River, stream
Flowing swiftly
Ocean, sea
Receiving
Wave, foam
Breaking on the shore
Share refreshing waters
Washed in redeeming
Depths
Emerging cleansed
Claimed
Sons and daughters
Immersed, baptized
Ocean divine
Named as “Mine.”
As I listened to Fei-Fei perform Schumann at Music Mountain, I recalled a moment in time in (then) Leningrad in 1975. I visited the cemetery where one million souls were entombed, who had resisted the nine hundred day siege of the city. The mournful music of Schumann was the background to the mounded tombs, each holding the remains of thousands who had perished. Then and now, whenever I hear the piece that Fei-Fei played, it speaks to my soul as…..
George
A name connected with fame
From Washington to Floyd––
Steller, even the pope is Jorge––
Now George is enshrined in
A terrible history, no mystery why;
He died in an act which defames
All who claim fellowship in
Humanity’s name.
Perfect, no, none can so acclaim;
It’s now up to all to reclaim
The right to proclaim
That mankind acts in the name
Of peace, kindness and love
Giving hope to us all that
We answer God’s call
To…..
Four score and more
More still to learn, yearn
For adventure still
Young in the mind
While time moves toward decline
Should I prepare to lie upon my bier
Or open up new vistas still
While to deny time’s passage silly
Accumulated views from mountain’s tops
Stop not the climber from ascent
Fear of those heights
Hides great delights in clouds
Of gloom.
Soon enough all mortal coils
Will be unstrung
What joy eternity
When endless is life’s harmony
It doesn’t take much A stormy day While I must stay Within my comfort zone Safe from the threat Imposed not from the sky But rather by an unknown viral Spiral threatening survival Strange times sheltering in place Masks not for vigilantes Those who would be “free” Threaten you and me! Recall those ten-foot poles Last called upon medievial Separate the stricken from the well Contemplate the now As leaders figure how To weather this unpredictable storm; Our norms upended.
Terrible times
Present an opportunity
We need to know, no
Matter how rich
Or poor, that more
Is done by faith
Than all inflated self-esteem
There has ever been.
Am I okay,
Are you? Yes in some ways to
Both queries, still
The Good Book shows that
We must place our trust
In Christ, follow his lead.
Neither you nor I am God.
But, you reply, “I’m none too sure
That he exists.” Then why
Assume that role,
…..
God Sighting
I’m sure it happens daily
And I just now became aware
Our sight too often blurred,
Yet surely, God comes
And we see him, though
We may not know
Even then if vaguely
I see the minister before me
Holding out himself must be
The Lord himself in other form
And when I take the host
Consume the transformed bread
Perhaps I realize that in his stead
Stands you,
Or in the grocery line
The…..
RBG
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
You amaze, you delight
For equality you fight
With eloquence and great insight
How fortunate are we to have as advocate
RBG, with mind, and energy, to state
With clarity the voice of constitutionality.
Erudition, humor, empathy
Sympathy, justice, even it would seem,
Everlasting youth, in the job of your dreams.
Supreme, if I may play with words,
Court us with your wisdom;
Vision of a more just world.
The recent meeting of Delta Kappa Gamma’s Manhattan chapter featured my presentation on “Being a Poet.” The reception was wonderful. In the process of discussing poets and poetry from Western and Eastern cultures, I also included poems from my recently published volume, Dancing for Joy, available through Lulu.com.
Music marks the spheres
Heaven’s voice in our ears
Thunder, lightning
Torrents of rain, then brightening
Reveal a rainbow
Arching over former pain
Brilliant sunshine lighting skies
Encourages beauty to rise
Music sends itss message
With instruments and voice
Choice, the artist to convey,
Express the joyous sound
Profound, strings, percussion,
Horns, proclaim heavenly chords
Rewards all who hear praise for the Lord
And we respond in great accord.
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