Fall Reflection
of freshly tilled black soil
the harvest freshly done
the bounty gathered in
the season now, begins again
It’s evening in
the life of a farmer
the year of tilling, planting, tending, harvest done
it could be a time of rest, but not yet
the soil, the mother of it all
needs to be stroked, massaged
before it is laid to rest.
so it can breathe more deeply
receiving the rains of fall
expanding, contracting, with freezing thawing
The Lord God took some dust, some soil,
and shaped it to a man
then breathed into his nostrils
and he became a being
And I?
I breathe in the scent
and wonder
What is man
that God is mindful of him?
Lin 11/07
Black Gold
petroleum is true black gold
Indeed we use it greatly
making a thousand things
It pushes our cars and trucks
millions or billions of miles
carrying us near and far
to places we want to go
But…
(a magnificent word, eh wot?)
But I’m thinking of another
black gold that’s e’en more precious
some walk upon it
plant it, water it, watch it grow
the food we eat
the fibre we wear
and even produce our fuel!
In Champaign County
we have black soil
the richest in the word!
Oh, other places have some too
Of that I’m well aware
but (here’s that word again)
here we mix with other things
that help it reach a peak
We have a government
that helps us to be free
to use it for the best
and reward those who work it
that shapes and molds and makes things better
stretching our minds, and creating structures
that also bless the soil
We have an ethic
brought from abroad
with wave upon wave of people
who sense the good
and make the effort
to travel here to stay
We have religion
that regards each one valued
no matter where they came from
no matter sex or color
Our currency proclaims it
for one and all to see
“In God We Trust’
we’ve built upon
and pledge to keep on building
So many pieces
come together
built upon this soil
Black Gold
Indeed it is!
A wonder to behold!
Best, Lin 11/08
Rain Again…and again…and AGAIN!
Look!
Did you see it?
The word ‘again’?
It’s two words, really:
A
and gain!
Rain is a gain!
The fields are soaking
drinking it in
Not much in ponds
not much in ditches
The soil is ‘talking’
saying ‘It’s okay”.
Are you not busy?
Nothing to do?
Ah, refocus is the word
The world is talking
but you were too busy
to hurried
to hear, to listen
What is being said?
What was being missed?
Two steps back, if you please.
Look a little deeper
Put your feet up
think of the people
and how you can help
on the screen of the needy
Boys with no father
needing some help
Young folks in missions
needing some wisdom
Friends facing challenges
with health or with jobs
Spouses and children
needing some time
The rain draws a line
in the mud, not the sand
and gives us a chance
to re-order our lives.
Reminders come at us
that life is short, precious
limited here, unlimited there
Once again we hear
“Invest yourself in people
‘and in things eternal.”
Selah, LIn 10/09
Radar Soup
sometimes a bit too much!
This morning greens and yellows
swath the screen across the state
heralding rain aplenty again
The picture from my window
bears great resemblance too
The rich black fields in contrast
to the richest green of grass
Thank goodness the purple leaf plum shade
is missing from the map!
And Prairie Fire Crabs in blossom
are missing from the map hooray!
Green and yellow
on radar maps
are quite enough thank you
I’m happy reds are missing
and hope they stay that way
until perhaps a July day
when crops are painfully dry
plan B another day
Not to worry!
I have my books
and favorite magazines
and my machines will have a rest
(not my wife! I’ll be a pest!)
Life can be
a running swirl
but green and yellow
on a map
can make us stop and ponder
We are blessed
in so many ways
It is good, these colors….
Selah, LIn 05/08
David H. Baker
all volunteer
where each soldier carries a sword
Time passing by
each soldier faces a challenge
takes a turn
front and center
They turn and face the troops
and without speaking say
“If you are with me,
take one step forward.”
The brothers and sisters do….
They fall on their knees
open their Bibles
and from their hearts they pray
We come to You
Creator and Giftor of life
We pray for your touch today
Our brother needs you
Lord have mercy upon him
He is a fellow soldier
in your kingdom
Touch him, we pray,
in ways only you can
Separate disease from his body
and grant him life
and may it be
more and more abundantly
Thy will be done, on earth,
in our brother,
as your will is done in heaven
Amen
Prairie Symphony
across the earth in sounds
Copeland out west, perhaps,
Tchaikovsky in Russian war
Operas in Italy and more
Somehow the prairie gets captured
in words, Sandburg and Frost
and folks of their ilk
Just now I invite you to journey
across the seasons, the sounds
of the prairie, my home, yours?
Late fall has a challenge in moving
summer away, winter begins
In the middle the full orchestra plays,
the winds, brass, percussion, strings
So many sounds surround us
Please, settle back, close your eyes
and listen
Wind driven rain
on window and me
sometimes softly, gently
pitter pattering,
drip, drip, dropping
and sometimes exploding
huge splashes and splats
tinged with ice and snow
The prairie is getting a cleansing
and a pasting down for winter
gluing leaves to earth
laying down tall grasses
winds whistle past us this way and that
banging doors, whistling in songs
we know.
Thunder rolls, lightning crashes
cymbals, tympanies, bass drums, snares
wind chimes on the patio hurry
barn walls creak, metal roofs respond
Awesome energies swirl across us
and then comes silence
Winter settles over us
gray days and gray sounds
broken by fireplace sounds
the wood trying its best
to speak to us
tell us
in cracks and pops and hisses
about the years gone by
Ssssssss, listen
Crack! Wake up!
Stoke the fire
and remember the
chop, chop chopping,
the buzz of the chain saw working
The man noises of lifting,carrying, stacking
clunk, clunk, clunk, the rick is built and waiting
Early morning barn noises remembered
cattle feet shuffling
animals munching, eating
sounds of milk in metal pails
the cats meowing, begging
then the pigs squealing, pushing
each other to get some more
The chickens greeting grandma
as she scatters feed amongst them
Later morning finds us grinding feed
high pitched whines and tractor humming
hymns of life, eating
new life sounds fill the air again
Little lambs bleating for mamas
calm ewes answering assurance
A foal whinnying somewhere,
then running and suckling a mare
Song birds returning
are the predawn greeting choir
chattering away so busy
fluttering wing sounds in the trees
as the sun peeks up
Trucks and trains get busy
bringing fuels and plant food
moving seeds to plant the fields
The prairie sounds are eager
to comb the earth, enfolding seeds
hurry, hurry, hurry
A blink or two and summer
surrounds in sounds of bugs
tiny whines, buzzing, scratching
listen carefully, they’re all around
Song birds have concerts in the garden
Enjoying the flowers blooming
splashing in their birdbaths, happy
then announcing ‘Cat!” and fleeing
but not far, just up high, watching, talking
Children laughing, yelling,
playing in the pool
Boys and girls splashing
“Marko!” yells one in game mode.
“Polo” yells another moving
Splash! as someone plunges deep
Sounds of friends in the backyard picnics
The murmuring of men
talking about crops, weather, markets
the higher pitched voices of ladies
talking about recipes and kids and growing
Quiet, a prayer offered in thanks
for the blessings of it all
So soon the summer wanes
the trees, the leaves, the crops
wave us into fall…again!
My words have touched so lightly
on the sounds of the seasons here
We’ll need to come again
to sift and sort and savor
creation, the symphony playing
Selah, Lin Thanksgiving 2010