and capturing them in Mason jars.


Summer is sitting on the porch swing listening to hoot owls,
Bouquets of Queen Anne's Lace and Brown-eyed Susans,
Eating a late dinner at eight-thirty of fresh garden foods,
Sleeping on Grandma's screened in back porch.


Summer is forever.








Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Rosebud




Summer, summer, summer––it sweeps up 
over your soul like a slow wave.
c.e.hollis





Rosebud

By Elece Hollis

Struggle against the summer sun
And the Oklahoma wind,
Fight the evening thunderstorms.
Peek out into the dark night,
If you dare...
Come, little rosebud,
Open in spite of it all.
Uncurl your wings!
Unfurl to the morning light and find
A hummingbird waiting
To sip you good morning.

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Queen of Weeds





With time and patience 
the mulberry leaf becomes satin. 
Chinese Proverb



Wildflower
by Elece Hollis

Like cream in a pink china cup
She is a considerable beauty for a weed.
Wreathed in green and soft as silk
She is a wonder indeed.

Feelin' Blue




O God from my youth you have taught me, 
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds,
 and even when I am old and gray, 
O God, do not forsake me, until I declare your strength
 to this generation, 
your power to all who are to come.
 Psalm 71:17-18




Feelin' Blue
By  Elece Hollis

Ever get to feelin' blue? 
Old and used and broken too?

Ever think your time has passed,
You've done your part, you've seen the last

Of being useful––being one who can
Serve his God and his fellow man?

This old window made me think
I know I'm old, but not extinct!

Though the frame is worn and paint has peeled
Look close––you'll see its worth revealed.

The sky is reflected in the pane
It manages still to keep out rain.

The whole is set in old red brick
That solid wall is strong and thick.

So when you get to feelin' blue
Think of what you still can do.

Remember of the colors too
What a lovely wonderful shade is blue!

Friday, July 7, 2017

The Prairie Speaks


The Prairie Speaks
 By Elece Hollis

The prairie speaks in color. 
Oh so quiet sound;
Sweet and soft––to the point 
Always most profound.

The prairie speaks in texture,
Rough and rustling grass
She speaks in ribs, in lines, in points
She touches all who pass.

The prairie speaks in light somehow;
Finds just the words to say,
To let your listening soul hear
What it needs today.

The prairie speaks with fragrance,
Speaks distinctly, I suppose.
Whispers the secrets that she tells
Directly to your nose.

The prairie speaks with music
That no symphony can play.
Wind, rain, grasshoppers, birds 
Sound both night and day.

So walk out on the prairie, 
Listen with your heart;
And you will find there notes to read
Before you must depart.



Thursday, July 6, 2017

Working



The best kind of play contains an element of work, 
and the most productive kind of work must include 
something of the spirit of play.
Sydney J. Harris


Working
By Elece Hollis 

His work is never done. 
From dawn to setting sun
The bee works––never shirks his duty
Visiting beauty 
He carries it to others.


Our work should be so grand!
From dawn till darkness fills the land
We should work––never shirk our duty
Finding beauty
Then carrying it to others.

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Bright Song



 Beauty is God's handwriting––a wayside sacrament. 
Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, 
and thank God for it as a cup of blessing. 
Ralph Waldo Emerson


Bright Song
By Elece hollis


Beside the steam I found them 
Sunlit iris wild.
I stopped and walked among them with
 Wonder of a child.

I sat down and I listened
And I began to hear
Music from the forest, the ocean,
Coming near.

I think I heard a mountain 
Singing a sweet air
A melody, a tune, a hymn, a ballad 
I could share.

So I joined in the singing, 
The serenade of light;
An anthem, a soft lullaby, a sonnet,
Chorus bright.














Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Blue is Not


In wonder-workings
 or some bush aflame,
Men look for God and fancy him concealed;
But in earth's common things he stands revealed 
While grass and flowers and stars
 spell out his name. 
Minot Judson Savage




Blue is Not
By Elece Hollis

Blue is not a flower color normally.
Blue is the ocean on a still shore. 
Reflecting the sky of a summer day.
Blue is the vase in the windowsill
In Grandma's kitchen, reserved for violets
Dandelions and other special bouquets.
Blue is berries in a white bowl, 
Sparkled with sugar and peeping from a swirl of cream.
Blue is the color of robin eggs waiting in a nest.
Blue is a newborn baby's eyes.
Blue is hydrangea.

Monday, July 3, 2017

Symmetry







Open your eyes and the whole world is full of God. 

Jakob Bohme





Symmetry
By Elece Hollis

Look and see
Symmetry displayed in
Every flower.

Design
Beyond the limit
Of human minds.

Amazing shapes
On trivia wasted?
No, not so!

Each a sample
Lesson, an example
So we know.




Sunday, July 2, 2017

Mysteria



God sings––we hum along––a
simple beautiful song. 
Mitch Albom






Mysteria
by Elece Hollis

She dangles in clusters,
Purple like grapes,
Kind as a friend's smile
Delicate as sweet peas 
On the vine.

She dances with breeze,
Purple in the green
Soft as satin leaves
Fluttering in between
Earth and sky.

She is southern as tea,
Cool and worry free
In the humidity
The withering heat
Mysterious––wisteria.







Saturday, July 1, 2017

Sunny Song




O world, as God has made it! All is beauty. 

Robert Browning.




Song 
by Elece Hollis

The sun is hot on the meadow grass
A sweet cool shower makes a pass
Cools the air while the sun still shines
Waters weeds and drips down vines.

The sun so hot it reflects time,
Stars, the moon, and cloud design.
Sun breaks out among the grass
Meadowlarks alight and pass.

Queen Anne––brown-eyed Susan stay
Among the grasses dance and sway.
They sing and twirl; they bob and bend
Pray may summer never end.