Listen in Sorrow #birds #poetry #loss

happy you tend to the garden

waking me daily with song

bringing cheer never sorrow

I find myself singing along

*

more work is there in the morrow

gather and fashion a nest

complaints never are filed

rarely do you stop for a rest

*

little one out in the wet storm

no jacket to fend off the rain

grateful for your reminder

sun always follows the pain

*

I take my pen sadly to paper

to write about someone I love

gone toward braodened horizons

taken gently to heaven above

*

spring raindrops

birds joyful refrain

tears fall freely

Today at Poet’s United the prompt is Birds.

This haibun is lovingly written for my father-in-law Robert who left us today.

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Blossoms from Heaven #haiku #photography

hana ni uzumorete yume yori sugu ni shinan kana

covered with cherry blossoms

if I could die right now
in this dream of mine

© Ochi Etsujin (Tr. Gabi Greve)

Etsujin was a traveling companion and disciple of Basho. At Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, we are celebrating (this month) the work of Basho and those he inspired.

 

 

Floating from heaven

children dance with spring

angels kiss my face

What We Can’t See #devotion #photography #poetry

There is beyond the winter

beauty beneath the snow

like a shivering bulb

we know there is spring

we cannot see its bud

nor force its opening

 the sun alone

can entice the bloom

there is a beauty beyond winter

we will shed this life’s pain

 perfect magnificence

 is held in secret

an eternal spring

will one day

open its gates to the sun

beckoning us home

“But it is written ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him…'”

1 Corinthians 2:9

 

We can neither see nor imagine the beauty of the place that God has fashioned for us. But we can on the weariest of days take comfort in the knowledge that such a place lies in wait just as the bulb that waits to open its face come spring. As you anticipate the warmth and beauty of spring, soak in the hope of Heaven!

Escape #devotion #poetry #photography

 

 

Intent on his prey

the vulture’s eyes are focused

one claw bearing down

lips smacking with anticipation

carrion bird won’t fly

not until complete his destruction

sickened by the stench

I avert my eye

society is incarcerated

parrying with the devil

dancing in the streets

awaited by wickedness

to be finally consumed

its a choice for you and I

offer ourselves at futility’s altar

or escape death

finding our wings

on golden currents

that carry us home

 

“For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 

They have no struggles;  their bodies are healthy and strong. 

They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. 

Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.

 From their callous hearts comes iniquity; their evil imaginations have no limits. 

They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.

Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.”

Psalm 73: 3-9

“You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”

Psalm 73:24 & 25

 

 

 

I Hold a Key #poetry #devotion

 

 

 

Bright and shiny once

I hang in offering

a door I once opened

I hold the way still

Bright and shiny once

a way to life I bring

eyes I awakened

healing      the          ill

Bright   and    shiny    once

I  free  the  wandering

embrace the shaken

not bitter the pill

Bright and shiny once

he who is pondering

his will I will strengthen

tho they test my metal – I will prevail

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16:19

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this…”

Revelation 3:7

The key symbolizes a significant wisdom that goes beyond strength. I can only imagine a key that opens the way to peace and green pastures where animals and children play. I hope and pray for anger and evil to be bound so that we can have hope and a clear view of Heaven.

Her Headstone #poetry #death #photography

The words in bold I pulled from a gravestone poem written by a grieving husband to his wife who had passed so young.

 

Charlotte

I spoke your name in harmony with the lark

now the marble holds memories cold

I caressed your hand through the bitterest of fights

now I seek your shadow as you slumber at night

*

silvery clouds trace your smile’s mark

I hear your sweet whispered tone

rustle through the breeze

as you say my name, I freeze

*

a shiver runneth over me

soft hands reach for embrace

we never ever do quite touch

I look  toward heaven far too much

*

longing to catch your loving trace

tears wet my brow, cheeks, face

that once held hot, warm kiss

can only mouth the things I miss

*

I struggle not to throw myself away

 I am yet buoyant on life’s ebbing waves

“May I be faithful to your name  my dear

                                                  nothing in life seems very clear

*

 

I’ll not forget kindness  from above

delivered treasure from the one I love

Next to you darling reserve for me a place

  eternal destiny full of grace”

 

 

The Other Side of the Door #poetry #faith #photography

Door to Heaven by Clare

Where have I come from

where will I go

the door it has opened

to where I don’t know

*

 it crept in as light

just under a bit

then it grew bigger

my entire room was lit

*

it beckoned for me

“come this way” it said

oh what was I thinking

when I got out of bed?

*

which foot do I start with

which shoes do I wear

 a bit tentative

before me  its dare

*

I have dreamt of this day

for years in a glass

and now that it’s here

I fear what will pass

*

none for those thoughts

there’s much more to find

take one walking stick

give no thought behind

What awaits us as we walk out the door of this life into a new reality? I believe that death is like a door that we walk through and there is a new world called heaven with plenty of green rolling hills to traverse.

“Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name”.

Revelation 3:8

The art and photography is © moondust designs

A Perfect Place #poetry #photography

Somewhere

…peace is more than a word

Somewhere

…love is always expressed

Somewhere

…arms are meant to hold

Somewhere

…we can always trust

Somewhere

…the path will never fail

The Door to the Garden #atozchallenge #poetry #art

entrance to another world

crack it open

songs stream through the opening

throw it wide

sunlight treasure dusts your path

go through the door

look upon adventure

don’t look back

behind you is gone

your past is a closed book

keep walking

surprise in the garden

 you are never alone

love grows here

 its fresh scent opens your eyes

 

 

 

Poetry is the opening and closing of a door, leaving those who look through to guess about what is seen during a moment…

~Carl Sandburg

Didactic Poetry: A form of verse, the aim of which is to instruct the mind and improve morals. (information on forms gathered from Poetry Soup)

The painting: “Filoli Courtyard” is one of my mother’s paintings. It kept me sane this past winter.

So Young #death

I met you along the pathway one day

“death doesn’t hurt

it’s life that’s painful”

I hear you say

“Tell them I’m ok”

He spoke so wisely at the age of 10

Taken one day by an unsuspecting rise

the water became his world

I looked again

His smile so innocent

his gait unhurried

He had arrived at his final destination

If I could only look at life and death as he

“The waters may flood your life

they will not pull you under

not

until

it’s

time”

He called over his shoulder

“It’s not my time ” I smiled

not yet…

This poem is a tribute to a boy who died one year ago when he was caught in a flash flood behind our neighborhood. His parent’s drive was lit by luminaries on Saturday the reminder from the community that we have not forgotten their boy.

Photography: “Path for a child” L. Moon 2012