Youth Reach

The children, simple,
Underfoot teaching lessons
Of brave innocence;
Love their flashing sword, bright shield,
Determination – armor.
The children bestow
Gifts wherever they go,
Fond smiles bubble up
Filling hearts like coffee cups,
Bringing laughter to sad eyes.
The children desire
Understanding of all things,
Learning from old souls
Every blessing and conflict,
Each harsh word and compliment.
The children reveal
Past secrets, future dreams, things
Unknown and unseen,
They dabble – eternally
Calling out for kindness, care.
The children face time
With a will toward conquering
Those troubles they must –
Choosing courage enough to
Produce the needs, become who
The children can be
When raised with sensitivity,
Shining in history
Free to grow because there
Are miles to go, LOVE to show.

Meaning

The definition
Of ourselves is uncontained
Though we trip over
Who we believe ourselves to
Be on ordinary days.

If we could see who
We are beyond the mirrors
The definition
Of our beloved desires
Might become fit for ourselves.

We may know our worth
Only told in lightning flashes
Suspended briefly
The definition above
Our limits of faith, knowledge.

Cool, cool, the water
We bathe over minds aflame
Trying to search out
A purpose, reason, needed
To give life definition.

Over a lifetime
We may find God, the Living
Definition, all
Understanding given us
Proving life miraculous.

In this poem I made each stanza in the form of a tanka. If you notice I like to do this often.

As a prompt, use a form or pattern to create a work. Adapt whatever you choose to your use.

Mixed Verses

This story of yours
Does much good for everyone
Who needing it comes.

///////////////

What we remember
Is the love, care, support we
Find in another;
Relationships matter much more
Than all we acquire or do.

///////////////

Sometimes what you name
Things carries much less meaning,
Than reality.

///////////////

When the shadow falls
A monster of bloody hands
Seizing every plan
Wresting hope from us, away,
Injuring with cuts, deeply,
Words rationed, kept back,
No mending, wounds keep bleeding,
Hidden depths, no light.

///////////////

Living in real-time
Is a challenge every day
Minutes go astray,
Even when trying these hours
The current causes swift drift.
Gauging the passage
Is only possible with
Instrumentation,
Because wild passions engage
Moments become variable.

I wrote all these in bits in my journal. I like them, so I decided to share. Most are haiku or tanka, with some variants on those forms.

Beknownst

Time devours all things
In its forward mystery;
What it leaves behind
No one can wrestle from it
To alter, much less retrieve.

This time – a present –
Written upon every life
Turning the lush soil,
Allowing bountiful growth
Sharing LOVE in all moments.

Future hides its face,
Body pressing on drawn drapes
Breaking through the gaps,
Bringing breathtaking wonder
Beauty engulfing the spheres.

Each minute, hour, day
Is become, owned, shaped, written
For progress, helping
LOVE’s universality
Before nature fades away.

Prompt: As you read, pick out a concept and create something that expands the thought. Any form of art or wordsmithing is appropriate.

Non-Abatable

The faces we love
Fade into phase states we wish
Could still be ignored,
But our aching hearts cannot
Deny time passes, a storm.
Every day we vow
We will remain strong, no tears,
But memory prods
At us, pushing emotion
Beyond reasonable limits.
Believing we were
Through strident protests, prayers,
To stay the Lord’s hand;
Knowing He controlled each death
We thought God might longer spare.
Cries, tears, squalls befall,
We again wonder more than
Is our given right,
Why, oh why, go they forward
Leave us wallowing, deep night?

Sometimes I am shaken to the core.