Category: Poetry

The Serious Cereus

Buzzards glide in the cloudless sky

Rock squirrels hurry on the ground

Shadowed by the prickly pear,

The Cereus makes no sound.

This lazy cactus leans upon

Support from kindly neighbors

Waiting for the perfect time

To begin its covert labors.

Once a year the sunset beckons—

And Cereus buds unfold

Their delicate white petals

With centers of soft gold.

A fragrance like vanilla

Spills forth from every core

Luring a local sphinx moth

To pollinate…before…

The first light of the morning

Forever shuts each flower

Without complaint or question,

They meet their final hour.

The secret of the Cereus

Revealed one moonlit night

Fulfill the Maker’s purpose

Inside the span of life.

Buzzards glide in the cloudless sky

Rock squirrels hurry on the ground

Life resumes in the desert heat

But the Cereus makes no sound.

Dear Reader,

“The Serious Cereus” is a revision of a poem which first appeared on my blog entitled “The Secret of the Cereus” in 2016. Check it out. I include much more information about this interesting cactus.

Quiet Time

Here I am Lord

ready to begin my day.

I confess you were not first in my routine,

never are.

First, the daily weigh-in,

before I consumed a bowl of cheerios with blueberries.

Then facebook

beckoned my attention.

I gave my friends the “likes” they deserved

before settling in my easy chair with my second cup of coffee.

After scanning a few Bible verses

and writing my requests in my “prayer journal,”

I thought I’d fulfilled my duty

and meandered outdoors for a walk.

Here at the pond

suddenly I see

in order to hear from you, I must listen.

Here I am Lord,

ready to begin our day.

Message from a Brook

Come closer, daughter

My bank has the perfect boulder waiting for you

You will find rest

When you let my endless burble speak to your busy mind

Breathe…

Lay your worries down

Give them to me

I will carry them to the depths of the sea.

I bring life to all I touch

From the towering silver maple to the tiny striped minnow

All are nourished by my abilities.

See the lush thicket?

Each fern knows me well

Rooted in my abundance,

Their lacy fronds

beam with contentment.

I am a channel of resources

An open frequency

Yet you seldom tune me in.

Come near, daughter, and sit awhile.

Dear Reader,

Hopefully my latest poem will inspire you to get outside and allow the natural world to speak to you. I want to do just that! Look for another post next week which celebrates National Poetry Month.

Exercise in OO

Sue jumped out of bed, she knew what to do.

She pulled on her jeans and shouted, “yahoo!”

“I’ve got the day off, so I’ll visit to the zoo.”

The gates had just opened, the visitors few.

“Hello,” Sue smiled to the grounds-keeping crew.

“You do a great job, this place looks brand new.”

Inside the birdhouse Sue’s interest grew.

High overhead her feathered friends flew.

A rainbow of colors, some red, and some blue.

Then a strange voice rose above every coo.

“Hello pretty lady, how do you do?”

Parting the foliage for a better view.

Perched on a limb sat a fat cock-a-too.

Dear Reader,

I had fun writing this poem. After finishing “Exercise in OO” I realized there are countless possibilities poets have at their disposal. Poetry can be serious or fun. I tapped into the idea from a resource: “5-Minute Daily Writing Prompts” by Tarn Wilson. Begin by listing all the words you can think of which contain the same vowel sound. (This is very easy if you have a rhyming dictionary.) Then you start putting the words into lines to create a poem.

By the way, April is National Poetry month. Look for another poem from me next week.

Gray Skies

over my head

a mysterious forecast hangs in the balance

uncommitted to rain or sun

plagued with a loss of vibrancy

dull, heavy, and fixed

beyond my reach.

Then I remember,

my captain orders the seasons

He quiets my spirit and takes me

where peace abounds…

among the barren and stunted blades.

Dear Readers, I am writing to you from the “Sunshine State,” only the sun seems to have disappeared. In these bleak January days, may you sense God’s love for you in spite of the weather. Remember, He is always in control.

Inspired by: “He speaks to the sun and it does not shine: he seals off the light of the stars.” Job 9:7 NIV

Rush Hour Respite

Stagnant air fogs my sunglasses

and sticks to my skin

determined to exercise

I pace my steps

in sync with the upbeat tunes of my generation

preoccupied

like many of the drivers heading to work

lost in thought and barely noticing the view

until

his snow-white feathers

reveal his presence at the pond

his reflection beckons me,

“Come.”

Nestled among the green cypress leaves

a familiar egret greets me…

His name is Peace.

The Spark

Without fire, the giant sequoia cannot reproduce.

A tiny spark ignites

The forest floor ablaze

Red-hot flames surge upward

Heavens eclipsed by haze

Fire consumes the thicket

Exposing blackened earth

A perfect bed prepared

Awaiting the new birth 

Old sequoia smolders

Its pulse proceeds to pound

Dozens of roasted cones

Shed their seeds to the ground

Nature sings a melody

To the rhythm of the rain

In harmony the sunlight

Warms the wet terrain

Under the towering giants

 I marvel with surprise

Pushing up from the ashes

Tender seedlings rise.

On Writing

When I allow myself

the time

I pick up

the broken pieces of my dreams

and put them together

in lines of poetry.

Then I feel free

because nothing else matters

writing for the sake of writing

with no agenda in mind.

There’s something to be said for writers

Who never forget who they are

who celebrate the gift God has given them

and give thanks.

Friends

You are there…

when I don’t know where to turn

Amid the confusion and despair,

you are there, my friend.

If my plans are thwarted

and success seems as distant as the furthest galaxy,

you remain in control—steadfast as the rock of ages

nothing shakes you.

If the stars I wish upon tumble into the sea

their vacancy leaves room for you

to extend your hand and say…

“This is the way, walk in it.”

So I place my hand in yours

and know…

Your conclusion is so much better than any I could write.