The Wonder of It All
The setting
a terminal moraine
south of Philo
center of the universe
for an interesting group of people
A clearing in the woods
just happened
as trees have been planted
over thirty years passing
But a just right space
on a just right summer’s day
as the setting for beauty unfolded
A bride, a groom, and guests
Honor bestowed
to brides, now mothers
escorted with care
to the honored seats
Dads are tag alongs
in more ways than one
on wedding days
Gotta be there
on best behavior
but kept out of the way
Except the bride’s dad, father
gets to escort his daughter
and give her away
one last kiss
one enormous passing
closing, partly
what a challenge
Reflections fly
as he remembers
a couple of decades in a flash
Feeling her first movements
before her birth
and then the birth
so grand, so impossible
but oh so real
a terminal moraine
south of Philo
center of the universe
for an interesting group of people
A clearing in the woods
just happened
as trees have been planted
over thirty years passing
But a just right space
on a just right summer’s day
as the setting for beauty unfolded
A bride, a groom, and guests
Honor bestowed
to brides, now mothers
escorted with care
to the honored seats
Dads are tag alongs
in more ways than one
on wedding days
Gotta be there
on best behavior
but kept out of the way
Except the bride’s dad, father
gets to escort his daughter
and give her away
one last kiss
one enormous passing
closing, partly
what a challenge
Reflections fly
as he remembers
a couple of decades in a flash
Feeling her first movements
before her birth
and then the birth
so grand, so impossible
but oh so real
Holding her close
tiny little person
studying her face
her fingers and toes
her eyes and eyelashes
watching her breathe
and watching her first protestations
Good lungs!
Born with a temper!
So at peace
as she slept
her face nestled
her body so relaxed
rocked to sleep
but dad not wanting to put her down
Another sunny morning
Saturday
tossing a ball back and forth
and running a race
she laughed so hard as she ran
and passed me up!
Seated tensely on her new bike
dad’s hand on the seat, steadying
he trotted along for a ways
and then set her free
the first of many ‘letting goes’
The dad says his lines:
‘Her mother, and I.”
Oh, the wonder of it all
generations passing
a baby makes a little noise somewhere
grandma and grandpas focus keenly
couples in the audience clasp each others hands
remembering, savoring the moments
Ceremony and reception over,
the newly weds drive away,
honeymooners, at last alone…
together
Selah, Lin 8/2014
tiny little person
studying her face
her fingers and toes
her eyes and eyelashes
watching her breathe
and watching her first protestations
Good lungs!
Born with a temper!
So at peace
as she slept
her face nestled
her body so relaxed
rocked to sleep
but dad not wanting to put her down
Another sunny morning
Saturday
tossing a ball back and forth
and running a race
she laughed so hard as she ran
and passed me up!
Seated tensely on her new bike
dad’s hand on the seat, steadying
he trotted along for a ways
and then set her free
the first of many ‘letting goes’
The dad says his lines:
‘Her mother, and I.”
Oh, the wonder of it all
generations passing
a baby makes a little noise somewhere
grandma and grandpas focus keenly
couples in the audience clasp each others hands
remembering, savoring the moments
Ceremony and reception over,
the newly weds drive away,
honeymooners, at last alone…
together
Selah, Lin 8/2014
Sustainable Farming
Just right tall
lush and dark green
a picture of health
and productivity
A child of success
the corn plant stood
food factory, par excellance
From one tiny seed
six hundred grew
a hundred day miracle
of science, environment, and work
A symphony American
genetics, engineering, machinery,
ethics and government
conducted by a people, a nation
So, the single farmer
supported by family
and a host of helpers off the farm
feeds himself, and 155 others
lush and dark green
a picture of health
and productivity
A child of success
the corn plant stood
food factory, par excellance
From one tiny seed
six hundred grew
a hundred day miracle
of science, environment, and work
A symphony American
genetics, engineering, machinery,
ethics and government
conducted by a people, a nation
So, the single farmer
supported by family
and a host of helpers off the farm
feeds himself, and 155 others
Freedom, with ethics
core values triumphant
year after year after year
we are blessed
So here we are
breadbasket
heartland
family farm
pausing, reflecting
at the wonder of it all!
The Doxology comes to mind:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Selah,
Lin 8/2014
core values triumphant
year after year after year
we are blessed
So here we are
breadbasket
heartland
family farm
pausing, reflecting
at the wonder of it all!
The Doxology comes to mind:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Selah,
Lin 8/2014
Summer Rain
A distant rumble
Darkening sky
The birds fluttering for a haven
Big drops splash here and there
Let the big show begin!
Darkening sky
The birds fluttering for a haven
Big drops splash here and there
Let the big show begin!
Now thunder rolling
Lightning cracking, sizzling
The clouds unload, raindrops pounding
Leaves doing a panic dance
Puddles forming gutters gurgling
A car splashes past
Wipers pounding back and forth in vain
The soil drinks deeply
Soaking up the rain like a sponge
To hold in trust for our plants
To store down deep for our wells
To recycle back through evaporation
Soaking up the rain like a sponge
To hold in trust for our plants
To store down deep for our wells
To recycle back through evaporation
We, being two thirds water
Are made to sing and dance
At the wonder of it all
Selah Lin July 2014
The Screened Porch
An evening on the prairie
Sun sinking a way out west
A cool gentle breeze swishing the corn leaves
And a comfortable chair on the screened porch
My shirt still wet from the evening’s work
Tiredness melting away with the breeze
Reflect on life
And blessings
Sun sinking a way out west
A cool gentle breeze swishing the corn leaves
And a comfortable chair on the screened porch
My shirt still wet from the evening’s work
Tiredness melting away with the breeze
Reflect on life
And blessings
The rich black soil that gives and sustains
The family
The Lord is good
Friends, near and far
Our church and churches
The flotilla of organizations, that reach out, reach in
Education, that lifts
Research, that unfolds. Reveals creation
A government, that lurches and stumbles
Yet somehow, with God’s grace
Goes on
Two steps forward and three back
Then four steps forward and two back
Yet somehow, with God’s grace
Goes on
Two steps forward and three back
Then four steps forward and two back
The mate, best friend 52 years…
And counting.
Here we are
Summer
Year of our Lord
2014
Selah. Lin. June is waning…
Rain, Rain, and More Rain
Rain, rain and more rain
soggy earth saturated
the crops stand and take it
Creation sent the glaciers:
Nebraskan, Aftonian, Kansan, Yarmouth, Illinois and Sangamon,
the pressed their weight on the face of the earth
and ironed it flat through here
So we’re flat!
So flat the water stands
no direction bidding, calling
We await the sun to evaporate
time to soak down down down
to become an aquafer, Mahomet Teays
Up north I hear of rivers flooding
lakes overflowing
on to the mighty Mississippi
Old Man River
that living twisting water snake
that sends our waters south
The thunder softens
moves on east
the pinging rain drops slow
and we Splash Splash across the barn lot
soggy earth saturated
the crops stand and take it
Creation sent the glaciers:
Nebraskan, Aftonian, Kansan, Yarmouth, Illinois and Sangamon,
the pressed their weight on the face of the earth
and ironed it flat through here
So we’re flat!
So flat the water stands
no direction bidding, calling
We await the sun to evaporate
time to soak down down down
to become an aquafer, Mahomet Teays
Up north I hear of rivers flooding
lakes overflowing
on to the mighty Mississippi
Old Man River
that living twisting water snake
that sends our waters south
The thunder softens
moves on east
the pinging rain drops slow
and we Splash Splash across the barn lot
The cattle stood out in the rain
heads down, rumps to the wind
now steam rolls off their backs
as the sun shines on their glistening black hides
Their munching away begins again
Does the grass taste better
like salad washed and fresh
I wonder
Sometimes I wish that I
could stand impervious, oblivious
to the cold splashing raindrops
water dripping off my nose
Yet I know I’m made
fragile, sensitive
with a brain that says: “Don’t do that!”
“Seek Shelter!”
“You are the crown of creation”.
The fragrance after the rain I know
the colors of all that surrounds me are vivid
Life on high
I nestle under the wings
of creation, Creator
Selah, Lin June 2014
heads down, rumps to the wind
now steam rolls off their backs
as the sun shines on their glistening black hides
Their munching away begins again
Does the grass taste better
like salad washed and fresh
I wonder
Sometimes I wish that I
could stand impervious, oblivious
to the cold splashing raindrops
water dripping off my nose
Yet I know I’m made
fragile, sensitive
with a brain that says: “Don’t do that!”
“Seek Shelter!”
“You are the crown of creation”.
The fragrance after the rain I know
the colors of all that surrounds me are vivid
Life on high
I nestle under the wings
of creation, Creator
Selah, Lin June 2014
The Mountains Between Us
Nature has so many built in things
that can divide, separate us
Where we happen to be born
The parents, and all their learned differences
The circumstances, so varied yet important
Our feet get put on Life’s Highway
and we travel on
Left to see…or not
Hear…or not…
Touch…or not.
So we cling to our ‘own kind’
and the comfort of sameness
living in the valleys
between the towering mountains
How to melt the mountains?
How to level them out
so that we can be
what we are meant to be
Find a link, then another
that reaches across
above and beyond
and hold on
adding link after link after link
A rope of many fibers
cannot be broken
Caring is lifted up, held forth
but, I offer to you,
caring needs to be built on something
and that’s where education comes to help us
stretching us more and more and more
in ways we thought ‘Impossible!”
that can divide, separate us
Where we happen to be born
The parents, and all their learned differences
The circumstances, so varied yet important
Our feet get put on Life’s Highway
and we travel on
Left to see…or not
Hear…or not…
Touch…or not.
So we cling to our ‘own kind’
and the comfort of sameness
living in the valleys
between the towering mountains
How to melt the mountains?
How to level them out
so that we can be
what we are meant to be
Find a link, then another
that reaches across
above and beyond
and hold on
adding link after link after link
A rope of many fibers
cannot be broken
Caring is lifted up, held forth
but, I offer to you,
caring needs to be built on something
and that’s where education comes to help us
stretching us more and more and more
in ways we thought ‘Impossible!”
So we have Grey’s Anatomy,
a huge thick book
of all the parts
that work, and we live
for a moment
Graduations are toppings on our cakes
Yes, the cake’s been in the oven baking!
Ingredients pouring in, mixing, then into the oven
the time elapses, a buzzer sounds
and we pop open the door
heat pours out!
We set the cake out to cool
(how many of you are taking a break?)
Now comes the icing
What will you do?
Where will you do it?
With whom?
You have been prepared
and the doors are open
Go forth
and do your part
to bring down the mountains between us
Risk, reflect, and invest in people and things eternal!
Selah,
Lin Warfel, May 2014
Frank Walker’s Graduation
a huge thick book
of all the parts
that work, and we live
for a moment
Graduations are toppings on our cakes
Yes, the cake’s been in the oven baking!
Ingredients pouring in, mixing, then into the oven
the time elapses, a buzzer sounds
and we pop open the door
heat pours out!
We set the cake out to cool
(how many of you are taking a break?)
Now comes the icing
What will you do?
Where will you do it?
With whom?
You have been prepared
and the doors are open
Go forth
and do your part
to bring down the mountains between us
Risk, reflect, and invest in people and things eternal!
Selah,
Lin Warfel, May 2014
Frank Walker’s Graduation