Christmas Rounds
all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child…”*
There comes a moment, Christmas eve,
late at night in our house,
when the little ones sleep
and the packages are set
as well as the plans
The rounds have been made
to gather the gifts
the food is all waiting
to come to the table
and the mother sits
thinking
reviewing
What a swirl of busy-ness
attends the Christmas season!
Practices and pageants
special services at schools and churches
vacations from schools and days off at work
Circling, swirling to this moment
when the mother ponders….
Once a year comes this time
when stores close
cold and silence settle in
The Christmas lights are prolific
shining in the dark night
lawn displays, Christmas trees
the star of David high on buildings
(and still do)
the event that marks our calendars
and our lives
‘O holy night’…
Two seasons lift music
to the highest realms
Christmas, and Easter
voices and orchestras soar
with the greatest offerings known
So, tonight, we pause
recognize
the attraction and bonding
brought by a baby
God’s gift to us
‘Sleep in heavenly peace,
sleep in heavenly peace.’*
Selah,
Lin
Christmas Eve 2011
“Silent Night, Holy Night” (Stille Nacht), Joseph Mohr, Franz Gruber
Streets of Gold
are many changes
Ups and downs and curves abound
Day and night and twilight too
mix the days as we live along
Bits of gold are here and there
but certainly not the norm
as not all that glitters
is really gold
Ah, but life can be good!
Christmas and Easter
Thanksgiving and parades
Graduations and weddings
lace our lives with happiness
Discovering the opposite sex
and all that comes thereafter
can be a life of golden moments
We even cap the 50 years
as ‘golden anniversaries’….
might well be: ‘go for the gold’
at the Olympics
gold measures the mettle, acclaims it proudly
The Good Book paints the picture
of a place of many mansions
and having ‘streets of gold’
Ah, the ending is another beginning
in the twinkling of an eye we are changed!
Take note, please,
we’ve been alerted!
A bride and groom march down the isle!
A baby is born!
There are graduations!
And finally, a celebration of life is held….
Set your sails!
Hold the course!
Head for the streets of gold!
Selah, Lin 1/2012
In memory of Dick Schmall
Wearin’ of the Green
into the mother earth
Moist, warm soil responded,
and soon the kernel was swelling
Life emerging from the heart
a tiny shoot slipped out
and burrowed deeper, ever deeper
another shoot slipped out
to seek the sun
Power up, and power down
mitosis kicking, screaming
not to be denied
the plant emerged, began unfolding
unwrapping leaf after leaf
A farmer kneeling
studying carefully
a doctor in his office
an army in his tool kit, ready,
pronouncing all is well
the landscape changing
noting fields turned green
the comin’ of the green has happened!
A glory to be seen
because it represents
fields of food, and fuel, and fibre
Somewhere a chorus should be singin’
Hallelujahs loud and long
But it’s just quiet
like the farmer
on his knees, thinkin’
bout the wonder of it all….
Lin 5/11/10
Walking with a Friend
is walking with a friend.
Priceless those times
whether in silence
just being together
or in conversation
probing life’s mysteries
sharing joys
sharing pains
sharing being.
Maybe it’s a little bit of heaven
pared down to a pair
Outside oneself
feelings extended
exposed
but safe
Like a snapshot
capturing a moment
can bring a smile
a warm
and they grow more precious
time passing
And maybe that makes heaven
all the more sought
the idea that forever
and ever
and ever
there’ll be no more separation
“Click”
With God
with friends
Selah,
Lin 07/09
Unglorious Mud
in all mankind
and seems condemned to mud
Unglorius mostly
in varying forms
We watch it ooze along
There’s mire that lurks
at every corner
slippery slopes for certain
The pol’s obliged
ankle deep
to walk in troubled waters
then climb atop
a platform high
pontificate to the people
Maybe that’s why
the podium’s there
It hides the sodden shoes
History reads
that most sink down
or so it seems at times
Honest politician?
We sigh or snicker and frown
We desire, we want and hope,
but somehow something happens
Headlines blare
someone’s sinking
someone’s sunk
Mud has won the day
The nasty thing
is found in mirrors
Snoopy nailed it down…
“We have found the enemy,
and it is us!”
For dream as we may
wish as we do
the pols reflect on us…
We raise them
don’t you see
they’re the same as you and me
near four decades ago
when traveling around the state
I visited towns,
looked them over,
then went to see the schools.
Run down towns
had run down schools
you can guess about the students…
But the opposite was true
well kept towns
had well kept schools
it all did fit together
So if we have
our pols in mud
we need to look inside
What do we read?
What do we watch?
What do we tolerate?
Where does our money go?
How do we spend our time?
It doubly hurts
to stop and look
to spend some time reflecting
on where we are
and want to go
and how we might then get there….
Two thousand nine
we have some time
the gifts of today, tomorrow maybe
How will we invest it?
People?
Things eternal?
Your call.
Mine too!
Lin 1/09
Robbie Burns: “O wad some pow’r, the Giftie gie us,
to see oursils, as others see us!”
Buds and Blossoms
has caused a flood of buds
They are thicker than I’ve ever seen them
gracing the yards and streets
Some with fragrant smells
wrapping around a spot
but all with great achievement
a worthy site to ponder
What do they know
kept secret from us?
Will the summer be
a time of abundant fruit?
Or is this just a show
a Hollywood event in color
that will flutter to the floor
cut and cast away
to never be seen any more?
Nature gives us moments
but nature holds the keys
we can but seize the moment
and do our best to capture
Verse, paint, snap a picture,
put it in our memory
but gone it will be
all part of a great design
that leads us to a creator
Whose palette never ends
Sunrise
Sunset
Days of wondrous skies
A lover, a child, a grandchild and more
Ah, all there for us
the Good Book says
to mold our thoughts to recognize
there is a God
and it is not us….
Selah,
Lin 05/08
Romans 11:33-36