Last Blasts
in a grip of ice and iron winds
We, like bits of paper,
are swept across the prairie
looking for a spot of comfort
warmth by our fires now tamed
The soil frozen hard
captive much like us
endure, we think,
for spring is coming
the calendar clicks the days
as we gaze from frosted windows
holding cups of comfort
Bits of snow
bits of ice
the wind so lonesome blows
untapped, except to chill us
through the day it goes
across our country
and out to sea
day after day it comes
Our cars shudder on the freeway
the trucks are tossed aside
and yet it blows
we cannot see or sense
and the wind is towing springtime
from far away to present
the fresh green grass, the flowers
the trees with buds and leaves
the lushest clouds from heaven
so white and pure soft
I can dream of springtime surely
I have seen two thirds a century now
and know it’s coming, coming
But today, toes and fingers aching
nose of brightest red
I’m bundled, leaning
against the wind and cold
dulled, but going
working, but slowly
“Hold on, to the plow!”
Amen.
Lin 2/08
Winter Wonders
to lash the winter plains
they’re a poke in the breadbasket
that feeds the world
Bitter cold
wind, sleet, snow
fight with one another
with us in the miserable middle
O well!
We’re killing bugs!
No kidding!
Insects die by billions
as their eggs freeze and split
decimated, no more!
No one can count them
the victims of the weather
the birds still have plenty to eat
Snow piles higher and higher
school cancelled
activities shunted, other dates
people stock up on groceries
“Hunker down”, advisors say
Plan on staying home
Safety first, of course!
load with salt and fuel
awaiting the calm of afterstorm
Drivers resting, waiting
to go full blast
clearing the roads again
Hardy souls, these people,
who plow our roads
fix our poles and wires
to make us comfy
allow us travel
through all kinds of weather
I know
that like the ants
you’ve ‘gathered in’
supplies to sail on through
Well done! say I,
well done!
Spring is just around the corner!
The days are longer
the hidden sun will come
and chase the snow, the ice away
Once more
gentle, warm breezes will blow
and flowers not their heads
Hang on! Hang on, dear friend!
Best, Lin
Just in Time
is on an edge
where living things are found
Time can move
time can stop
and time can come
in a nick at times too!
Corn is lush
and drinks a lot
so ‘talks’ to us quite loud
Leaves curl up
Spike, we say,
or even turn a scary gray
When it gets dry
and the sun is hot
poor corn is prone to ‘sweat’
a lot
It’s working hard
to grow so fast
broad leaves perspire
The farmer watches
looks for rain
looks again and again
waits
and ‘just in time’
thunderclouds roll
and rain drops fall
Dry soil gulps it in
the plants relax
unfurl their leaves
and ‘off to the races’ they go!
drinking in rain
drinking in plant food
a factory in full swing
racing towards the harvest
How blessed we are, when,
just in time,
the precious rains come down
You’ll find me humming
sometimes singing
happiness overflowing
“In His time,
In His time,
He makes all things beautiful
in His time
Lord please show me every day
as You’re teaching me Your way
That You do just what You say
in Your time.” *
Lin 7/10
*text and music, Diane Ball, Maranatha Music
January Thaw
that happens most every year
Just when winter’s iron grip
seems crushingly stong
The sun comes warm
and the winds die down
temperatures climb over freezing
Ice recedes, snow piles shrink
people shed a layer
A welcome respite
the January Thaw
affording hope of spring
The jet stream shifts
and back again
the arctic winds come blowing
The sun is hiding
dry snow falling
dark at eight in the morning
Cold? 7 above!
People and engines grind with effort
but come to life again
move about, to do their things
in spite of wind and weather
that spring is coming
a minute longer day
a little warmer lower temp
garden catalogs rain on us
there is a certain stirring
Winter’s gray is slipping
soon to go away
pushed by springtime heralds
back again, I say!
Give over, winter!
Come on spring!
Ending January, 09, Lin
Golden Seasoning
that being gold
but give no thought to eating it!
Of prescient note
the color of fall
when some night switches thrown
our world of green
changes clothes
to slip in glowing gold
Soybean fields
their fruits all hidden
shout out the harvest coming
“Gold is hidden here,
beneath our golden leaves!”
Indeed, riches are unfolding
the fruits that open to us
building blocks of proteins
but are no match for beans
Yes, streaks of gold on giant leaves
the corn forests are changing too
Ah, reds and purples
oranges and golds
slipping into tans
All shout beauty
and coming harvest
but I, I choose the gold!
Farmer Warfel, 09/09
God’s Colors
some would say
it’s surely the color gray!
Because there is so much of it!
Say Seattle folks
who number days
until the sun breaks through
Oregon amens
numbs along
waiting for a ‘sunbreak’.
Prairie folks
are rich in gray
as winter grinds along
heavy clouds
frown upon us
sometimes a bit too long
Or could it be, perhaps,
the color blue
because there is so much of it?
The oceans huge
the skies above
who can measure all of that?
Maybe yellow
bright and fair
in flowers or a bird
or Easter dresses
fresh and crisp
delighting those who wear
Forests glens and more
grass forever
in Argentina
golf courses and parks
and yards and pastures
life is hidden there
Red, I’d choose
oh how we use it!
Fire engines
race cars
roses and more
Exciting, to be certain
But, stop and think,
of life’s blood flowing
and of course at last
The sacrifice
atonement
God designed
delivered
in red….
“To God be the glory
great things he has done
So loved he the world
he gave us his son
Who yielded his life
an atonement for sin
and opened the lifegate
that all may go in……” *
*Fanny Crosby, To God Be the Gloryo
Lin 03/09