Christmas Trees Nature's Way

Majestic, towering, dark green sentinels


Heavily laden with piercing, crystal icicles;


Christmas trees in the untamed forest,


Pristine in beauty, destined to live on


And continue their awesome magic spells.

It's Christmas

I heard a note of sadness rise,
A plaintiff cry, no gladness, sighs.

And yet it seems there should be joy;
It's Christmas for each girl and boy,

But there's a quietness, a hush;
Too early for the Christmas rush.

Perhaps too many people cry
Around the world, uncertain why.

To reminisce, it is man's right,
Remembering the darkest night.

What gory days brought home the prize?
But then, when does true gladness rise?

Adult and child, broken and whole,
Yet still one heart, who can console?

Wherein doth lie the heart of man?
We know God has a higher plan.

Collective soul, unified mind,
True happiness each still can find.

A touch of winter on the way,
With swirling snow that may not stay.

A yuletide log upon the hearth,
With light and love to spread its warmth,

Awareness of the glory days,
The olden times, which we all praise.

With heartfelt thanks for days of yore,
While yet still wrestling to the core,

Instinctively, we celebrate,
Knowing for us, it's ne'er too late.

Mother's Love

A panda playing

Chewing on a bamboo shoot

See a mother's love

Gentle face smiling skyward

A sleeping child beautiful

The Other Mother

The Other Mother

 

This piece of poetry initially published on Associated Content, 

revised in 2013, 

carries this message for 'other' mothers, in its first three lines. 

“The other mother has her role assigned to spirit and to soul. 

The role of motherhood lives on and ever will, from dawn to dawn. 

The other mother finds her place within each culture, time and space.”

Easter Morn

Easter Morn

Easter morn,

Dawn of the Resurrection

Breaking on the horizon 

Of humankind's darkest hour,

Depth of sorrow and pain.

The Passion of Christ,

Resolution with forgiveness;

What says the morrow of yesteryear?

Doubt coupled with amazement,

Unbelief versus belief.

Divine revelation to some,

Denial by others.

Who is this Christ

Who can break through 

The vast horizon of man's sin?

One birth, one life,

One death, one Resurrection;

The Conqueror revealed

One time, throughout time.

Man to be born again,

Not God. 

"Hallelujah!" 

"It is finished."

"Rejoice, for He is risen!"

A Wintry Blast

A Wintry Blast

With swirling snow piling high,

Heavy, dark clouds line the sky.

A wintry blast on its way,

Making for a snowy day.

Ice and icicles abound,

Paintings by Jack Frost are found.

Soon the world is masked in white

Causing panic or delight.

Howling winds with freezing rain

Nipping noses; stinging pain.

Winter always does its best

Slippery roads; driver's test. 

Soon the highway's plugged with snow; 

Not a place where one should go.

Higher, deeper, fresh snowbanks;

For one's safety, cause for thanks. 

Wonderment, trees buried deep;

Branches laden fall asleep.

Wintry blasts, some seem to love;

Hope for sunshine from above.

Storms all destined soon to end;

Old man winter too, will bend.

  

A Solitary Valentine

A Solitary Valentine

February fourteenth,

Valentine's Day,

Cupid's day too;

Forever destined to be

A day filled with love

And wonderful surprises

For true lovers and others.

A solitary valentine,

Perhaps many valentines,

Beautiful, romantic valentines,

Saying "I love you."

Cute and funny ones,

Puppy dogs and kittens,

Red roses and other fragrant flowers, 

Candies and chocolates,

Perfume and jewelry,

Disguised like hearts intertwined

In mysterious packages,

Suddenly appearing 

In trembling hands 

Of wooing lovers.

Messages of love

Left on smart phones,

Laptops and desktops, 

Carefully placed in mailboxes

Or left on doorsteps,

Much to the amazement

Of the unsuspecting few.

Somehow the romantics

Manage to worm their way 

Out of the woodwork.    

Realizing the intense passion of their love,

They have the courage of heart

To be who they really are;

Romantics everywhere,

Taking bold steps 

Toward someone special,

At least for one day.

The sweet scent of courtly love,

Flowering with intense warmth and passion,

Bursting forth into tender blossoms.

Cupid's arrow, 

Touching and piercing

Even the hardest of hearts.

Gentle souls dancing together,

Like flowers in a breeze,

Waltzing to a majestic symphony.

Sheer wonderment and magic

Fill the air,

Ever expanding the invisible boundaries

On the vast horizon of love. 

A solitary valentine,

Perhaps only a few, 

Sent or delivered thousands,

Hundreds of thousands,

Even millions around the world;

A simple manifestation,

And a wonderful representation

Of the magnificent, 

Ever timeless 

Power of love.   

Oh, What is Love?

Oh, What is Love?

Oh, what is love?

How can one know

That what is seen,

True love would show?

Oh, is love's face

One that's revealed

When e'er a heart

With love is sealed?

Oh, is love's joy

One that's complete

When it's expressed

In words so sweet?

Oh, when is love

As truth thus found

Or does it go

Round and around?

Oh, why is love 

Hard to define?

When will I know

That it is mine?

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day,

Not for the frail of heart,

The fragile spirited

Or those fearful of love's passion,

With Cupid's arrows flying around

Piercing vulnerable hearts,

Rendering them helpless and susceptible 

To love's tender touch. 

Anyone, anywhere,

With even a semblance of a heart,

Can become a potential target.

Many vulnerable hearts are broken,

But it's Valentine's Day.

Even the whimpering whippoorwill

Begins to sing his solitary, passionate sonnet,

As he searches for his own true love.

Nary a heart is left out in the cold.

There is a real danger of pure passion overflowing

With true love spilling into the light,

As chocolates and roses flit around like butterflies,

Working their timeless magic like songbirds 

Whose power to tease,

Suddenly unleashes the fullness of its fury. 

The ardent poet's pen begins to write by itself,

Its muse running rampant, wild and free.

Testing and tempting the unwary,

Causing unsuspecting lovers and love birds

To be hopelessly lost 

In newly discovered love,

Ultimately causing them to become one forever. 

Such is the nature of Valentine's Day.

Lovers and others, be warned. 

Yes beware, as you are not immune

To the contagion of love's tumultuous passion

 Or Cupid's arrow.  

On Family Love

On Family Love

On family love one might say,

There is a bond ne'er goes away.

This love is deep; few can explain

Its nature true, like falling rain. 

The ties that bind, one may not see,

But deep at heart, reality.

Family, part of God's own plan,

Is meant to be and thus it can. 

Time and space never go away,

Like families that ever stay

The heart of real humanity.

True to each other, they will be,

Beyond the conflict that marks life;

A family can end its strife;

The joy of one another know,

As peace and comfort overflow

And spread to others, who then see

That mankind is one family.

A family with love that's true,

Will always know just what to do.

Repair the rifts and mend the tears;

Find joy in climbing heaven's stairs,

While living a life good and pure,

In God's true blessings, rest secure.

The family of man knows love

When there is peace with God above.   

The Nature of a 'Tag-Along'

The Nature of a 'Tag-Along'

'Tag-Along',

The name oft accorded to fame and fortune seekers

Trying hard to latch onto others,

For the sole purpose of personal fame or fortune.

A 'Tag-Along' 

Hopelessly struggles knowing

He cannot make it alone,

At least not on his own merit;

He lands on a precarious perch, at best.

Perhaps, when sufficiently latched onto 

The well-deserved merit of others,

A shadow of pseudo-fame and fortune

Appears momentarily to him.

He thinks it is real.

The 'Tag-Along',

Not a natural born leader, 

Just another follower

Likely being mentored, 

Knowingly or unknowingly.

Jumping out of the shadows 

Into the limelight,

He appears momentarily

On the horizon of history,

Seeking validation and accreditation

That he has not earned

And does not deserve.

A 'Tag-Along',

Simply playing God; 

Man mimicking the divine, 

Claiming credit in the name of self. 

Humility,

An unknown word to him,

Beyond his comprehension or understanding;

Learned only by tumbling 

Into reality's deep chasm of deepest darkness,

Where ultimate humiliation

Leads to human breaking

That brings him to a position of awareness,

On knees that touch earth's finite realm,

As he gazes upward to the heavens.

A 'Tag-Along' 

Moving towards infinity's realm,

Eternity, his ultimate destination,

Beyond mere fame and fortune,

(Such senseless pursuits by man

In search of his true human nature).

The Frog on the Log

The Frog on the Log

The frog on the log:

"I created this world!"

The eagle in the sky:

"I brought everything below into being!"

The child on the beach:

"Everyone, look at what I made!"

The man who sees himself in control of whatever:

"I take the credit for everything!"

The king on the throne:

"I alone built this worldly kingdom!"

God in Heaven:

"I love you all."

On Fragmentation

On Fragmentation

Fragmented sentences

Chopped into chunks

Like pieces of firewood, 

Drying, waiting for a fire

To be lit beneath them,

In some humble hearth 

Resembling humanity,

That they may be consumed

And rendered as timeless ashes,

To fulfill their ultimate destiny.

Fragmented voices

Devoid of comfort,

Relentlessly crying out

In the void of wilderness;

Bits and bytes, 

Mere words,

Uttered in broken sentences;

Fragmented phrases 

Lying in wait 

To be twittered

Around the world;

A fractured plea for sanity

In a world that seems insane,

At least to some.

For others, a plea for love.  

Fragmented lives,

Resembling the dark emptiness 

Of hollow logs

Where green frogs hide;

Dead logs rotting in a dank swamp,

With no one to reclaim them

Before the mist and mold of time

Render them useless

For anything but compost,

To re-enrich the suffering environment.

The cure for fragmentation,

Love that is whole,

Able to mend

The rips and tears 

Of a fragmented world;

Restructuring of fragmented sentences,

Assisting those 

Whose desperate voices

Persist in crying for help;

Repairing lives of humankind, 

Ones smothered by hopelessness;

Love, as healing for fragmentation,

Gradually restoring hope;

Love's supreme power at work,

Tweeted around the world

In mere bits and bytes.

The Fragility of LIfe

The Fragility of Life

Two happy hearts

Entwined by perfect love

Come crashing to the ground,

Without a sound;

Who really cares?

A perfect rosebud

Nipped by an early frost

Curls its petals in pain;

Soon it is gone.

No one misses it.

A wonderful world

A childlike fun and frolic

Suddenly destroyed

By senseless tragedy;

Unresolved by others.

A lovely, peaceful home

Enjoyed by all

Erupts into total havoc

For no apparent reason.

Who can restore it?

A world of hope

Where life is sweet

Destroyed by hopelessness

And utter defeat;

Like broken crystal.

The frailty of humankind;

At best, man is vulnerable,

Subjected to the rigors,

The tests of time

And the fragility of life. 

A Winter Day

A Winter Day

Huge snowflakes swirling ev'ry way;

See the joy of children at play,

Building a snowman, one so tall,

With a second one that is small.

A third one too, a family;

Coal for eyes so that they can see.

Carrot noses planted way in deep;

Smiles to show they are not asleep.

An old top hat sitting awry,

"Give him a pipe!" some children cry.  

A scarf, a second and a third.

"Hear the twittering of that bird?"

A snow day with children aglow;

Time to make angels in the snow.

Maybe build a fort in snow banks;

Not too cold so, "Weatherman, thanks."

Skis and toboggans coming out;

"Down the hill!" Hear the children shout.

"Let's try skating now, on the pond!"

Ice not ready yet; Jack Frost wand

Painting windows. "It's turning cold!"

More white snowflakes. "Mittens!" we're told.

Time to shovel, drifts piling high,  

Sun now hiding, dark clouds fly by.

Time for cookies, hot chocolate too;

Play indoors, that's what children do.

A winter day; "We love that snow!

Even the howling winds that blow."

Nuggets of Gold

Nuggets of Gold

Nuggets of gold,

Priceless treasures beyond refute;

Uncountable,

Yet numbered in the thousands;

New truths suddenly unveiled;

Exciting revelation for humankind.

Old, yet new knowledge,

Unexpectedly disclosed in every era.

A world of discovery,

Some truths so obvious,

As to be immediately evident;

Precious beyond compare,

Timeless in nature, virtually priceless;

Truths miraculously revealed

After lying hidden, masked by mere words

In deep, dark worlds, for centuries.

Inspirational works,

Words carefully penned by literary artists,

Whenever, however. 

The genius of man expounded 

And expanded upon throughout the ages.

The human quest, to find the gold nuggets.

What lies at the heart 

Of the quest for these gold nuggets?

Love. 

The Words of Man

The Words of Man

The words of man 

Oft drag his fellowman downward,

Forcing him into 

The whirlwinds of time,

The tornado of life,

The eye of the hurricane, 

Where he finds pseudo peace.

Here, he thinks he can rest

Only to find that he is tossed back out;

Man tumbles to the ground.

The earth quakes;

Man shakes in fear

Knowing his demise is near.

He calls out to God.

Suddenly, from within the depths of his being,

He hears the words,

"Do not fear."

He finds inner peace

Beyond the tests, trials and torments of time,

Beyond whirlwinds, 

Tornadoes and hurricanes.

He knows that he is 

Beyond the will and wiles of fellow man

And becomes one who conveys

The word of God's love to others.

"Do not fear."

The words of man are imperfect;

The words of God are perfect.

He knows God's love is sufficient

And that His word of love is true.

The word of God is eternal,

As is His love for man.  

How Rich We Are In Blessings

How Rich We Are In Blessings

How rich we are in blessings, 

Yes, rich and so blessed we are,

Each time we see a rainbow,

Or gaze at a shooting star.

The wonder of each moment

Shows us there's eternal love,

Empowering creation;

True blessings from God above.

The purity of spirit,

Perception of life that's true,

The mystery of wisdom,

Showing us what to pursue.

A higher set of values,

The truth in all that is found,

Complexity of feelings,

Joy that will ever abound.

Fragility of beauty

Subject to God's own commands,

Majesty of each moment;

The silence of sinking sands.

Wherever we find blessings 

And how we see them each day,

Part of divine creation;

We are rich in ev'ry way.

What is Mischievous Love?

What is Mischievous Love?

What is mischievous love?

A prankster, it would seem,

Is e'er thwarting someone

With a mischievous scheme.
The mischief that's revealed

Is something done in fun

To one the prankster loves,

Or strangers, just for fun.
A twinkle in his eye

Often gives him away;

Perhaps his deeds or words,

Thus, something he might say.
Harmless mischievous love,

(Or intended to be),

If somehow turns awry, 

Can end in tragedy.
Mischievous love of old

Found often on a shelf,

Regarded as mere play,

By an imp or an elf.

At times, it's Cupid's love

That pierces to the heart,

So deep that in some way

Turns this love into art. 

On Defining Love

On Defining Love

On defining love, it could be said

Trying to define it could be read

As an attempt at futility,

As some know what others cannot see.

"There's no such thing as love," some might say.

"What love is, may change from day to day."

Purity of love oft deemed divine;

"God is love," the focus, I call mine. 

In the scope of love lies freedom true,

Perception of love each can pursue.

How we define love would seem to lie

Within the realm of time that does fly.

Ev'ry era re-defines its love;

Some seem the same and fit like a glove;

Others differ in some unique way.

Perhaps that has to do with word play?  

The most important thing, it would seem;

Love is not regarded as a dream,

Or fantasy of some kind, not real.

Love bears within, the power to heal. 

So magnify love, as you define

The word called love, with a pen or line.

Show your love to others in some way;

Love as you know it, or can display.

The power of love will never fail,

Regardless of its era or tale. 

Definitions are just words we use.

Love is the response we rightly choose. 

On the Love of Laughter

On the Love of Laughter

Laughter may be regarded as

A genetic disturbance,

One that is highly irregular

And likely contagious,

But everyone loves it;

(Well, maybe not everyone

If the truth be known).

Laughter comes in various shades of gray,

From the height and joy of purest white

Complete with its full spectrum of color,

To the depths and despair of darkest black,

The total absence of color.

Laughter is the least appropriate

Of all the human responses to life;

Also one of the most appropriate;

(Appropriateness is also a major factor

Discerned in the gamut of existence

Between the two.)

Laughter is the worst way

Humans can react to their circumstances,

(Oft way beyond their ken),

But at times, many times to be exact,

Simply the best and wisest way to respond.

"Do not participate in this laughter!"

Some might say.

"Why not join the laughing crowd?"

Others ask with consternation.

"Don't laugh!"

"Laugh."

"No! I cannot laugh."

The halls of laughter forever silenced,

Life could be better,

(Or would it be?)

Perhaps life could be far worse;

(Compare a yacht to a hearse.)

Laughter suppressed

Results in silly giggles;

In excess,

Laughter becomes

Frolicking or rollicking.

No one likes to see a child laugh;

Everyone loves it.

A child's laughter is akin

To music in a mother's ear.

Unwarranted laughter

Signals ridicule, contempt;

Belly laughs,

Often despised or enjoyed by man,

Inwardly or outwardly;

He too may laugh at his own folly,

Or that of others.

God laughs.

"Laughter is power!"

The ability to laugh,

A blessing in disguise,

Often resulting in tears.

Laughter has the power and potency

To increase man's fears,

Or decrease them.

Everyone loves laughter,

(Well, maybe not everyone),

But hates being laughed at by others.

What is there

In the nature of this genetic disturbance

That makes laughter so repulsive,

Yet appealing and revealing?

The genes of laughter,

Who wants to inherit them?

Everyone who loves laughter,

(Not those who don't).

The love of laughter

Is a good contagion

To share or catch.

Laughter genes

Are the kind each one should inherit;

They hold hold some of the keys

To the balance between sanity and insanity

In man's human nature.

The fear of laughter,

Merely another phobia;

The joy of laughter,

Experienced as

Part of the birthing of humankind;  

The love of laughter,

Innate in man.

Nonsense poetry,

Intended to instigate

More of man's laughter.

"Don't laugh!"

"This is serious business." 

A Flurry of Peace

A Flurry of Peace

A flurry of peace prevails

Marking the end to holiday madness;

What new joy is found

To be masking man's sadness?

People estranged, 

Lives re-arranged,

As if something already different

Could possibly be changed.

Fiscal cliff fear,

Constitutional indifference

With slippery slope sliding;

Sanity abiding.

Love that is love,

Perhaps pseudo love,

Or somewhere in between,

Somehow touching each tragic scene.

The frailty of the human dilemma,

Human lives scarred by war;

Internal, external strife,

The beginning and end of man's star.

The reality of death, 

Hidden yet exposed,

Poverty and illness; man stays composed;

In the depth of darkest night, stillness.

The awakening of a new dawn 

With a flurry of peace

Beyond mere gladness, sadness and madness;

The bursting of new light. 

Ever the eternal glimmer of hope

Where hopelessness

Hidden by insanity had prevailed,

But that ship has sailed.

A snowflake swirls, twirls 

And gently touches the ground;

The flurry of peace 

Turns to a full-fledged storm.

Peace prevails

Or so it seems,

Or is that just someone's desire,

Perchance everyone's dream?     

The Love of Nature

The Love of Nature

The love of nature magnified each day,

The beauty of nature in full array;

Majestic mountains towering so high,

The depths of the ocean, height of the sky;

Perfection of a snow flake swirling round,

The courage of a new seed bursting ground;

Miracles of nature, the honey bee,

The gracefulness of minnows swimming free;

Sweet mystery of tadpoles, croaking frogs,

Colors of the rainbow high above bogs;

The love of nature e'er exemplified,

Vastness of the universe, changing tide;

Simplicity of music in a breeze,

The artistry of Jack Frost, e'er a tease;

Mystery of a new dawn, rising sun,   

The changing of the sky when day is done;

The birthing of a new fawn to a doe,

The grace of falling leaves, the autumn glow;

Serenity of water, foam on waves,

Horizons of beauty; nature that enslaves;

The love of nature, so much one can see

Infinite wisdom, pow'r and majesty.