The Rain Came…Late
hot and dry
thirsty people
thirst crops
thirsty lawns, flora and fauna
Drought, they called it
and there we were
United there
town and gown
and country folk
farmers and sidewalk pounders alike
And then the rains came
soft and gentle
soothing all
the crops and people
great full thank full
once again
the grass was green
the crops did what they could
their season was ending
for some was over
but on that final edge
the crops drank in
did what they could
to yield their fruits for us
Farmers have
a lot of habits
maybe in our genes
but in our culture
One habit being
in three dimensions:
remember back
bout previous years
study what’s at hand
and plan for next year
always three
Tuned in to nature
God’s creation
the picture always in motion
meet the challenge
happy to think ‘next year’
This rain is part
of next year’s plan
which started in past summer
The rain came late,
but early too
Now winter’s cold is coming
and we must run
to do our best
harvest what we have
Squeeze it for good prices
Soon to settle in
beside our hearth
and swap our cherished surmises!
Lin 09/08
Summer Rain*
the summer rains come and go
A lightning show
with rolling thunder
clouds piled higher than mountains
and winds that gust
all bow down to rain
When plants and people
begin to notice
supply is running low
they pause, look up,
are reminded
how small our efforts are
The lightning, thunder,
clouds and wind
are out of our control
So too, is rain
whether more or less
we can ask
that’s all
Interesting that,
the Good Book says,
God caused a mist to rise up
then created rain
followed by plants and…man
In the communion therein
we live today
rain, and plants, and man
to watch, and grow, and be
Oh, study, yes we do,
and often do discover
hidden layers of creation
only to find
another layer
and another
with Preacher Nygren
wherever we focus
study deeper and deeper
it leads us back to God
Let us be tender
with plants and people
let us be tender towards rain
and let us be tender
towards the God
who sends it
again
and again
The thunder rolls
across the prairie
The sky is darkened blue and gray
Rain begins to fall
dancing on the sidewalk
playing a tune on the metal shop roof
It soaks the rich black soil
bringing to a sheen and shine
the gift of earth and life.
Water draws us all together
in many different ways
each human has to have it
indeed it’s part of our conception
and pre-birth in the womb
And we need it, use, daily all our lives.
When raindrops fall
to cover all
We need some recognition
I urge you pause
reflect
and celebrate
the gift of earth and life….
Romans: 1:20
*Lin 04/06
See The Children
it’s so easy to stop and watch
but so seldom done…
Children, around the world,
at play, no matter where
adapting to their place
some climbing trees
(to read a book, or play Tarzan/Jane)
some running, chasing
a bird, a bee, a butterfly
or a dog or cat perhaps
Sometimes serious
sometimes so happy
their laughter fills the air
Grandparents get to watch
A comfortable chair
in a spot of shade
no hurry to go or do
just watch, and savor
little ones right now
knowing, they will grow quickly
Maybe they are our gauge
of how things really are
like the butterflies
so dependent on a just so environment
they reflect the good and bad
honest to the core
some are just plain fat
some are stuck inside
glued to screens of various sorts
and some are out and playing
“Imagination. More powerful than knowledge”
Einstein said a while ago….
And that is where the small ones live.
A bedroom monster
under the bed
Harry Potter
flying in their heads
Good angels, bad angels
far away places
where it snows in summer
or planes fly so high
or ships plough the waters
and it’s okay to ask,
some hundred million times:
“Why?”
Somewhere in our world
we need that chair
that shady spot
to sit down and watch
to study and see
all the world’s children
How are they doin?
And do our best
to keep the good things
and work to fix
what could be better.
Selah, Lin 07/08
First Day of the Week
The garbage man just came!
The dumpster of living refuse gone
I can begin again, dear Finnigin!
Through the week I toil and sweat
fixing this and that
making and building all sorts of things
and then there’s ‘stuff left over
Flotsum jetsum whatever you call
it things not worthy of keep
so into the dumpster they go
perhaps ‘the American Way’
In the simple ways
of long ago
or Amish living today
recycling goes on daily
with only a squeal left over
Experience is a teacher
when food fiber and fuel are scarce
things get used and used again
‘then fixed for almost forever
Not so, in America today,
we build to throw away
when the shine comes off
We enshrine in plastic
more and more
then buy strong shears
to break the box
throwing more away
and swallows the trash
in gulps ever growing larger
Trash haulers love us
get bigger trucks
compactors on wheels
streaming our alleys daily
We’re tidy, though,
by eventide
the refuse is covered up
valleys full
we just move on
trains and barges rolling out
farther and farther from the towns
I love my dumpster
I don’t want to think
about the enormity of it all
the garbage heap
the garbage mountain
the earth becoming level
valleys gone
all filled up
with the refuse of us all.
Lin 07/08
Bread and Soil…
all created
mixed together just right Water, flour, yeast
joining chemistry together as the hands, the fingers, roll and squeeze and shape roll and squeeze and shape
Somewhere a man, a woman
kneads some special soil
Ingredients measured
all created
mixed together just right
joining chemistry together
the hands, the fingers, knead and mix
knead and mix
preparing for seeds or flower
As time goes by
secrets unfold
at first we watch
but then dig deeper
“What happens when…”?
We want to know
Tools are born to help us
Magnify, more and more
we gaze ever deeper, deeper
discovering more, seeking more
the things that are there,were there
all the time
We see patterns – created? designed?
Finer and finer we study’
each discovery a ‘wow’!
and man became a living being.”
What is it draws mankind to the soil again?
What deep down longing’s satisfied in
kneading, shaping, soil or bread planting seed or flower?
We wonder.
Fresh baked bread aroma…
Summer rain on garden soil…
We touch the warm brown crust
We hold a fruit or flower
Enfold a tiny child to us?
Glimpses come
then whisk away
Little bits of heaven?
Is there somewhere, ‘out there’?
It all is brought together:
Instead of ‘seeing through a glass dimly’
We’ll see all, face to face…
Lin 1/3/09
Capturing
a thousand little pictures
of people growing up
Thoughts
Actions
Smiles and frowns
Quizzical
‘Thinking’
The pictures slip on past
some, hopefully captured
in still frames on some paper
Who knows?
Some day they might be captured on pages of the months
riding atop some 35 squares the month and year somewhere
in a mother’s heart on pages written well
Sculpted like the little ones in mind and body, spirit too Forever in each other
precious
molding the meaning of life
Happy New Year, mom!
Grandpa W.
1/09