form

Acrostic

A letter at each start makes a word

C arefully manipulate each line

R evealing some truth about the word

O pen to engaging ideas

S everal times, try till satisfied

T aking your time to get it right

I nspiration and imagination is what it takes

C reativity and a little bit of luck

city

The City

Looking forward to the city

Where crime in not committed

No needs unmet

Boredom isn’t a factor

No pollution

Nothing ugly blocking the scenery

Everybody’s family

I will go home to that city someday. 

city

City

C ivilization

I nterlocking lives

T housands of people

Y et feeling alone

PA elevated

Walking on Stilts

When we were kids

we liked to walk on stilts.

Mine were about two feet high,

my older sisters’ were three feet,

and my younger sisters’

were flat on the ground.

One day we neighborhood kids

walked up our country road on stilts.

Everyone fell away

except me and my older sister.

We walked a mile up and back.

We were always determined

or should I say stubborn?

Still are.

transform

Transformation

Lord, make me like a child’s toy

that with a few twists and twirls

turns into a battle-fighting robot

instead of a common automobile. 

Transformation

Transformation

T urning from one thing to another.

R olling with the tide providing 

A lteration in your ways.

M odifying what once was in this

S pinning ball of earth.

F acing change can be difficult.

O ne may come full circle. One

R evolution makes no difference in a

M akeover. Instead of bucking the process you may

A dapt to the situation. No longer

T wisting and  twirling,

I mitating conversion.

O nly adjusting to the Master’s hand while He does his

N ew work, not merely renovation.

Unlucky

Blessed

Dear Lord,

I know I’m not unlucky.

I am blessed.

Even though I’m going

through a tremendous trial,

I have so much to be thankful for.

The nurse went down the list

cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etcetera.

My husband had a stroke.

Thank You that he didn’t have all the rest. 

Unlucky

Unlucky

U sually, I do

N ot believe in

L uck.

U sually, I put my trust in

C hrist Jesus, believing He’ll

K eep me in His care.

Y et, sometimes I feel just plain unlucky. 

Going Somewhere

Going Somewhere

It’s still dark outside.

and I wonder if I will be

taking my husband

seventy-five miles south to rehab.

So much to do before we go.

I wish I knew for sure.

Better pack a suitcase for him.

One for me, too, In case

I have to stay the night.

And one for the man we care for.

Better clean the house enough

so it won’t be depressing

 when I enter without him.

Poetic Asides It Made Sense at the Time

Cleaning the Garage

It made sense at the time to store this stuff

Boxes, paint, old clothes, and various parts

Bolts and screws, never enough

It made sense at the time

Bells and bobbles we can use for arts

A teddy bear with half its fluff

Someday we’ll play a game of darts

Extra blankets when going gets tough

Junk adds up to off the charts

Makes cleaning up a little rough

It made sense at the time

Going Somewhere

Going Somewhere

Going somewhere day by day

This earth is not my home

I do my best as here I stay

Going somewhere day by day

Getting to know Him as I pray

Not much longer to roam

Going somewhere day by day

This earth is not my home

Blank if blank

Receive if You Believe

R emembering all the dumb things I’ve done

E nergy, time and money I’ve spent on useless things

C ombined with the sin factor

E ven though

I ‘ve been loving and serving You these forty plus years I feel no

V ictory, at times. Occassionally I feel that

E verything is going my way. But when things fall apart

I imagine that it’s my doing. I should have prayed and fasted more, sinned less.

F ather, no matter what I do or what happens, help me remember that

Y ou will always love me. You said come let us reason together. Your

O nly begotten Son

U nderwent tremendous torture, gave of His

B lood and washed my scarlet sins white as snow. I have

E ternal life, but not only that,

L ife here on earth got a whole lot better

I have forgiveness of sin, Acceptance into Your family.

E verything is covered by His blood. I do have

V ictory even when it looks like I don’t.

E ternal life then and answered prayers now, I believe and receive.

Blank if blank

Cry if You Must

I didn’t know I was crying

until I felt the water flowing down my cheeks.

I’ve been trying so hard to not think about the loss,

to be glad of what we still have,

to move forward.

But I know

I should cry

if I must.

triolet

With Me

Lord, I know You’re with me

Your ears attentive to my prayers

Though it may be hard to see

Lord, I know You’re with me

At times, I need to take a knee

Burdened down by doubts and cares

Lord, I know You’re with me

Your ears attentive to my prayers 

Object poem

Things

T urn your attention to the thing

H ere or there, a rock or ring

I t may not seem important or grand

N ow listen here and you’ll understand

G raced with sentimental value, things can become dear to you.

S o don’t throw away that old doll or teddybear,

things can show how much you care

One Day

One Day

What a difference a day makes—

another stroke strikes him again.

Mumbled speech

Out of balance

Hard to swallow

Puree diet

Lord I know you’re with me.

You love me and answer prayers.

I can’t trust my faith,

but I can trust You.

It will turn out alright,

no matter what happens.

Week

D oing life one day

A t a time. Sunday through Saturday.

Y ou go round and round until one day you

S top. What a day that will be!

Praise

God

Awesome

Beautiful

Creative

Delightful

Eternal

Faithful

Gracious

Heavenly

Interesting

Just

Kind

Loving

Merciful

Nurturing

Omnipotent

Precious

Quieting

Real

Soothing

Terrific

Understanding

Visionary

Wonderful

eXalted

Yahweh

Zealous 

Poetic Asides Thaw

When Winter Rules

The bitter cold has gripped the land in ice.

All’s frozen in its place and nothing moves.

The winter’s tightened grip exacts a price.  

The road is marked with stubborn frozen grooves.

The food stored in the cupboard must suffice,

As we inside will wait till temp improves.

So we’ve become subject to winter’s law

And dream of warmer days when comes spring’s thaw. 

Praise

Praise

P ointing out positive aspects

R aving about strengths and benefits

A dmiring accomplishments and characteristics

I nitiating high regards and appreciation

S imply celebrating and rejoicing

E ncouraging others to do the same

self destruct

Self-Destruct

So

This life

The trees, hills

Mountains, valleys,

Our human bodies

Things we deem important

Material possessions

Entire Earth and Universe

Are all set to self-destruct in time.

We whimper, longing for eternity. 

Self-destruct

Self-Destruct

S o it seems like I should tear down the old and

E rect the new. I search through my mind and feel

L et down at the life I live. If I could do anything,

F orgetting finances and commitments, what would I

D o? I disappoint myself, not knowing the answer.

E ven though it has been my own decisions that

S ent me to this point, I’m not truly happy and I

T ruly need to make some changes in my life, but I

R eturn to the question: What makes me happy? If I

U nderstand correctly, my happiness is not most

C rucial. What makes God happy? Does He want me

T o be content with the mundane? So, I seek You, Lord. 

Whosoever

Whosoever Comes to Their Senses

Whosoever surely meaneth me

says the old hymn, pointing out

that God longs for everyone,

like the prodigal son, to come

to their senses and run straight

into His welcoming embrace

and enjoy the benefits and

pleasures of being His child.

Triangle

The Trinity

There’s nothing more that blesses me

Than knowing the sweet Trinity

The Father, Son and Holy Ghost

To them I honor and love the most.

The Father’s loving eyes on me

Gives me hope and assurity

The Son’s precious sacrifice

Makes me wonder at my price

The Holy Ghost’s calming me

Gives me hope that sets me free

I worship and adore the Three

And look so forward to eternity. 

PA complicit

Complicit?

Enabling loved ones

to destroy themselves

with bad habits.

triangle

Triangle

T riangle with three sides and three angles

R eally amazing that it’s a whole branch of math

I sosceles, right, obtuse, equilateral, scalene,

A cute. And then there’s sine, cosine, tangent, and

N ever forget Pythagorean’s theorem, a² + b² = c²  

G ood grief, I’ve left trigonometry back in high school,

L ayered somewhere back in my brain along with

E uler and Newton. The numbers don’t add up anymore.

Disguise

Renewed

The old man

Clothes himself in Jesus

Putting on love, peace, patience,

Gentleness, kindness, perseverance

Discovering a new life

Or simply disguising the old one?

Disguise

In Hiding

What would it be like

to go into witness protection program?

Casting off the old life

and wearing a new one.

Change of name, location, job,

Even friends, family, past history

Would a person come out better?

Or worse? Or just different?

Disguise

Disguise

D eliberately taking on another persona

I mitating someone or something else

S imply forgetting who you really are

G lad to explore other facets of life

U nderstanding how to think another way

I nitiating creative thoughts into personality

S upposing that there are other ways to live

E ventually discovering the real you 

New Day

New Day

Sometimes I feel like

I’m paddling upstream

in my little row boat.

Lord, be my motor.

Let this be a new day.