Reverie (2007)

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I've recently run across some old poems... 

Adding some of them to my online anthology...

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 Reverie

Why are you hiding friend?

Why do you not respond?

Why do we humans hide?

Why not open ourselves

while we draw breath

to listen beyond and beneath words

to hear our hearts beat

to share the rhythm of our souls?

I yearn for a day

when we love one another

in spite of disagreements

in spite of misconceptions.

When with open face and open hearts

we can stand in one another's presence

unguarded, naked

without reservation.

When we see with enlightened hearts

what it is that lies deep within

compelling each of us to act as we do.

....Yes, I am a dreamer....

Hopefully the dreams have substance

and one day perhaps

we will be connected with a resonance

that extends beyond words

a magic that too often exists

only in our dreams.

I pray I never lose that dream

never quit believing

in the heart of another

my sister, my brother

wherein perhaps is planted

an eternity divine.

january, 2007

In Loving Memory: 1922- 1996 (1996)

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I've recently run across some old poems... 

I plan to add them to this poetry blog...

So, reader beware...

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 In Loving Memory: 1922- 1996

He was patient and kind, a man of his own

who loved life to the fullest regardless 

of what life sometimes dealt to him.

He loved the outdoors:

a hunter, a skier, a sailor, a golfer.

He enjoyed people

sharing his life the best he knew.

His will to live was strong.

Despite overwhelming odds, he continued to strive to be his best.

We will miss him:

his smile, his laugh, his positive outlook on life, his quit wit.

Yet we well remember the joy he brought,

his example of patience and gratitude.

We will ever be thankful for the inspiration

he gave to continue to live life to the fullest;

to never give up.

february, 1996

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The poem above is about my father. 

He was in a head-on auto collision in July 1983; it rendered him a quadriplegic until his death in February 1996. 

I've written quite a few pieces about that part of his life, of our lives as a family.

Here's a poem about when I 1st laid eyes upon Dad after his wreck: Head-on Collision.

This link is to links of some memoir-type pieces I've written about that time: When Limbs Go Quiet.

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Unnamed: In honor of Alex (2006)

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I've recently run across some old poems... 

I plan to add them to this poetry blog...

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Unnamed: In honor of Alex 

I know you cannot hear me

for your heartbeat stopped long ago.

I chose to stop your heartbeat,

I chose to stop your growth.

I never allowed you

to know the breezes of the fields

to see the beauty of the sun or snow.

In my ignorance I chose these things.

Were they right or wrong?

Honestly, I do not know.

Yet my pain runs deep today.

~my heart, it hurts~

~my tears, pour forth~

~this grief, it is for you~

In it I honor the life you once were,

the individual you may have been.

I can see you in my heart's eye:

an infant with dark hair,

deep brown eyes,

soft, smooth olive skin.

And if you were here now my love

I would hold you at my heart,

I would stroke your raven locks,

I would gently kiss your forehead,

I would cradle you at my breast,

I would nourish you, love you,

your essence I'd caress.

Oh, God!

Please honor the grief I feel!

Thank you for forgiveness,

thank you that wounds do heal.

Thank you for life you have blessed me with,

in spite of my erring ways.

Thank you as I offer this grief

as a sacrifice of praise.

And now I set within this sacred place

amidst nature's beauty, freedom, grace

among the rocks

the sun

the snow

the ponies that run wild...

The memory and life

of this

my unborn child.

07/04/06

I later named him Alex...

~*~

This poem is about an abortion I received at 19 years old around the fall of 1978 when I was W.O.W. Ambassador with The Way International...

As one can see by the date, this was written almost 28 years later, a time when I deeply grieved the loss...

I had had a reunion with the father; shortly thereafter I grieved deeply...

I decided to honor the life that was once in my womb with a private ceremony. 

I bought some tokens at a local Good Will: a small blue tin with a heart on the middle of the lid, blue booties, and blue mittens. 

My husband (who is not the father) and I held a private ceremony in one of my sacred wilderness spots -- near Mt. Rogers, VA, where feral ponies run free. 

We hiked in from Massie Gap, carrying a foldable shovel. Shortly before one gets to Thomas Knob Shelter, we buried the tokens and sang Amazing Grace, one the father's (and our) favorite songs. As we hiked out, we took a break at a bench. We were graced with the presence of the ponies and a tiny newborn foal who approached us and said, "Hello..." 

It was July 4, 2006...

I did not have a smart phone at the time and have no images from that day; the picture below is from 2017. The foal in the pic is older than the tiny one we witnessed on that sacred July 4th.

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Mare & Foal, 2017

God's Healing Cover (2001)

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I've recently run across some old poems... 

I plan to add them to this poetry blog...

So, reader beware...

 ~*~

God's Healing Cover

My life was stormy,

yet I knew God's will was healing, wholeness, and vitality.

At times this was evident to my soul,

yet at times this vision was blurry.

In spite of my doubt God's hands upheld me;

His Word was my soothing guide.

With open face I would pour forth my soul;

any darkness I tried not to hide.

I would think of the man whom for forty years

believed until his wholeness was filled.

Or the woman who had the issue of blood

who didn't give up and her body was healed.

I would bring to mind the price Christ paid

to drive away my emotions of doubt.

I would go to the man on earth

whom I love above any other.

He would hold me, caress me, tenderly soothe

remind me of God's healing cover.

At times I would think,

"Well if I should die, I will still proclaim

God's will is wholeness

I will hold my mind

Attribute no folly to His name."

I'm thankful for the healing I have received

I know I have a ways to go.

I trust I'll continue to believe

Knowing that is a key to receive

And reach out to others to inspire the same.

march, 2001

~*~

Another poem from a time when I was a true Way believer...

This is about my healing from asthma and other autoimmune disorders which I had suffered for almost two decades, at the time...

My getting well was not a miracle in the literal sense of the word...

My healing came via science...

And, to me, science and life are full of "ordinary miracles"...

~*~

Charlotte & Wilbur's "Ordinary Miracle" ~ Sarah McLachlan

Our Dwelling Place (1987)

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I've recently run across some old poems... 

I plan to add them to this poetry blog...

So, reader beware...

 ~*~

 Our Dwelling Place

Simply think of all God's goodness

All He has bestowed on you and me

To be alive in this day and time

To be a vital part of His great family.

A family so diversified

Yet in Him united as one

We cannot lose as we stand fast

In the love of Christ His son.

As I look at you, as I look at me,

I need only look upon that which God sees.

Sure, I may miss the mark and so may you

But we have a choice of where to dwell.

We can dwell on the times the mark has been missed

We can dwell with our thoughts only inward

Or we can dwell on our seated position in Christ

With our thoughts focused on God's Word.

God has fully equipped us

To be to the praise of His glory

He has bestowed us with eternal life

With a home no earthly carpenter can build.

As we think of all God's goodness

There is no room to dwell

On the times the mark has been missed

Or the times we thought we failed.

july, 1987

 

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Another poem from a time when I was a true Way believer...

Followers had left in mass in latter 1986 (I think it was). There was division among the ranks.

I wrote this poem while at a Way Family Camp in Gunnison, CO. 

It was read from the pulpit by Vince Finnegan, I think. Hubby and I are pretty sure it was Vince. If not, it was somebody else. :D 

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Turn on the Light (199?)

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I've recently run across some old poems... 

I plan to add them to this poetry blog...

So, reader beware...

 ~*~

Turn on the Light 

At times in life, we may go astray

We may forget God's works, try another way

That perhaps looks good; yet we know it's not best.

Why waste God's time on anything less?

Jehosophat learned as he stood with His God.

Yes, he veered the wrong way, but have not we all?

Yet he heeded God's heart and came back the right.

We all have the same choice; choose we the dark or the light?

In the dark we can't see clearly, yet we can still see

But the path is obscured by the absence of light.

Without light on the path, we may stumble or bruise

Yet there's a light within reach; which way will we choose?

Let us gird up our loins, cinch in our belts,

Take a deep breath of God's Word, stand for the truth.

Let us choose the Word's way, shine God's light on our path.

Let us run with the household choosing the best.

Let us make our allegiance to God's Word, nothing less.

Then we will see clearly, and we will choose right.

Let us not choose the darkness; let us turn on the light.

199?

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Written when I was a true Way believer...

This was written in response to one of the times when The Way was losing followers in mass...

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