I Voted

This is the first time in a long time that I did not vote early. I walked right in, was processed, and voted. It was good because standing in line would have been difficult.

If you have not yet voted, please do it. There is still time. I was hesitant this time around, but I had a few champs telling me I must.

It was 46 degrees out there. Not the best temp for a lightweight jacket.

Love is what I see
When confronted with your face,
A particular grace.

******

I thought I owned
Myself in this quiet time
I find my heart has
Another idea in mind;
You have taken me, no crime.

Interspace

The heart becomes a wilderness,
The trees are bare, left bereft
As Winter falls cold and colder
I, no longer bold, grow older,
Your footsteps make no sound, echo,
On the leaf-strewn path, receding.
I wonder at myself left bleeding,
Trying more to bide believing,
But cannot know if your anger –
Was an outburst or soulful season,
Shall we again together have reason
To celebrate the who we are
Or risk space come between us afar.

Faded Roses

The flowers began as a wistful dream of a bountiful harvest, but once cut from the bushes and placed within a vase, they began to fade and crumble—a falling off begun because the blooms were separated from their source.

Nothing living can long survive without nurture. So much depends on tender care. In this life with its challenges, desperation, distractions, doubts, fears, being connected to a network of people who love us is essential.

In this time of isolation, we must find realistic ways to rally our spirits in whatever togetherness we can devise. We need safety zones to engage in conversation without masks and where we can give hugs freely.

We would be negligent to disregard the needs of those who are most vulnerable, but even they need the reassurance of beloved faces and physical touch.

It has been an exceedingly difficult year, but we can help others bloom and remind each one that even in a shadow season, the Lord is present. God will eventually clear the clouds away, and the beauty of humanity’s promise will shine as newly minted gold.

The Music Found Me Words

“Creatives are fit and strong,”
I read somewhere in time.
I tried to test the statement out,
But I am uncertain I know
Or understand its meaning.
There are days I can
Hardly place my feet upon
The floor without crying out,
Days I search my mind for words
Finding nothing I can score.
So I rummage round, find myself
A smile, try it on for a little while,
Often, I fall into a bout of tears
Because of missing others
Who once blessed my years.
Days trot on and hours pass
Galloping by, I must eat the pain
Going dancing forward to a tune,
Hold on, keep moving, do not
Walk away from what tests you.
This is only a temporary trial
God assures it will surely pass
I can hold on by His grace
Another moment, soon enough
He brings me through it.
All endured fades into the past,
Tomorrow holds brilliant dreams
Scintillating possibilities abound
With the triumphant rising of the sun
A chance to influence eternity.

Snippets

My adventures of being unable to get on the internet by computer continue. Not a good island to be marooned upon. Thank God the tablet hooks up.

The dark, bright windows
Tell the tale in just one look,
Eyes of loving soul.

I put away fear
To meet you out here, nothing
Seems a certainty,
But that you have taken hold
Of the beating heart of me.
I run and away
From much calling me, “Come close!”
I cannot escape
How you have captivated
And claimed all my attention.

I listen for it
One small word among many
Which might change my life,
But your lips are entertained
With other occupations.

I manage myself
At times, others I am storm clouds
Above roaring waves
Without option of calm, I
Become raging tempest.

Where there is hardship
God is always near to share
His kindness and strength,
He loves us unconditionally;
We survive through His support.