Beauty

. Ashes Before the Lenten ashes fade and thin, I might remind myself of those regrets More earnest than a taste for sweets Or bad TV and that my conscience meets With frightening ease at times far greater sin. I might recall the truth the sign abets: The cross traced...

. Seeing the Forest Listen to the rustle of the foliage in the forest, _And note the motes of pollen floating there; Muscle headlong through the brush and never feel embarrassed _If you get whiplashed on your derriѐre. Spurs are meant to drive you on to where your eyes are...

. The Greatest Time of Fatherhood I know that I’m supposed to say The finest time is now—today. And with all their accomplishments, That would indeed make lots of sense. And yet the greatest time of all To me was back when they were small— With boundless joy they would...

. A Brief Return Hey, little girl. I’ve come to check on you;To hear your voice, to see your face anew.Can it be true? Has it been seven years?You’ve grown up nicely since I went away.I’m proud to see you on your Wedding Day---This day on which you sought me...

. Snapshot It's morning and you rise. You shake your hairAnd stretch yourself a bit, your elbows high,Your blue night gown illuminated byA slant of light that smolders in the air. I want to keep you here just as you are---Your smiling face and hair confused just so,Your two bare...

. Winter at the Pond I scan the pond. Young birches standing there Have given up their leaves. I set my gaze On trees in water and on trees in air, Where all is peace, with nothing to amaze. The cold, harassing breeze has dropped away. Late sun comes through...

. The Vice Worse than the addiction of a smoker, And harder to get over than cocaine, More drawing than to gamblers their poker Is a vice that never ends the game. It’s worse than the attraction of a hooker And easier to fall into its claws. If Death came...

. Distance Kills Distance kills. It’s always true. In time and space, In all we do. Those on our team, Who leave the sport. Those at our work Who find new port. The friends we make Who move away. The school we loved--- Though we did say… “Let’s keep in...

  Old Man at the River Old man's at the river painting the scene.He's working on boats and feeling serene.Unnoticed, a person's drowning out therewhile scents from the food shacks float through the air.A boat's coming closer, rescue is near.The drowner will live to conquer his fear.The rowboats have oars...

. If I Could but Touch His Hem ---Mark 5:25-34 Forgive me, Lord, you know it’s true That I have prayed twelve years to you, To stop the bleeding and the shame To live a normal life again. And now there is this man I hear From far-off Galilee he’s...

. Mr. Bluebird Your spirit rose before I spied your form. It dulled the winter sting and stilled the storm. Your warming warble quelled the bitter chill--- __A merry trill. I saw you perched upon a leafless limb--- A feathered chorister of crystal hymn. Your pristine chirrup sliced through ire...

. Winter Midnights Old numbers on the radio; Through foggy panes, a street lamp's glow; Some aircraft's feebly buzzing sound; Barks of mansion-guarding hounds; A drunkard's wrangle with another, Then quick amity—each a brother; The thought you still think well of me; These things, alone, my company. . . Shamik...

. Renaissance for Rob Salminen I am as old as I have ever been, And I've not seen all that I'd hoped to see— But every day my life begins again, And I'm as young as I will ever be. . . Lost and Found a pantoum It’s hard to...

. My Heart's Desire There is one thing that I long for, _and another that I need. One essential to my soul, _the other made of dreams. My heart tries to deceive me, _wants what I can’t have. The Spirit dwelling deep within me _has a better plan. I justify...

. Truths Be Known _A cryptical dawning _This foggy gray morning With images drifting about. _Deceptive impressions, _Opaque are the visions, Illusions of Wonder, no doubt. _Then comes a clearing, _All truths now appearing As vapors disperse to the sky. _Conceptions unveiling, _Awareness prevailing, Reality cannot deny. . . Margaret...

. Capacity “This is too big and inexcusably Extravagant, so next time I insist We buy a smaller glass. This one will be Always half-empty,” said the realist. “You say this from experience,” replied The visionary, “But should realize That if our lot improved then you and I’d Be sorry...

. Aged Elation When reaching that age where you fear getting slow, The advent of faculties starting to go, It’s great inspiration---you can’t ask for more--- To figure out something you couldn’t before. . . Adaptation We aren’t blessed with complete compatibility. At times I’m not so sweet; you more...

. Strauss Vater Scene: Vienna, Austrian Empire: Midnight, October 15, 1844. On this night the famous musician, Johann Strauss, Sr. snubbed the professional musical debut of his soon-to-be famous son, Johann Strauss, Jr. (nicknamed “Schanni” by his relatives) at Dommayer’s Casino. Strauss Sr. had been engaged in a campaign to...

. Scarlet Pimpernel Amassing clouds—the air still warm; But you, my scarlet pimpernel, You sense that there's a coming storm, Compress your petals, and transform To brave the current's rising swell. . The pimpernel is also called the "old man's weathervane" because it closes when there's a drop in atmospheric...

. Fifties Country Living Sit down with me my children, come! __I'll spin a tale or two About when I was just a kid __in nineteen fifty-two. No cell phones, televisions, laptops, __email, or internet, Connecting with each other face __to face was your best bet. Oil was for cars...

. Moments Matter When my daughter was just three __I took her to the zoo. She laughed and smiled and had a blast __And I myself did, too. My friends said, “Why did you do that? __She will not recall The day you took her to the zoo, __At least...

. A Grain of Sand A grain of sand got lodged into __A little seagull's eye. He spluttered with indignant rage, __"Now I can't even fly!" And so his eye grew worse and worse, __The seagull shrieked and whined. Until one day the poor old bird __Eventually turned blind! A...

. Evensong The embers dimmed on the Pacific; _The sky a scarlet hue. One might conclude the fire seraphic--- _A seascape brushed by the muse. Some mares’ tails smudged the vista with soot _While gulls alighted on sand. The beach was wet---I’d not set foot _And desecrate this strand. The...

. A Bogus Bishop’s Prayer My prayer is not pitched heavenward _To fall upon deaf ears. It’s lashed to Earth for greater good. _It cashes in on tears. It's feathered several nests for years--- _I'm Croesus-rich and famed. I’m feasting at the public trough _And I am not ashamed. My...

. Another Winter Another winter's growing old. __Another spring is coming. Another hive, gripped by a branch, __Will make its endless thrumming. Another smile's to soon emerge __From pastel white primroses. Another swallowtail will grace __Our garden with her poses. Another year for taking out __The worn clothes from my...

. On the Porch The roof and eaves, low walls or none, slim railings, Contrive a sense of shelter customary. Worn floor between front steps and door betokens Minutes or hours of ease preliminary. The aura framed by any style of column Enhances intimate communication, For porch-positioned outlooks gently foster,...

. Reflections on Still Waters . Isaiah 55:12 You shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace, And a song will break forth from the lands. While the echoes of praise in the hills never cease, And the trees of the field clap their hands. . 1...

. Lament to the Passing of Paper I learned to write my A-B-Cs and form my shapely 1-2-3s on paper, when I was a lad; but now, since I’ve become a dad, the era of the written word is passing like the dodo bird. The whisper of the turning page,...

. A Summer Hour A burgeoning bush, some butterflies, Low wooden steps, warped, faded, rise Amid the calm of idle talk— The blur of shadows on the walk. Sometimes a passing, random thought Within winged fantasy is caught, While puffed clouds in a bowl of blue Lie quiet in the...

. Concerning Snow ---a conversation between Beauty and Necessity “Well, there you go again.” “What's that?” “Come now, don't act so innocent. You see that plow out there, defacing what it took all night for me to sculpt.” “Now listen, let’s not fight about this, not again. It’s only snow,...

. Classic Case History Though I was blind, it wasn’t hard to see That blindness was a gift at least as good As any other. People seeing me As someone less insightful than he should Have been were blurry shadows on a field Of murky gray, and I was able...

. The Grindstone The grindstone spun as fiery sparks were sprayed,for even iron broke against his force,and by his edge the blunt became the bladea king would hold upon his charging horse. The stone was proud to be of use to kings,for by his work the grindstone was defined,and loved...

. Forecast One to Two Inches Within the snow’s approach I sense a hope Connected more to memory than truth. It fails to fall within the narrow scope Of solid message; seems instead a trope For something bright and clear and lost: A Midwest morning; backyard winter-tossed; A world made...

. The Untimely Demise of My Dear Uncle Sam I received the somber news __as sun set low today. My beloved Uncle Sam __by death was swept away. It wasn’t on the battlefield that __he met his demise. ‘Twas long before when men ignored __the counsel of the wise. Through...

. Accidents Happen We’re told time tends toward catastrophe, And that a butterfly’s ephemeral wings Might quake the sky somewhere across the sea By strange cascades of simple happenings, Arousing thus a violent hurricane; Which is to say that no one really knows Just how or why occurrences occur, But...

. The Settlers —to my forefathers, and all the intrepid men and womenwho settled the Oklahoma panhandle. Across these barren hills, the cold winds blow,As bitter now as in those days long past,When first their rustic wagon, rolling slow,Came down a slope against an icy blast, And settled on this...

. Snow Sonnet Where silent flakes of whiteness fill the air And cutting winds of winter come to rule The bitter storm of new year strips all bare With iciness at once perfect and cruel. We drift into an otherworldly realm Where spectral pallor shrouds the sleeping earth Such beauty...

. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Silently beats an invisible clock. Night turns to day, day turns to night. Following a metronome nowhere in sight. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Sixty seconds make a minute. Sixty minutes, the hour limit. Twenty-four hours beget a day. Seven-day weeks just slip...

. Autumn Twilight Full moon. Crickets singing. Scarlet sky.Long past summer solstice; now the sunDescends before the short day’s work is done.Last light and fast-invading violet vieTo shape inconstant shadows. Moving cloudsRe-sculpt themselves, suffusing the horizonWith sunset’s deepening watercolor-crimson.Together with the cricket choir, crowdsOf brittle oak leaves rattle---tambourinesSyncopating nightfall’s music....

. The Introvert Sequestered in an abstract mood,Replete in blissful solitude;Behind the veil of scenes overtYou’ll find the pensive introvert. You may not find him center stage,The Hercules of any age;But like the spy who goes unseenHe functions best behind the scenes. The kind of friendship that he seeks,The few...