Rhupunt

Vacation

We picked the spot

And planned a lot

We’ll take our shot

We’ll dance and dine

We’ll go by jet

The greatest yet.

Please, do not fret

We will be fine

Take to the skies

Joys to surprise

Oh, what a prize!

We cannot whine

Such sights to see

Just you and me

Feeling so free

It’s time to shine

cinquain

Scotland

Ancient castles

Bagpipes, tartans, shielings

Walking in my ancestors’ steps

Lis’ning

Bref Double

Globe-Trotting Family

We struggle making plans to get away.

The whos, the whats, the wheres, the whens, the cost

Ideas flourish like a clover field.

The emails fly between us thick and fast.

Two sisters and two nieces want to go.

All questions don’t get answered in a day.

The destination’s quickly settled on.

Ancestral lands call to us from the past.

The Emerald Isle and Scotland come in play.

We puzzle over timing and expense.

We dream of Moher Cliffs, the Buren Way.

And castles, loughs, and rivers all appeal.

Confusion over details might dismay.

But all will be content when plan is sealed.

Scotland

The Scottish Tingle

Pappap would get a wistful look in his eyes

when he’d talk about Scotland, as if the blood

of his Scottish ancestors tingled in his veins.

He’d attend concerts in Idlewild, a local park,

where they wore tartans and played bagpipes.

He’d close his eyes as if he remembered

the loughs, castles and stone shielings

though he’d never been there. And now

I’m thinking about going to Scotland. Must be

Pappap’s Scottish blood tingling through my veins.

feeling

The Way

Stumbling through the tangle of vines,

hoping to find the clear path of light.

It’s You. Jesus, regardless of where I’m at:

Jungle, forest, ocean, mountain, desert.

You are the way, the truth and the life.

PA sick

What is this cancer

Gobbling up our country?

Let Your love bring healing.

Poetic Asides Sick

Sick

S uffering physically

I ll and miserable

C oughing, sneezy, runny nose

K eep hopes up and the humidifier going

Poetic Asides Sick

Stroke

He’s not ill or is he?

Part of his brain went on strike.

Once healthy and vibrant,

now a tottering old man.

He commands his arm,

“Come to me!”

And we laugh at the ridiculousness of it.

Prayer

Jig-saw Puzzle

Lord I feel like a jig-saw puzzle

right out of the box.

I’m searching for border pieces.

Trying to match up the pieces that fit.

Looking for like colors and patterns.

Wondering what the big picture looks like.

I imagine the picture being

me standing before You,

and You saying,

“Well done good and faithful servant.”

Lord, what is it that I’m supposed to be doing well?

Am I even close?

Lord, I ask for wisdom,

and as I put these little pieces together,

I trust that they are the right pieces

and Your head is bent over the puzzle

as we work on it together.

Eventually the big picture will come to pass,

And I will hear the words I long for,

“Well done!”

PA Elevated

Elevated

Not feeling so elevated

driving from sea-level Phoenix

to 6,000 feet high, ear-popping,

snowy and icy Colorado.

Wishing I was a snowbird.

Ottava Rima

Spurned

Her lack of faith is now a tragedy.

A branch has fallen from the living vine.

God’s whispers to her heart so urgently. 

But she invents excuses to decline.

She rock-and-rolls, does drugs so recklessly

And sweeps her problems ‘neath the rug to hide—

In the guise of escaping misery,

reflecting coldness of her day and time.

While God desires to add joy to her life,

She dances with the devil and his strife.

Ottava Rima

Sometimes Truth Hurts

The truth may hurt like blunt-force injuries.

Reality’s gloom may ache like a wound.

A coin, when flipped, will show two sides with ease.

God’s matchless grace with pain can be attuned.

Escape you may want, but not what you need.

Brief valley journeys won’t leave you marooned.

A glass is half full when it’s being filled.

Take care you don’t let truth’s value be spilled. 

Ottava Rima

Not Just Boulders

I’ve always had a liking for huge rocks,

With water curling ‘round each base like flames.

As kids, we’d slosh about our daring walks,

With scents of minnows as we played our games.

The stage was set for deeds unorthodox,

From mystic to new planets with odd names.

More images march like a long parade,

Remembering creative ways we played. 

1 18 18 Love

What is Love?

Giving sacrificially

Serving tirelessly

Producing abundantly

Making cheerfully

Being available

Love is an action word.

1 17 18 PA Little Blank

Little Helper

A lady at my church

introduced me to a visitor

with the description,

“one of our little helpers.”

I pictured myself with pointed ears,

long stocking cap

and bells on my toes

and I wanted to say,

“You’re littler than I am.”

But I just smiled

and greeted the newcomer.

Little words can bring big feelings.

blank of blank

Class of ’17,

college graduate,

sounds weird

since I finished

my first year

of college

in ’77. 

Remembered

She always said

she’d attend her own funeral

to hear people talk nice about her.

So I better say something kind,

in case she’s listening.

Remembered

She was like a Timex

She took a licking

And kept on ticking

Until she didn’t

to the world

Dear World

God loved you so much

that He sent His Son Jesus

to pay the price for our sins,

and whoever believes in Him

will live forever in Heaven.

World, please, receive

His love and forgiveness. 

to the world

World

W onders of the world

O pen our minds and

R evive our spirits, but

L ord, You are greater.

D ear One, You’re my world.

construction

Construction Deconstruction

This is me

trying to construct a poem.

Never mind the foundation

I can’t get past

the hole in the ground.

PA harmless

Harmless

In trying to list

things that are harmless,

I’ve come to the conclusion

nothing is purely harmless

in all situations.

Consider the lowly peanut.

Most people can gobble them down

but some are so allergic

traces of peanut oil can be dangerous.

Other foods? Besides allergies,

too much can make you sick,

fat or choke you.

A kiss? Germs. Abuse. Betrayal.

Remember Judas?

The sorry fact

Is that our bodies

are fragile,

mortal,

temporary.

Unless you’re in heaven.

Then all is harmless.

Abundant

Abundant

A bundant and ample

B ountiful and plentiful

U nlimited and copious

N ever ending and rich

D ivinely blessed and profuse

A lot and poured out

N umerous and lavish

T remendous and considerable

Good for Nothing

Bright Side

He feels good for nothing

except now he’s a job

for someone. “The aide

can feed her family,

because she’s taking

care of me,” he said.

“Your job is not

to be useful, I said.

“It’s to get better.”

What I Meant to Say

The Boss

Sometimes, Lord, I treat You like I’m Your boss.

Do this. Don’t do that. Please and thank You.

But You’re my boss. I shouldn’t worry so much

about what You do for me but make sure I’m

doing my part and aiming to please You. What I

want doesn’t matter so much as Your perfect will.

Let Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Please, change my heart so I want what You want.

What i Meant to Say

What I Meant to Say

W hat I meant to say was no instead of yes.

H ow many times I find myself in the middle of

A n awkward situation or a big mess and I

T hink, how in the world did I get here?

I meant to say no but I said yes.

M any times I find myself exhausted and at the

E nd of my rope. My plate full to overflowing.

A nd I regret saying yes instead of

N o. No. No. Absolutely not. Find another person.

T reat me fairly. Quit using me. Let me say it clearly

T o you now. No. Not just this time. Not any time. I

O pen my mouth with my tongue behind my teeth and

S ay no. Read my lips. N-O! No!

A nd if I say

Y es again, someone please stop me.

Stranger

Stranger than the Twilight Zone

At times, I feel like my life

is stranger than the Twilight Zone

an odd combination of horror,

science-fiction, drama,

fantasy and pinches of comedy

and romance thrown in.

I imagine Rod Serling

introducing my day.

“An ordinary woman

finds herself in a world

that doesn’t make sense

called the Twilight Zone.”

Stranger

Stranger Than Most

S tranger than most

T errifically weird

R adically bizarre

A nd outlandish to say the least

N obody odder

G enuinely peculiar

E ccentric at best

R eally quirky and that’s why we’re friends

Poetic Asides Password

Magic Password

M any people know some magic words that make others hop

A simple phrase that encourages folks to offer

G racious help and assistance

I magine gifts, support, goodwill to be yours at last

C arefully spoken, these words are a great treat

P lenty of people omit these words and make others angry

A ll will find speaking these words a great help

S  o with these magic words be liberal

S lip these into your conversation with ease

W hether you want a piece of pizza

O r a lift to the airport or other favors

 R ead the letters at the end of each line

D o it now!

Shardorma

Dear Jesus

Be with me each day

Help me hear

Help me see

And walk with You hand in hand

Till the day I die 

Happy New Year!

Hello 2018

2017 bumped along from the highs

of graduation, trips to Mesa, Greeley,

Montrose and Honolulu, two weddings,

and seeing all my sisters twice,

to the lows of losing a writing job,

hubby’s two strokes and resulting disabilities,

saying goodbye our hosts home client

and half our income, making it difficult

to take trips, remodel the house,  

buy a new car and complete projects.

But 2018, I have the same hope

entering you as I had in entering

your brother. Jesus is my hope

and my rock. Eternal things

and God’s will are really what

matters. So our physical health,

how much money we have

whether or not we can go anywhere

are secondary to my hope

of eternal life with the Holy Trinity.

As long as I have you here on earth,  

I’ll do my best to know God

and make Him known.

To keep fit in order to do God’s will.

To maintain loving relationships.

To go with the flow with a good attitude.

To not forsake my brothers and sisters in Jesus.

To use my writing skill and the gifts

of the Holy Spirit and whatever I have

and can do to love God and others.

So I greet you 2018 with a little excitement

and a little trepidation. Let’s make the best of it

to God’s honor and glory and praise

because He is worthy of all worship

and our complete and unreserved devotion.