Strange Brew
We struggle to stay dry in rain and dew and humidity
Then jump into a pool or lake or gulf or ocean
We snuggle in our beds delighting in a bit more sleep then rise, stiff and sore from staying there too long
We spend a lot of time a lot of money too
for entertainment big and small that disappears like magic
A really fine dinner finished the last piece of an apple pie is certainly the best piece ever so we pause, debating, “Do I eat it now?”
Eliminating suspense, or do the logical thing
and leave it ’til I’m hungry?
A man and woman marry
and spend the years a talkin’
observing, reflecting, commenting about
a thousand million things
Then reach a time of silence
just sitting with each other
passing memories between each other
somehow without talking
their spirits having become one
body, mind, and spirit
a chip
one might say
off the old block
on a journey measured
by a little piece of time
The body made from dust will one day return to same
the mind may leave a trail in pages pictures kept
the spirit moves into another realm about which we get but glimpses
Loving long
becoming one with another may be one page, one picture of that spirit world we go to
All I know for certain is that it is good to wonder
Selah, Lin 09/08
Riding on the Wings
can make some tough trips smoother
Somehow things go better
riding on the wings of prayer
I know it’s so, you see,
as I recently did
Drove fourteen hundred miles
smoother than you can believe
Concern, big time,
was in the seat beside me
A big thing, concern
about a daughter being challenged
‘Auto-immune disease’
the doctors call it
and indeed it is a challenge
a lot of “I don’t know’ in there
Mile after mile, I went
wide awake and alert
hour after hour, I went
moving with the traffic
so I drive a lot
most of it 5 miles per
So thruway speeds
are exhilarating
and the scenery constantly changing
not like a half mile field.
As time goes by
sleepy is normal
so my feet go up
and I quick nap
especially after lunch
Not so, riding on wings
prayer lifting me up
I’m wide awake and alert!
But wait, there’s more!
Indeed, God answers prayer!
At journey’s end
He is there and we realize
He was there, all of the time!
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow,
and thanksgiving to those who pray
lifting us up, so we can
ride on the wings of prayer.
Selah, Lin 5/10
Tall, Tall Cotton
a strange thing happens
Men wear gowns
as well as women
Cued they come to take their seats
Strange hats with tassels
gowns all pressed just so
The end of a journey, they sit
Dignitaries gather
up high on a stage
Folks with titles
Offices gained
they look upon the graduates
they look upon the families and friends
Tall, tall cotton graduation day
graduation ceremonies
Lifetime memories marking
Time was,
I wore the gowns
graduated
but I came back
to do it again, and again
Maybe 40 more or so
I’ve been there
now on the officer side
Trustee
Chairman of the Board
I shake their hands
“Congratulations!”
“Well done!” I say.
Four hundred at a clip.
Of all these times
one stands out
with very special meaning.
There is a young lady
I watched grow up
along with siblings three
Actually, I remember her parents getting married
It’s been a while ago….
Beautiful child
beautiful young lady
but that’s not half the story
beyond the thousands I’ve seen
She is tall, tall cotton
Now I’m a farmer
to be sure
Growing crops for 50 years
I know what happens
to grow a crop
the things that come together
must
to get to that point
when the growing crop
is splendid
just before the harvest
Thinking, planning, doing,
working hard and tending
sticking with it, thick or thin
and then, sometimes,
it happens:
Tall, tall cotton
Came together
a thousand things
Blessing and my work
A joy to be noted
the special crop
the abundant harvest done
So she came, Suzanna,
across the stage that evening
Yes, beautiful young lady, outside,
but oh the measure inside
Tall, tall cotton
crossing the stage
shaking the hands proffered
Diploma signed, sealed, now delivered
“Congratulations!”
“Well done!”
Hugs to follow soon.
For just that moment
I got to share
with that field of tall, tall cotton
I’ll remember, cherish
the graduate
who moved the bar so high
so few will ever reach it
Selah, Lin 5/10
After the Storm
the trees shook and pieces of leaves flew
branches broke and came crashing down
barn doors bent and strained against the strength
lightning crashed and thrashed about
stinging particular areas
leaving chunks of bark
scattered far
and an electric smell particular
thunder rolled and rumbled loud
then rumbled loudly again
at last
rain soaked world
was quiet again
and the sun came out so clear, so bright
survey the fields
the wet grass soaks my shoes
and mud, sweet mud is all around
I could almost hear
the thirsty plants
drinking deeply the fine cool water
the air rich
with cleansed aroma
and the world right again
balance
as we crave it
comes between
the rain and drought and keeps us
on our toes, or on our knees
in humble adoration
of the beauty, of creation
oh, how awesome!
Lin 07/05
The Olde Barn
a first on the farm
was the income producer the proud new barn
Rising stick by stick
skilled hands hewed, pegged
put together the skeleton
then roof and siding and more
a little room for tack
a little room for special feed
a little room for tools and a vice
stanchions for the cows
who would stand and munch while we milked
and a giant space for hay
Oh the memories piling with the hay!
Playing in the mountain
with grandpa far below
a fell into a cavity
I could see the top way up
and yelled for grandpa
He heard me and came quickly
dropping a rope down to me
pulling me up and out
(I still get claustrophobic!)
Another time I climbed the ladder
to throw down hay for the cows
just about dark, it was
As I reached the upper floor
two red beady eyes,
and a big mouth of sharp teeth greeted me
I yelled and raced down and out
to grandpa’s laughter
A possum had run me off!
Another time I tried to help
Grandpa had a brand new pitchfork
he only had half broken tools
I was working with the hay
most awkwardly
the handle being for a grown man
and me but a small boy
So I used my brain and thought
“Saw in the tool room, vice to hold the handle”
and I cut the handle to my size.
but never said a word
’cause my motive was pure-
it was for WORK
a religion of sorts.
The stories are many
I sure could go on
about life in the barn
I need to write that
for the grandchildren?
A hundred ten years have passed
since great grandpa worked there
and now, now,
the barn can’t be used
doesn’t fit what we do
and is gonna come down
A giant machine will come
and with a great iron hand
swing and bang and bring it down
to a sad, sad pile of sticks
Yes, we’ll recycle, as much as we can
Soon it will be
like a spent party balloon
laying, waiting
to be sorted out and gone
The party is over
but the party goes on
just in another way
Good bye, old friend
you served ever so well
but you, too, must return
to the soil from which you came.
Lin 11/2011
Memorial Day
red white and blue
fluttering in the breezes
Moments of crowd silence
the taps mournfully playing
Throats tighten
tears begin to flow
as memories of loved ones flood
as we look upon long lines
of white tombstones stretching
across the rolling hills
Freedom is not free
though for me and thee
it can be not costly
for we are here
to live our lives in prices paid
by these, the fallen, on our behalf
Walking past the tombstones
the dates call out the places
where men traveled, then fought and fell
to speak no more
to touch no more
to begin to lose their faces
Can we remember, see them smiling?
Less and less we see
that they were little babies
nursing at their mother’s breasts
They were students learning, graduating
surging out across life’s oceans
making their way in the larger world
quiet
forever
What can we learn
from memories sweet
cherished loved ones there
what can we share
that has some meaning
for the pain they bore?
Life is precious
on that we need reflect
affirm it strongly
lift it up in prayer
Resolve
to do our part
each one
to honor sacrifice
on our behalf
that it not be in vain.
Lin Memorial Day 08