Snow Swirling on a Cold Winter’s Day
The low clouds move in fast,
Across the face of the Sandias.
One moment the mountain is visible
And the next it is gone.
Hidden in deep clouds.
Snow begins to fall,
Swirling in the wind
Falling in spiral
Cold in my bones,
Down to the core.
Softly it falls,
Frail little snowflakes
Dancing to the earth
Then fading from sight.
Winter so cold,
Like death
Nothing stirs
Birds huddle close
On frozen lines
Too cold to seek food
Miserable birds,
Snow swirling around them,
How they yearn,
For spring
Like I yearn for home,
A sure hope,
But a long wait.
I wait with them,
Cold in my bones
Down to the core
As the snow softly swirls
In the winter wind.
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Today My Friend Buries Her Son
Today my friend buries her son,
He was 23 years old,
Handsome and vibrant,
Beautiful brown eyes,
He reminds me of my Adam,
One day everything was normal,
And the next he was gone.
And today she lays him in the ground.
What words of comfort can one offer
For such a time as this?
Words escape me,
Therefore I pray,
That the sorrow in my soul
Will rise up on wings
And fly to her
And she will know
That I weep….
The death of a child
To lay them in the ground
Is a deep fear of mine
Darkness fought against
Prayers upon prayers
Lifted to the heavens
On knees
Face down on floor
I know this fear
But I know not the reality.
Today my friend lives this reality
And buries her beloved son.
What comfort can I offer
What comfort is there
When one lays a child in the ground
Such things should not be
It is not normal
Should be the child
Laying us to rest
Words of comfort escape me
I have none
Only sorrow
And the hope, the sure hope
That You are there.
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I sit and watch the tears
slide slowly down her cheek,
Tears I have cried so many times,
I see them,
I feel them
as if they were mine,
For they are mine.
A mothers tears,
a mothers burden,
A heavy one,
pressing down hard,
Prayers expressed on bended knee,
Burdens pressing down,
They sap the strength,
They rip the very fabric of the soul,
Prayers expressed through tears that fall,
A mothers tears.
I see your tears,
They are mine.
Lets shed them together.
Lord hear our prayers,
Lord behold our tears,
Lord carry our burdens,
Lord grant us strength,
Lord heal our wounded souls,
Not for us Oh Lord,
But for our children we pray,
You who remember
the tears of a mother,
as she looked upon You,
Torn and bleeding,
Beautiful precious son,
Murdered on a bloody tree.
You spoke to the disciple,
Son behold your mother.
You see us,
You love us,
You hear us,
Our tears carefully collected,
In Your bottle.
We lay our children down,
at Your feet,
Because we believe,
Lord we believe.
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Winter Is Coming, Long Lonely Winter
The snow crunches softly under his huge feet,
His thick black fur rustles softly in the frigid wind,
He sniffs the wind carefully,
His senses heightened,
He smells something, something in the wind,
He knows this scent,
it has crossed the nostrils of thousands of his ancestors across the length of history,
This is no rabbit he smells, no elk, nothing edible,
In fact this scent brings the foreboding knowledge that meat will be lacking,
It will be difficult, his brothers and sisters will suffer much,
They will labor long and hard for their prey.
This smell upon his nostrils, this scent in the wind,
It is winter, long hard brutal winter,
Deep snow drifts, iced over ponds,
Prey desperately digging for the frozen grass deep beneath the snow,
Winter is coming, long, lonely winter,
He lifts his head and howls,
Across the miles his brothers and sisters join him,
Great heads lifted to the night sky,
Howling, Howling, Howling,
Winter is coming, long hard winter,
Long, lonely winter,
Beware!
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Words
Words spoken fade upon the wind,
If lucky perhaps one or two will be remembered,
Or perhaps people will just say “she spoke often of this or that”
Without really remembering the words.
All those conversations,
All those attempts to get your message out,
Lost and forgotten for the most part,
Words spoken fade upon the wind.
Written words hold more hope,
They can capture your thoughts
And hold them for a time
Until said time and elements degrade them into dust.
I look back on my childhood,
Wishing I could go back
I would take notes this time
I would capture his words on paper.
I remember now how he tried so hard to impart his thoughts
Tried to put them into me, make them mine
He prayed for them to stick
But now, all I have is “he spoke often of this or that”.
The exact words are lost to me
Words spoken fade upon the wind
I wish I had paid more attention
Wish I had grasped the importance of it all.
So now I write words down,
In hopes that one day they will be read
That one day they will be cherished
That one day they will be understood.
Words spoken fade on the wind,
Words written crumble to dust over time,
But the Word of the Lord stands forever.
And that is enough for me.
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Winter
Days of winter,
Winds howling cold and bitter,
Birds huddled in trees,
Snow covered mountain top.
Brown dead vegetation,
Much like the hard times,
When you wait with baited breath,
For the warmth and promise of a new tomorrow,
The appearance of death,
At first glance,
But upon keen observation,
Life goes on,
The birds seek out food
The rabbits leave their tracks,
The coyotes sing in the winter night,
Inhale deep,
The cold crisp air,
Feel the wind cutting through your jacket,
Gaze upwards,
Into the cold dark winter night,
See the stars,
Brilliantly shining,
Inhale deep,
The cold crisp air,
Alive, life, even in the winter of things.
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Weathermen
What strange creatures
These weathermen
Whose work is to predict
The coming day
I stand in
The swirling snow
Perplexed
As my weather app
Tells me zero %
Chance
Of precipitation.
Perhaps I alone
Am blessed to see
This falling snow
In dawns faint light
And the rest of the city
Is bathing in the warmth
Of the rising sun.
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Beautiful New Mexico
Mountain range
Covered in snow
Sun glinting on rugged peaks
Shining like gold in the evening light.
Spectacular beauty!
Brown fields of wild grass
Filled with wild geese
They take flight slowly
Like awkward teenagers
Then suddenly graceful in perfect unity they fly.
Black volcanic rock
As far as I can see
Rugged mesa, remnants of molten lava
Coyote headed out to hunt
Desolate beauty.
High mountain lakes,
Tall pines singing in the wind,
Utter stillness and peace,
Apart from the wind song.
A place to be still and know.
Lush green Valles Caldera
Formed from volcano
Elk roam wild and free
The herd stretched out
across the valley,
Takes your breath away.
Dark Night of The Soul
I lay quietly upon my bed,
Gazing out the open window,
Darkness is upon the earth
With points of light shining
I see the light begin to reflect
Upon the crest of the mountain
As the sun begins its slow climb
The dark so cold and frigid
Earth awaits the warmth of sun
My life of late is like the day
Of darkness and of light
Sorrows in the deepest night
With points of light shining
And when it is more than I can bear
I see the light upon the crest of mountains
The Son of glory shining grace
He rises slow some times it seems
But then there are the times of noon
When His love and grace are clear
And I bask in His glory
But of late night always falls
Coming slowly, warmth fading
Replaced by fear and sorrow
Dark night of soul
Falls upon me
And I wait
I wait
I wait
For Son to come.
SUNDAY
Sunday
Blue skies
White fluffy clouds
Setting off for church
To worship the Lord Jesus
Such a beautiful fine winter day
A short prayer walk along the Bosque
Prepares my heart to worship Him in truth
Asking His blessings upon the service and the people
Giving Him the mornings disappointments that have offset my peace.
Watching the sun shine down through the cottonwood trees
Twisting mighty cottonwoods reaching up to the sky
Winding path through the golden brown grass
Calls and bids me walk along
Birds singing from tall trees
Gentle breeze blows past
As I walk
The Bosque
Today
A Poem About Love Without Saying Love
My heart fills with a warmth
my eyes fill with tears
my soul hurts within me
I am moved to do, to act, to move
to pray, to beseech the God of heaven...
to reach down and touch you.
I awake in the night with your name upon my heart
the God of everything reminding me to pray
for you, for your situation.
This gift, this burden, no wonderful trait of mine
to which I was born and cultivated over years,
It is nothing of me
It is all of Him
for He is ..........