Going solo 3

 Hidden Strength

 

After vacation,

she walked into a mess.

Her house was flooded

from a broken hose.

 

Her disabled husband

went down south

with their adult children.

She was flying solo.

 

She decided

to paint the whole house herself,

and hire contractors

for the carpet and appliances.

 

She painted, purchased, arranged

and tried to do normal daily things,

fighting the heat, of a broken AC

and the house being dried out.

 

She told herself, “I can do this.”

“It will get done if I don’t quit.”

Just keep painting, painting, painting.

After two months, she retrieved Hubby.

 

It took a year for the whole project.

Now, she enjoys the fruits of her labor.

She feels pretty amazed at herself,

though she had some Heavenly help.

 

And with her nephew, carpenter,

plumber, carpet layers, Earthly help, too.

Now she looks at her other projects

and wonders, what should I tackle next?

Going Solo

 

Feeling Solo

 

I have God

My family, my friends

My church, my poetry groups

So why

do I feel

like I’m flying solo?

Going Solo Poetic Bloomings

 Self-cooperation

 

Each morning

I face a list of my own making.

And I’m the only one

who can do anything about it.

Most of what’s on that list,

no one would notice

if I didn’t do it.

At least for a while.

Sometimes going solo

and motivation

have a hard time

working together.

La’Tuin

 Feeling Stuck

 

Lord, I pray that You will have your way

In my whole life until I’m dead.

This stuck-ness needs to cease and desist.

I need Your power, come what may.

 

So, how do I keep going today

When I want to go back to bed?

Forgot why I made this to-do list.

How did I get to be this way?

 

Afraid feeling stuck is where I’ll stay.

What’s this brain fog within my head?

I wish I had someone who’d assist.

So I must continue to pray.

 

Lord, I pray that You will have your way.

In my whole life until I’m dead.

This stuck-ness needs to cease and desist.

I need Your power, come what may.

Nonet

 Autumn’s Coming

Green leaves gilded with golden edges

Clouds gather like football game crowds

A chill invades the evenings

School busses rumble by

Our summer plans fade

Earthy fragrance

Soul stirring

Season

Change

L'Arora

 Seasons Greetings

(L’Arora)

 

When skies are gray and branches bare

And snow piles deep upon the ground

Temperatures drop, icicles form

Coats, scarves, hats, sweaters, boots appear

The days grow short, the nights grow long

The heater plays its whirring tune

And dreams of warmer days begin

Fantasies of them coming soon

 

When snow melts watering the earth

And rivers and creeks rush along

The rain drops pound upon the rooves

The sun comes out, the hills green up

Fields become dotted with new life

Lambs, goats and calves scamper about

Earth seems to sigh out in relief

Flowers burst forth while children shout

 

When sun shines strong with intense heat

Greenness consumes Earth in brilliance

Kids laugh and splash and play in pools

Veggie gardens grow in promise

Days are long and people—busy

Pretty flowers gladden the heart

Leaf edges begin to yellow

And signs appear that school will start

 

When air is full of earthy smells

Vegetables ripen on the vine

Full apple trees bear their sweet gifts

And trees blaze with yellow, orange, red

Orange pumpkins appear on porches

Clouds darken and autumn rains come

And we begin to brace ourselves

For soon to winter we’ll succumb  

Story Poetic Asides

 

Matthew and Mary

 

My great-grandfather Mathew,

He married while away.

And took her to his mountain home

But he had failed to say,

 

His nine children were waiting there

And she’d be their new mom.

A shock to see nine pairs of eyes—

Like a World War One bomb.

 

In those days when you said, “I do,”

You did, no matter what.

So Mary raised them faithfully.

I’m sure that it took guts.

 

Grandpa Bill was one of the nine

And moved closer to town.

He married a Kentucky gal

And had kids of their own.

 

My father never told his girls

His grandfather’s strange past.

Some day in Heaven I will hear

Great grandma’s tales at last.

Monchielle

 Let’s Sing

(a monchielle)

 

Let’s sing together now

Let’s join our hearts in love

As offspring of the Lord

In unity of mind

To One who we adore

 

Let’s sing together now

From babies to the aged

Let’s focus on His grace

He cares for each of us

He’s called us to this place

 

Let’s sing together now

He’s worthy of our praise

Creator of us all

Loving and forgiving

Eternal, powerful

 

Let’s sing together now

In Him we are complete

He transforms us through praise

From the inside to out

Our hands and hearts, we raise

fire Poetic Bloomings

 One Summer Vacation

 

Pine fire

Dark clouds of smoke

Helicopters overhead

A canyon in Colorado

We made it through that time

Pensee 6

 Hubby's 68th Birthday

 

Loren

Stroke survivor

Finances on computer

Holed up in his bedroom, mostly

Glad to have him alive

Pensee 5

 Got Up and Went

 

Lazy

No ambition

Sitting and writing short poems

In my comfy green recliner

Can’t get going today

Pensee 4

 Night Out with Annie

 

Church van

Old, adequate

Rumbling, bumping down highway

Where the mountains meet the desert

Church ladies having fun

Pensee 3

 Anticipating Kenya

 

My hat

Fishing, tan, tie

Protecting from sun and rain

Safari on the savannah

Pensee 2

 Delightful Moment

 

Puppy

Golden, wavy

Wiggling, romping, licking me

Under a shady tree in lawn

Brings sunshine to my soul

Pensee

 First in Collection

 

Teapot

Black with gold rim

Sitting there holding nothing

High on my corner kitchen shelf

Over fifty years old

Animal

 If I Were an Animal

 

If I were an animal

What would I want to be?

An otter in the river

Swimming playfully.

 

Or a tiger, powerful

Beautiful and strong.

Or perhaps a canary

with a perky little song.

 

But sometimes I feel

more like a manatee.

A blob in the water

Drifting aimlessly.

 

Maybe I’m a little

Of all of the above.

Help me be more like You

In Your goodness and Your love.

animal Poetic Asides

 My Spirit Animal

 

If I had a spirit animal

Like some people say I do

I’d be a playful river otter

In the water running through

 

I’d scout around and joyfully feast

On whatever comes my way

I’d happily slide on muddy hills

And swim with my friends and play

 

I’d have a lithe, long and lean body

And gracefully swim about

Perhaps cuddle in a beaver lodge

Whenever I scamper out

 

I’d represent empathy, laughter

Curiosity and grace

And playfully be content with life

In my happy river place

Alouette

 Awesome Indeed

(Alouette)

 

He knows my hair count

At any amount

He’s so big, He cares for small

And He knows my name

My address, the same

And He hears, me when I call

 

Just little ‘ol me

He can hear and see

He supplies my every need

I don’t need to fear

His love is so clear

He’s an awesome God indeed

Sail Poetic Bloomings

 Peaceful 

 

Tall grasses fringed the shore line

looking out on a flock of sail boats

floating on the calm water like ducks.

Their triangular white sails

pointed up to the steely evening sky.

Purple mountains ridged the opposite shore.

I sighed and made a wish.

Tyburn

 Worship

Praises

Raises

Phrases

Blazes

Giving the Lord praises, raises love

Adoring phrases, blazes above

noun of place Poetic Asides

 The Beauty of Our Back Yard

 

O, yes indeed, we splurged a bit.

Our landscaper, the very best.

A perfect place to chat and rest,

bushes and fence surrounding it.

On our back porch is where we sit.

As summer passes, we delight, 

in each new flower, colors bright.

We go back there at time’s permit.

 

Small birds so free of any cage,

are welcome here despite the mess.

They’re fun to watch at any age.

Their friendly chirps relieve the stress.

A maple tree takes center stage,

as it awaits its autumn dress.

Sea Shore Poetic Bloomings

 

Love’s Dimensions

 

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. Ephesians 3:17-18

 

Reclining on my beach chair,

to the ocean’s rhythmic roar,

I think about God’s great love

and blessings He has in store.

 

I think about sea creatures

and the beauty seldom seen,

from surface to the trenches

and all lying in between.

 

The expanse of the ocean,

paints a picture from above

of His grace and forgiveness,

His compassion and His love.

 

As the sand on the seashore,

as the fishes in the sea,

as the stars in the night sky,

is God’s love for you and me.

 

 

 

out of time Poetic Asides

 

A timer tick, tick, tick dings.

What will life be like

at my end-of-life ding?

Breakfast Time Poem

 

Minute Poem

 

Can I write a poem in a minute?

Is there any purpose in it?

I’ll take a minute to praise You,

Who You are and what You do.

My joy, my hope, my peace.

You give my soul release.

And that is my poem in a minute.

Life Poetic Bloomings

 John 14:6

 

If you knew of a cure for cancer,

but didn’t say anything,

wouldn’t you be found negligent?

 

If you knew a tornado was coming

but didn’t warn anyone,

wouldn’t that be cruel?

 

If you came across a child lost in the woods

and you knew the way, but left them to wander,

wouldn’t that be a crime?

 

We know the way to eternal life,

yet we’re told to shut up

and keep our religion to ourselves.

 

“I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.”

I didn’t say it. Jesus did.

Worship

 Worship from Within

(Quadrille 44 words)

 

From deep within my soul

Like a sprouting seed

Reaches up through the soil

Toward the sun

Drinking in the rain

I delight in You!

 

You are my energy

my joy

my hope  

my strength

my song.  

You are my life.

I worship you!

blah day

 

There lives a gal in Cortez

Who doesn’t do what she says

Her to-do list is long

But she gets it all wrong

Why is anyone’s guess

Escape Poetic Asides

 Escaping Monotony

 

And though my life is fully blessed

A loving family and friends

With food and clothes, in a nice place

Blue sky and mountains within view

 

The niggling thoughts tickle my brain

I dream I’ll be a motel guest

Or rent a cabin in the woods

As long as it is somewhere new

 

And though my life is calm, not stressed

Just me and him at a slow pace

From north to south and east to west

I dream of making my escape

 

Variety’s spice is the best

And puts a smile upon my face

 

 

Home Poetic Bloomings

 Home

 

I have lived in many places

From Colorado to P-A

With fifty states and some countries

On vacations along the way

 

In the deserts, mountains, valleys

Along the ocean with its foam

I have come to the conclusion

That where my toothbrush is, is home

Confinement Poetic Asides

 Confined to God’s grace

Like a rafter confined

to his river raft

Floating freely

Not drowning

Musical instrument Poetic Bloomings

 

There once was a ukulele player

Who was a poetry conveyor

She had a good time

By plunking out rhyme

And harmonizing with prayer