September 12th Alaska Trip

 Pre-trip To-do List

 

Regrouping on my to-do list

Nine more days till we leave

I would like to complete my tasks

But that’s hard to conceive

 

I’d like to have the yardwork done

And the house deep cleaned too

And with manuscript publishing

I would like to be through

 

And of course there’s the little things

Set visits to the doc

Clean up some messes including

My haunted bedroom clock

 

The radio turns itself on

I can’t figure out how

So I gave up and pulled the plug

I’ll have to fix it now

 

And speaking of clocks that don’t work

I have one upside down

We couldn’t get it tight enough

And so it swung around

 

And with so all of these to-dos

I sit and write a poem

A lot of them will have to wait

Until we get back home

Blank the World, Poetic Asides

 

Declarations of the Natural World

 

Clouds

In all shapes and sizes

Whites and grays

Inspiring imagination

Attributes to God’s glory

 

Rocks

From pebbles to boulders

Stable, dependable, solid

Old stories to tell

Attributes to God’s glory

 

Flowers

A plethora of colors and designs

Perfect petals of beauty

A sweet variety of fragrances

Attributes of God’s glory

 

Trees

Arms stretched up

Turning in sun and wind

Demonstration of colorful artistry

Attributes of God’s glory

 

Water

Oceans, lakes, rivers, streams

Bubbling, soothing, calming

Giving life

Attributes of God's Glory

 

Animals

Small and cute to

Big and ferocious

A plethora of personalities

Attributes of God's glory

 

People

Art, music, dancing

Life, love, friendships, families,

Creating, building, learning

Attributes of God's glory

 

 

candle light Poetic Bloomings

 

“So carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the lonely, the tired and worn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, and go light your world”

        (From Go Light Your World by Chris Rice).

 

Candlelight

 

“Go Light Your World,”

the theme song

of my daughter’s mission trip

when she traveled

with Teen Missions

at the age of fourteen,

ignites memories

every time I hear it

of her boarding a bus

with a duffle bag

about as big as she was

learning to light the world

in the country of Jordan,

now in Arizona

lighting a little corner

of the world

as an RN

keeping a little one

breathing.

crime Poetic Asides

 

Lacking Lullabies

 

I shouldn’t watch crime shows

Before I go to bed.

I dream all through the night

Of those who want me dead.

 

Of those who are abused

And running for their life,

Of crimes behind closed doors

Of a husband and wife.

 

Of murders and mayhem,

Of abductions and pain,

Of unsolved mysteries,

With no one left to blame.

 

Of robberies and heists

And all those things you dread.

I shouldn’t watch crime shows

Before I go to bed.

Dream Poetic Bloomings

 

The Ultimate Country

 

I dream of going to Australia

To see the kangaroos.

And traveling to Switzerland

Taking in amazing views.

 

I’d like to go to Mount Fuji

And make the uphill climb.

And it would be wonderful

In Israel to spend some time.

 

I also dream of Singapore

Where super trees glow at night.

And to visit Norway

To see the Northern Lights.

 

I want to go to Egypt

And experience ancient things

To Iceland and New Zealand

And the Philippines

 

I’ve been to Ireland, Scotland, England,

Wales, Germany, Italy, France.

I’ve been to Peru, Kenya, Panama

When I had the chance.

 

But all are merely shadows,

And none can compare

To my home with God in Heaven

And I dream of going there.

gone fishing, Poetic Asides

 

There are no rats racing around here

I’ve grown distracted, I fear

While some folks are wishin’

They could go fishin’

I’m spending days that are mere

travelogue, Poetic Blooming

 

Fernweh (fairn-vay)

 

When my friends greet me,

they’ve stopped asking, “How are you?”

instead they ask, “Where next?”

 

Where Next? Alaska.

I’m always nervous about

jumping through airport hoops.

 

But despite the delays,

the missed flights and even airport overnights,

I’m always eager to do it again.

 

I’m not sure what drives me.

It’s like the strange longing people have

to be parents and raise children.

 

Despite the pain, all manners of cost,

the worry, the runny noses, the demands,  

people will always be driven to populate the earth.

 

It’s unexplainable this fernweh,

this ache for distant and unknown places,

the desire to board boat, plane, train or car.

 

But as long as this desire and ability exists,

I will run, fly, ride, drive with it,

and take in this amazing world.