Restored #forgiveness #poetry #uganda

They curse the dry unyielding ground

stubble from impotent crops remain

toppled huts call out in anger

“we will never be whole again

they have maligned our children

destroyed our spirit”

only bitter weeds grow strong

***

lovingly they pour water on hardened ground

fingers soiled with ancestral dirt

music filters through new huts

golden maize dances to life’s song

children’s laughter reaches blue expanse

“we are known as the place of the light”

Pasqual’s face radiates hope

***

The LRA displaced the Acholi tribes in Northern Uganda. Not one family was untouched. “I was abducted as a child.” “My wife was raped at 9.” “We ran over the bodies of dead family members.” “Our village was destroyed.”

For the Acholi there are two choices – bitterness or forgiveness.

In no way is the forgiveness easy but only through it can life begin fresh and new.

Only in love can a new song be written in the heart of these strong people.

 

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Ephesians 4:31 & 32

Poets United has an awesome community of poets/writers. Read the words of these fantastic folks here.

 

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War Torn #Peaceonearth #poetry

 

I held a Sudanese hand

it fit so small in mine

I caught a ragged smile

I wished I had more time

We sang a song of praise

they dance with all their might

their mamas and their papas

they lost them in war’s night

fortitude and strength

the littlest they stand

hope, faith, love

we grasp another’s hand

*****

 

smiles radiate

reach our hands to the sun

Peace on Earth

 

 

One of the villages we have worked in has built homes and adopted So. Sudanese orphans. Love is being poured into hearts and the children are doing so well.   We would love to see peace in So. Sudan so that families are not displaced and children are not orphaned.

 

Poets United has a wonderful community and this midweek prompt is Peace on Earth

 

 

 

The Marketplace of Life #poetry #lifeinUganda

 

 

 

greetings far and wide

hearts momentary grasp

a smile of shared kindness

if only this could last

 shallow are grey blue waters

when for another do not share

freedom used to ring

for gold we only care

daily the reminders

a smile so white and pure

a child trusts my hand

love is our world’s cure

                                                                                                                        *

gathering place

happy red tomatoes

instant friends

 

The prompt for this week at Poet’s United Mid Week Motif is Independence.

That concept used to be so dear – now is a time when people are enslaved in so many ways.

 

No Comparison #art #nature #poetry

I tried to draw a rose today

but noise and life got in the way

my pencil finally took control

what it drew I hardly know

“it’s good I guess” I tell the pad

 I sniff the scent of rubber band

I tried to draw a rose today

crumpled paper, thrown away

*

rare beauty

inhale, no bottle can hold

rose succulence

Flowers can cheer a frown into a smile. Poets United knows this well and so the prompt this week is Flowers!!!

In Life’s Mirror #poetry #uganda #photography

In the mirror of a water bucket I see:

A blur of color

children with bright hearts

flames cannot douse courage

little girls pump, pump, pump

feet steadily move up the hill

“more water”

little heads bear yellow water jugs

school books brown edged

blue chairs too hot to touch

 ashen are next day’s reflections

 parents anxious to know education’s fate

stories told, songs we sang, things we made

in the mirror of my heart

 stout hearts of orphans

 smiles contagious

 over flow of son’s rays of love

*

Fire rages fierce

days merge breeze takes them away

color filled smiles

 

Today’s prompt at Poet’s United is “Mirror.” 

Nostalgia #poetry #beaches #photography

memories of feet caressing sand

beaches and piers, a quest

chasing shore birds

digging for treasure

building castles in shared dreams

***

sand collapses

sun shines too bright in my eyes

you walk with another

The word “nostalgia” comes from two Greek roots, nostos meaning ‘return home’ and algia ‘longing’. However neither poetry nor politics birthed the term, rather it came from ‘medicine’. In the seventeenth century nostalgia was considered as a curable disease, like a common cold.

Nostalgia is a longing for a Place as well as for a Time.

Sharing with Poets United – the theme this week Nostalgia.

 

 

Behind the Elevator #poetry #photography

Beckoned to the mystery

something I might dread

there has to be something

behind the hallway of my head

my finger shudders, lingers

on THE button slowly now

once I press it “Open”

“Close” may not be allowed

my hand makes the decision

reason swirls with dismay

one thing I can tell you

I’ll never be the same

If I told you what I found there

you’d be in a tangle too

but I signed a special paper

you’ll wish in part you knew

the question now arises

where am I am I not

if you knew the answer

you’d stand to lose alot

Wishing all the Poet’s United folks a happy Wednesday and Happy Thanksgiving (for those who are celebrating) and thanks Sumana for the prompt “Hyperbole.”

 

 

Bouquet for Her #poetry #photography

I circled her fresh face with my fingertips

ruby red were her luscious lips

spring her blossom ever green

awaken not from this dream

summer harsh it takes the glow

dew’s gone, nothing will grow

our love languish in her eyes

 robbing heat  I ever despise

colors change,  bouquet of woe

her faded lips her time I know

nothing lasts, she is so pale

catch the fall, of her I’ve failed

 brightens my day

seasons flow like water

can’t catch red petals

Today’s prompt at Poet’s United is Appreciation. I have a recent love of red tulips. Sadly tulips do not last.

Stories in my head #poetry

spillway of imagination

words turbulent and frenzied

the hero anxious in the wings

 villain threatens with aplomb

a hushed sense of what’s next

blood and tears fall

innocence fleas the shadowed way

a woman saves the day

the sun rises all is well

time  is small in my hand

I brandish my weapon

 pen cuts through the marrow

***

Hours with sand and paint

dust particles tease the light

my mind writes

The prompt this week at Poet’s United is Conquest (or Conqueror). The writer holds so much in her hand – the pen a mighty weapon.

 

Cat and Mouse #poetry #deadlines

 

leaving me one morsel

follow affection’s trail

perfect is the trap

“sir, you are no mere cat!”

*

turn from being shunned

closer now you come

sidle Cheshire smile

“sit with me awhile”

*

again, I take the bait

no exit no escape

in your claws another mouse

 so many in this house

***

sand  another wall

this house has endless seasons

a poem on the stairs

This  “Cat” poem (prompted by Poet’s United) was written on the stairs on a scrap of cardboard while I was sanding and prepping something else that doesn’t want to stay attached to my house.

I am nearing completion (next Wednesday my deadline) of a year-long remodel.  I look forward to writing the stories cluttering in my head.