Summer Dream Quilt

Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope 
with things that are not in hand.
Saint Thomas Aquinas

Hanging on the line to air

Flapping in the breeze,

A quilt bright with colors–

Leafy green of grass and trees,

Colors of midsummer days,

Mauve and pink of blooms,

Yellow of sweet sunshine,

Pieced in winter's fire-lit rooms

In her mind's eye spring had come

Patterns and shapes she fit,

Into a bright and happy dream

Thread and needle to picture it.

Rain on My Window

When God sorts out the weather and sends rain, 

Why, rain's my choice.

 James Whitcomb Riley

Driveway dark with wet,

Brown grass wicking the moisture,

Trees drinking it in with arms spread wide,

Roof serenading me with drumming,

Raindrops washing the window for me.

This weather is washing my soul,

Renewing and repairing my senses,

Freshening the prairie like wind off the ocean. 

I savor the clean taste of it,

Listen to the staccato sound of it,

Feel the clean wake of it,

Smell the soft scent of it,

See the sweet hope in each drop.

Sprouts

Beginning is half done.

Robert Schuller

Amazing

That they don't freeze

Up they pop–

Green sprouts

Ready for spring 

Not willing to wait

For warm days and sun-filled skies.

In February, when snow 

Is a coverlet of pure white,

They raise their leaves

Like flags of victory

Come on, Beauties,

Even a frost won't lessen

The wonder 

Of your yellow trumpets

Singing:

Spring, Spring, Spring!

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.

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.

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 

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.

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.

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

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.