WhiteOut
has been pulled o’er the farm
nothing afar can be seen
just white, and more white
We are likely attuned
to thinking not seeing
in full and complete darkness
But nature has her way
today
we can’t see in whiteness!
Those long lived
have borne witness
to puzzles uncounted
We have gazed and pondered
how earth and we
came to be
We are prone to draw lines
divide the days, the years
into neat little segments
nature has ways
to cover the lines
turn our whole world white
then melt the white away
are in people
where from time to time
the world disappears
except for special ones
a spouse, a child
a loved one so precious
the world goes away
but just like the snow
those moments melt
to be remembered
savored
as long as we live
Can we capture and hold
those moments so treasured?
Put them down in lasting ways?
And if we do
will someone someday regard them
ponder them with equal wonder
What was so special?
They might say
We like the snow
cover the earth
but just for a day
Selah, Lin 02/08
The World of Blather
and talks a lot
gathering far and near
to hear a lot of…
Blather!
Oceans are filled
with words said hastily
mountains and mountains built
of words
Searching for substance
is quite a quest
amongst the slippery slopes
But I learned very early
to watch my step
when walking in the pasture
The best right now
that I can discern
is that they care a lot
Night and day
every way they can think of
the go and go and go
to drop exhausted
then rise again
whirling along their way
Hands reach out
to grasp, to touch their hands
to be the ones standing near
Why, I remember
as a child
being near a man called Truman
His train was stopped
two blocks from my house
so a crowd quickly gathered
His voice, his manner
were kind of jumpy
jerky, some would say
I’d come to like him
when I grew up.
Straight talk!
The buck stops here!
is now our lot
as to the ballot we go
to stand becurtained
all alone
and make our choices there
Some are easy
they’ve offended in some way
but then it gets hard
cause none are perfect
It’s simply not to be
for they’re like us
a fallen lot
in need of saving grace
God Bless America
Please and again!
Lin Primary Day in Illinois 08
The Incredible Workshop
<
this workshop has produced
If you are one of those
who is ‘outcomes based’
A treat is in store for you here!
The shelves and drawers are full
tools of the trade are in waiting
for the five generations who’ve labored herein
Some of the tools are history
some are very recent
But every one, has current use, productive
The window looks out to a farm
livestock and crops are grown
feeding the families
feeding the world
Out there the soil is tilled
opened to awesome production
ever increasing in output, yield
Inside the window is art
cabinets sculpted just so
countertops defined by use
appliances to help create, and serve
Herein hands, hearts, minds and spirits work
In communion creating dishes of food
of colors and texture and taste
Think apple pie fresh from the oven
grandma’s rolls
pot roasts and trimmings savored aromas
early morning coffee
the clatter and chattering of lunch times
the busyness of holiday gatherings
grandma, daughters, and grand daughters together,
grandpa, sons, and grandsons together
where the telephone rings
and words go forth
where plans are made
hashed and rehashed
where dishes are used
washed and put in waiting
Oh, the sacks that are carried in
and the garbage carried out!
all to enable the family going, doing
here on the farm
and out, and about
I hope some memories have come to you
in my musings here
You provide the faces
in their specific places
in your particular kitchen
Remember the laugher
and the tears
Remember the pleasant chatter
that happens through the years
The colors, textures, arrangements
of particular times and dishes
prepared, and served
to the ones you hold special
Selah, Lin 8/10
The Friendly Tidal Waves
when the harvest is ripe
to the task, oriented
The friends arrive
and set to the task
harvest, 2011
Wave after wave
they work
running the big machines
pouring grain into trucks
and into bins
food for the many
fuel for some
and fiber for others
The farm population swells
ever so briefly
as corn fields signal
breezes waving the tall summer bronzed stalks
slipping away the kernels
against the coming winter
Long days in the fields
machines laboring hour after hour
the men and women cling to their tasks
until the last fruits are captured
stored
O dark thirty finds the folks
gathered at harvest tables
bowls of food passing
events of the day shared
feet under the tables
true friends
sharing the fuel for tomorrow
and tomorrow
field after field
yielding the fruits of labors
challenges met and conquered
moving on
The day comes for parting hugs
and quiet comes to the farm
Peace, after the hurried days
rest
the season past
The planting and the harvest
and again the soil, the sun, the rain, the farmers have communed
Nature, and nature’s God again have blessed
hunger pushed back another year
The friendly tidal waves
have been here
and the golden sun sets again
slipping away towards winter
When peace, like a river,
attends our way
and we reflect
it has been good…
again…
Selah, lin, harvest 2011
to Bruce and Linda Koe, who ride the friendly tidal waves
That Would Be a Yes!
And it is good to have all the corn planted!
And it is good to receive a blessing rain!
Gentle. Soft.
Whispering down on the rich black soil.
Soaking down to bathe the seeds…
Can you picture a perfect bath?
Settling down into soothing warm water.
Leaning back, settling in, relaxing.
The seeds are sons and daughters
products of the generations
Sifted, sorted, chosen carefully,
genes on the racetrack starting line
What looks to be a lifeless grain
is waiting to explode!
An awesome ‘click’
when elements combine:
warmth and water, and a little time
Life bursts forth in a tiny shoot
pushing to the light
A farmer blessed!
Connecting dots galore
Hungry people and those who help
celebrating planting tomorrow’s food
Not to mention
a little rest
repairing of machines
moving again to the starting line
to plant ‘the other crop’.
Selah!
Lin 05/09
Corn planted, soybeans to follow!
ThanksGiving
could measure up
to the heights of our blessings received
The power of suns rising
matched in a Savior rising
opening heaven’s doors for us
The power in our air
the pungent scent of spring plowed soil
the clean breath of summer rain
the labored odor of oil and fuel and grain
of leaves in fall, burning brightly
of crispness with the frost
through the seasons reminding
creator and created
The mysteries of discovery
there all the time
waiting, just waiting,
for us to recognize
nano and pico
to numbers to big
again and again
now seeing the pathways
created and being
to grow in our thanksgiving
to offer praise and stop
reflect
on the wonder of it all…
“Summer and winter
springtime and harvest
sun moon and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.”*
Lin 11/07