Sunday, June 30, 2019

PAD 24-2 Complete..., Poem Away Leigh Hunt Rondeau

Completely Spring

Children playing under cover.
When the rain quits, they’re elated.
Whole wet world now to discover.
Springtime’s to be celebrated.
Tulips open up in brightness.
Paper boats sail in a puddle.
Yards awash in sunny lightness.
Children playing.





Saturday, June 29, 2019

PAD 24-1 Complete..., Poem Away Octelle


Completely Calm

“He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” Matthew 8:26

with Jesus Christ you can’t go wrong.
When you’re soon about to sink
and be dumped into the drink.
Don’t worry what others think.
He can save you in a blink.
When skies grow gray and winds grow strong
with Jesus Christ you can’t go wrong.




Friday, June 28, 2019

PAD 23-3 free

Rejoicing

I just watched a video
where boaters
released a whale from
a tangled net.

When it was finally free,
the whale leaped with joy.
but I think the people
who freed it were just as happy.

Thursday, June 27, 2019

PAD 23-2 free

Free

F eeling high as a bird in the sky
R eveling in the scents of spring
E xcited for the freedom to
E xit the house without a coat.








Wednesday, June 26, 2019

PAD 23-1 free


Running the Race

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, Hebrews 12:1

Lord, set me free to run the race.
Please, loose me from what bogs me down.
May Your sweet Spirit set the pace.
Lord, set me free to run the race.
May I run swiftly in Your grace
And cast off sins that weigh me down.
Lord, set me free to run the race.
Please, loose me from what bogs me down.

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Monday, June 24, 2019

PAD 22-2 correspondence


Email

Email links me to my friends
When I don’t see their faces
Because I stay at home a lot
Don’t go to many places

Except when I just get a way
And travel just for fun
Gallivanting by plane or car
Always on the run

Then it’s back home again
Sharing email with my folks
Making plans, encouraging
And even telling jokes

It seems odd to think about
A time when there was no email
How slowly things seemed to go
When depending on snail mail

Sunday, June 23, 2019

PAD 22-1 correspondence


Leaving

I remember those long newsy letters
from Mom in her cramped handwriting,
filled with details of daily living.
Her hand must have cramped, too,
because sometimes my sisters and I
would get carbon copies.

My aunt, whose four children stayed in the area,
used to wonder why we five girls scattered
from hither to yon, and I’m not sure why,
but I know when we received bright autumn leaves
sealed in plastic, tucked in the envelopes,
we had a yearning to go home.

I think that was intentional.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

PAD 21-3 sketch



A poet sketches life
Making word paintings
Lending experiences to others

Friday, June 21, 2019

PAD 21-2 sketch, Poem Away mathawi


The Sketch Pad

The sketch pad is a handy tool
That you can use at home or school.
It makes you feel so smart and cool.

But sometimes you forget your pad,
And it’s a thing you wish you had.
Exasperated, just a tad.

So put it in your purse or pack
To rid the need of turning back,
And then you won’t feel out of whack.

Record the world from your own view,
The trees, the lakes, the mountains, too.
It is a freeing thing to do.




Thursday, June 20, 2019

PAD 21-1 sketch, Poem Away Rondeau


I’m Just a Sketch

I’m just a sketch of what I’ll be.
He works in detail bit by bit.  
The Artist works progressively.
I seem a mess, I must admit.
At first some art appears as blobs.
A masterpiece may seem farfetched.
His work’s chiefly an inside job.
I’m just a sketch.

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Poetic Bloomings Humility


Seaweed and Pond Scum

Marine plants produce
seventy to eighty percent
of earth’s oxygen.

If God can use lowly algae
in such a fantastic way,
surely, He can use us.

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

PAD 20-3 dark


Dark

D isciples felt let down while Jesus was in the tomb.
A ll their hopes of a conquering king were lying with him.
R emember this when your dreams die. 
K ing of Kings and Lord of Lords resurrects.

Monday, June 17, 2019

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Saturday, June 15, 2019

PAD 19-3 license


The Last  Hunt

Dad started hunting
when he was nine.
He loved it and fishing.
An outdoorsman to the core.

After he got Alzheimer’s,
he kept asking what was in season.
It worried us, him wandering in the woods
with a gun, not knowing what he was after.

One day, during deer season he came in
and said he saw a deer someone had shot.
Did he? We were never sure if his stories
were real or from some time in the past.

Later in the day he said he’d better go get that deer.
I always stayed out of the woods during hunting season,
but I put on an orange vest and went with him
to make sure he didn’t get lost.

Sure enough he found it.
He tagged it and we sent it to the meat processing.
But when it came back we discovered
the meat was spoiled.

We never told Dad.
He got his deer.
It kept him out of the woods.
That’s the last time he hunted.




Friday, June 14, 2019

PAD 19-2 license


Poetic License

When I write sonnets
I tweak the meter and rhyme
They’re sonnet mutants

Thursday, June 13, 2019

PAD 19-1 license


Marriage License

We were ready.
Invitations out.
Reception food bought.
Chairs borrowed to set up in the yard
Bridal gown and groom’s suit ready
Honeymoon planned

Preacher
Organist
Singer
Groomsmen
Bridesmaids

Did you get your marriage license? Mom asked
Friday after 3 PM the day before the wedding.
We rushed to the next town,
got the license,
five minutes before closing.

What’s that saying about
God watching out for babies and fools?

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

PAD 18-3 Little...


Little Did I Know

At one point in my life
I said I’d never
work with people with developmental disabilities.
They say never say never.
Twenty-some years and counting.

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

PAD 18-2 Little...


Little Sister

I remember when my first grade teacher
had us all say how many sisters and brothers we had.
I said three and a half sisters. Mrs. Adams laughed
and told everyone that I was getting a new sister or brother.
A brother? No way. I couldn’t imagine such a thing.
In later years I missed having a brother,
but when Mrs. Adams mentioned the possibility
it sounded silly. One day when I got off the school bus
Mom stood on the porch calling to us, waving a dish towel.
She had been in the hospital for a week or so.
We ran up to the house and into the living room
and there sat a bassinet with yellow everything.
There she was my baby sister. I thought so, Mrs. Adams.

Monday, June 10, 2019

PAD 18-1 Little...


Little Red House on the Hill

As children, we used to play
a game called Littler Red House on a Hill.
My family also lived in a little red house on a hill.
At times it was pink, yellow or white.
I liked it best when it was red.

It was a tiny house for seven people.
We didn’t notice it so much though.
It wasn’t till we went back, after we had all grown,
we wondered how we had ever lived there.
But it was our house and that’s just the way it was.

Maybe that’s why we’re still close knit as a family.
Or maybe that’s why we live so far apart.

Sunday, June 9, 2019

PAD 17-3 Reason


Long Lasting

The reason why I stay
Instead of being gone for good
There is no other way
To keep my promise as I should

And I have learned a truth
Even if I would like to leave
Won’t always be a youth
At this age, I am glad to cleave

Our bond has grown so strong
Through all the years, the highs and lows
And I’ve known all along
From little seeds a great oak grows


Saturday, June 8, 2019

PAD 17-2 reason



Why I love the Lord
Is because He first loved me
Plus, He’s just awesome

Friday, June 7, 2019

PAD 17-1 Reason


Seven Reasons Why I Travel
(Ivorian sonnet)

The reasons why I long to go away
are greater than the ones that make me stay.

I’m curious and want to learn, that’s one.
The second is I need a break, it’s true.
Yes, staying sane involves a little fun.

The third is simply that it helps me grow
in loving others from diverse locales.  
It’s what we all need more of, this I know.
It’s always great to meet and make new pals.

The fourth, I hope it doesn’t sound cliché,
it challenges me just like a race to run.
The fifth, to see things from a different view.
The sixth is that I do so like to go.
And seventh, celebrate a special day.

Thursday, June 6, 2019

PAD 16-3 catch and release


The Itch

I’ve got the itch
to catch a train,
a plane, a bus, a ship
a horse drawn carriage
anything, anywhere
for an adventure.

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

PAD 16-2 Catch and Release


Borrowed Voice

“Release me!”
commanded the alien
on Independence Day
using a borrowed voice
from the man he strangled.

Sometimes when my hubby
teasingly catches me
and won’t let go,
I borrow the creepy voice,  
“Release me!”

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

PAD 16-1 Catch and Release


Fishing with Daddy

Daddy fished a lot,
but it was a rare occasion
when it was just him and me,
in a rowboat.

I remember one time he put two hooks
on a line and I caught two sunfish at once.
Then one time I was pulling in a large pike
and the reel fell apart.

Whether we caught fish or didn’t,
I enjoyed being with my dad.

Monday, June 3, 2019

PAD 15-3 prediction


Future Meeting

I predict
that when I die
Uncle Bill will meet me at the gate,
because he died in World War II
and I always missed knowing him,
a brother and best friend of my dad.

Sunday, June 2, 2019

PAD 15-2 prediction


Prediction

P rophesy! Who hit you? the guards said to Jesus.
R eligious leader couldn’t guess who they were actually crucifying,
E xpecting they were doing God a favor getting rid of the blasphemer.
D id they ever forecast that the sky would go dark just before Jesus died?
I nteresting, they didn’t estimate the damage that would be done to the temple
C urtain, nor could they imagine that it signified an invitation to the
T hroneroom to find help in time of need. In all likelihood, their
I maginings would be an extrapolation of their misguided doctrine,
O r the prognostication that they were rid of Jesus forever.
N ow, we can make the projection that Jesus will return.

Saturday, June 1, 2019

PAD 15-1 prediction


Predictions

I suppose when we plan,
we are making predictions.

We’re predicting the sun will come up.
We’ll get out of bed and have breakfast.
We’ll have the meetings,
perform the tasks,
run the errands on the to do list.

But sometimes like weather forecasts,
guessing whether the baby will be a boy or girl,
or predicting the dates of Jesus’ return,
the next day doesn’t look a bit like we thought.