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.

Artwork by astarvinartist entitled A Mother's Tears

Poem by Donna Griego

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!

A writing exercise asking for a poem regarding animals and weather predictions. It is said that he wolves howl long and hard when they sense a deep hard winter.

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.

Peace With God

Peace, a much sought after quality,

Earnestly we seek it,

Always desiring it,

Can't seem to find it,

Elusive peace.

With God alone is true peace possible,

In Him there is perfect peace,

Total peace, perfect peace,

Heart soothing peace.

God is peace!

Only in Him will you find it,

Desire of Him brings it.

Beauty

Beauty surrounds me,

Everywhere I look,

All is grace,

Utter beauty,

Total awe,

You are an awesome God!

Hektor

Hektor is my big white dog,

Everywhere he follows me,

Knows my moods, senses my needs,

Totally devoted,

Only a dog,

Rare, priceless friend

Samson

Samson is silly,

Always questing,

Mischievous in motion,

Sniffing and digging,

Often a nuisance,

Nonetheless loved.

Summer

Summer is here in all it's blazing heat,

Ultraviolet rays burn the flesh,

Mornings are the cool refreshing times,

Murderous heat quickly follows,

Everywhere dry and parched,

Ravenous for relief.

Grace

Grace amazes me,

Radical grace,

Abounding grace,

Captivating grace,

Everywhere grace.

Morning

Morning has broken,

Opalescent sky,

Radiant the sun,

Night has passed

Ignescent rays stream forth,

Nearby birds sing joyfully,

God is present, God is good!

Bella's New Shoes

Bella got new shoes today!

Earthbound she was not.

Leaping into the air,

Lost her new shoes!

After we put them on again,

Settled in them she was.

New doggie shoes!

Efficient for walking.

Wayfaring shoes.

Shoes for Miss Bella,

High lifting feet,

Onward she goes,

Elevated steps,

Sassy Miss Bella.

WORK

Work calls to me.

Obligation beckons.

Resistance is futile.

Knowing this, I go.

STORM

Storm rolls in,

Thunder booms and roars,

Onstage the lighting dances,

Rain pours down in violent sheets,

Morning breaks fresh and clean.

TIRED FEET

Tired, tired feet I have,

itching to be free of heavy boots.

Red hot feet, tired feet.

Ecstatic at the thought of freedom.

Feet, sore, tired, aching feet.

Electrified feet, yearning for relief.

Eager for air.

Tired aching feet.

NEW GOLF CLUBS

New golf clubs,

excited husband,

waiting, waiting, to take them out.

Golf clubs shiny and new,

 outrageously priced in my opinion.

Loving gift bestowed on husband.

For his enjoyment and delight.

Clubs to replace those

lost to a thief

unknown to us

but God knows them.

So we leave it in His hands.

TREE SONG

Tree branches stirring in the wind,

rustling leaves, softly singing, 

enthralling music to ears that hear.

Eldritch song, creation crying out.

Song of the trees,

oft unheard by those with stopped ears,

nature singing to her Creator.

"God is worthy of praise! "

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.

 (I did not take the photographs displayed here, they are taken from beautiful photos I have found on the internet.