I’m full
in body, brain and soul
this week
and can’t seem to complete
a writing
to my satisfaction.
Also,
I’ve been binge watching Scandal,
and hours intended
for line and meter
have been swept away
in guilty pleasure.
Forgive me.
I shall return
to my post
soon,
refreshed.
image: Olivia Pope, Scandal.
When I was a child
Easter was a happy holiday
of bright brass and new cotton.
Colored eggs in crackled shades
of purple, salmon and teal
filled and fed our nest,
and end tables were fit
with crystal bowls
of jelly beans and pastel mint wafers.
Candy filled baskets
lined with crinkled green grass
were found before church,
and I’d wear white gloves
with ivory patent leathers,
admiring my spring dress all day.
Family would come over for brunch
bearing blue hydrangea
and fruit salad,
eager to be together
and talk of good things.
Blood and thorns were put away,
and gladness would rise
indeed
over pork and pink applesauce.
And though I didn’t yet understand
the cup of His suffering,
I was made new.
“Take with you the joy of Easter to the home, and make that home bright with more unselfish love, more hearty service…” – John Ellerton
An earlier version of this post had greater reference to Gethsemane. Here is the image and verse that went with it:
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matt 26:39)
images: goforfun.com.au, Jesus Praying in the Garden
wicker lamp
and florence dome
charcoal chaise
and amber tone
accent red
a printed grace
cabinet white
for plate and vase
footballs lined
on highest shelf
wire bin
of paint and brush
wedding trays
and summer stems
swaddle cloths
and favorite pens
antique buttons
three tiered stand
treasure box
of rubber bands
lord be with us
in this spring
to move and set
too many things
circumstance
the tasks pursued
to further mine
and thine
to You.
Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged by the size of the task, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the LORD is finished correctly. – 1 Chronicles 28:20
image: spoonfulofimagination.com
let go of the task
and relinquish your aim
leave message and room
unsent and untamed
pass over prep
and ignore chime and bell
quiet your will
and your work
and be still
the hour is here
of witching and test
the minutes have come
to unhinge and unrest
best to give in
to toddler and kid
lie on the floor
and flop like a squid
put secrets in pockets
of lions and queens
lift high on your legs
like an airplane might be
whisper of guts
in a sloped blanket fort
and help them to lose
and to win like a sport
the last of your list
will keep until morn
choose ease for the eve
to refuel and restore.
(and if the must dos
cannot be delayed
be patient and bribe
for sanity’s sake)
Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children. – Chuck Swindoll
And a few verses…
image: The Belly’s Ocean by Matt Rota
I never really wrote
or received
letters.
By the time I was old enough,
correspondence via post was mostly over.
My generation put down pen and page
and began to share life digitally.
Of course,
I wrote and received
notebooks of notes in school
from girlhood comrades
and poured over puzzling punctuation
in my yearbook
from lamborghini loving boys.
But not day to day letters,
like my mother received
from her mother Dolly
about lazy days of Florida rest
or holiday turkey scandals (dry).
I resolve and conceive a lot
in writing and reading,
both in my head and in my heart.
And so perhaps I think I’m behind
in my intellectual and emotional sorting.
And that’s one reason
I write poems and brief writings ~
so that I may catch up
to where I might be
in a world still with letters.
I didn’t attend the funeral,
but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it. – Mark Twain
What a lot we lost when we stopped writing letters. – Liz Carpenter
One of my favorite historical letters, written by American Civil War officer Sullivan Ballou to his wife Sarah, can be viewed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sullivan_Ballou
image: Mark Twain, 1835-1910, biography.com
It’s true I see him mostly in summer,
and so our reunion is in warm weather.
He is waiting with our people
at a round table with open chairs,
asking questions with no corners,
and responding with no slip slope.
He is dapper in a crisp polo
and pressed pleated shorts,
his tennis shoes ever white.
And when I come in he grins,
his downturned smile playing at suppression,
his boyish and mischievous humor
bursting to share the good joke.
And I laugh out loud for no reason but joy.
I am so very glad to see him.
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. – 1 Corinthians 16:13-14
For my amazing & beloved Uncle Ken, 1933-2014
Brit the Bright
and Psalmist Sam
Emmie Emerald
Giving Graham
Ruby Railroad
Funny Fred
Gorgeous Grace
and Too Tall Ted
George the Good
and Prairie Paul
Tinker Tess
and Sailing Saul
Faithful Fi
and Get ‘Em Gil
Cloudy Cole
and June Bug Jill
Peter Painter
Piano Peg
Looping Lyle
and Marvel Meg
each retells
ten times again
the Courage kept
by Katheryn.
These things I have spoken to you,
that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation,
but take courage; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33
https://www.facebook.com/caringforKatheryn
Rise up Katheryn! xo
thimble berry
pocket stones
daylight tale
and tweedle tones
cedar aisle
birch tree maids
nearby creek
to gurgle praise
flute and string
a granite chair
lupine waltz
in open air
conceive a day
of leaf and lace
a wild tender
tonic place.
We wake, if ever at all, to mystery. – Annie Dillard
image: our Susie Blythe, by De La Vue Photography
March is coming,
and with it spring,
blooms will break the snow;
and we, my mate
will celebrate
the new and all that grows.
Yet did we live in winter?
Reach, make ground, and love?
Or did we often wait and yearn
for progress from above?
Surely gifts were put aside,
we missed potential light;
much that God intended
in these months of longer nights.
Weeks are left
to prosper still,
Let’s vow to stop delay
on all our Father longs for us
to realize on our way.
And when the spring is fully here
our work will open wide
every door and window
to the house where He resides.
Perhaps I will stay with you for a while,
or even spend the winter,
so that you can help me on my journey,
wherever I go. – 1 Corinthians 16:6
image: “Spring Flower and Snow” by George Hodan
rosy bottles
yellow boat
grapefruit half
oboe note
kiss and blush
violet moon
flour smudge
lake and loon
telling look
sushi bite
funny fooling
speckled light
lovely things
the poet pens
none I love
as you, my friend
Two are better than one. Ecclesiastes 4:9
SILVER PENNIES 
