A Fair Exchange

It's true I left my cozy porch 
on Pleasure Road

And it was hard, I can't deny that.

But I have been given fair exchange

This back porch on Bent Farm Road

Is more than I could ask for

It faces the sunrise--

The orange glow spreads over

The eastern sky

Rising from behind a distant tree line

And breaking through the branches

Of a closer cedar tree

Mist rises from the meadows

And the night sounds of 

cicadas and crickets

Give way to early morning song birds

The crowing of our rooster and the 

Clucking of a hen who's laid an egg

The cardinal's here--just like the one who

Sat in my neighbor's tree; here accompanied 

By the thrumming wings of a passing

Humming bird, and the tat-a-tat of a woodpecker 

And under all the sounds of nature

There is a profound quiet. 

No passing cars, no distant interstate

No conversations of passing walkers

Just fields of hay

And a garden of kale and collard greens

With gorgeous red and green Romaine 

And end-of-season tomatoes 

So here I sit with my morning coffee

Smiling as the sun bathes my face. 

There's no question

I am home and He is here

And all is well. 

My first poem in my new home in North Carolina. These first few days have been perfect. Cool mornings and warm days--God's own daily poetry. I'm so fortunate to be a part, as Maggie and John David's home becomes mine as well.   (9/21/15)

God is love: let heaven adore him

God is love: let heaven adore him;
God is love: let earth rejoice;
let creation sing before him,
and exalt him with one voice.
He who laid the earth's foundation,
he who spread the heavens above,
he who breathes through all creation,
he is love eternal love.

God is love, and is enfolding
all the world in one embrace;
his unfailing grasp is holding
every child of every race;
and when human hearts are breaking
under sorrow's iron rod,
that same sorrow, that same aching
wrings with pain the heart of God,

God is love: and though with blindness
sin afflicts and clouds the will,
God's eternal loving-kindness
holds us fast and guides us still.
Sin and death and hell shall never
o'er us final triumph gain;
God is love, so Love for ever
o'er the universe must reign.

Timothy Rees (1874-1939) 

A beautiful song.

Hunger

I saw a robin as I walked the labyrinth
I paused to watch her
Hop hop hop hop pause
Hop hop hop hop pause
I continued
When one again I faced her direction
There she was
Hop hop hop hop pause
She was on a prayer walk
Or maybe just listening for food
Just like me.


4/25/15

A small green worm

A small green worm
hangs from a thin
line
slowly climbing to
the leaf
above
sometimes dropping
then climbing

Life is like that


5/25/15

Timeless

We line up at the water cooler
with our cups and nalgenes
just like the women of old
stood by the well with
their earthenware jugs

We're still thirsty.

6/15/15

No thanks

Please feel free to sit on our porch
said my across-the-street neighbor
While we're on vacation at the beach.

I looked at the lovely outdoor furniture
and the freshly painted floor
and posts and railing

Thanks, I said
and watched them leave their driveway
and head down the street toward Avalon

This morning I came out my door
for my morning coffee
and porch time ritual

I looked at my rusty chairs
my mosquito coil and candles
my peeling gray floor paint

I can not consider
leaving this shabby holy place
not even for one morning of luxury

I might miss something.

7/26/15

Precious Jewels

Amidst all the moaning and the tears and emotional ups and downs in the process of selling my house, I'm afraid I may have missed some of the treasures God has slipped into my pockets. The gifts that at the time seem to be just part of the process or maybe taken for granted. I'm reading Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor. She writes about finding a glittering stone in a dark cave, but when she got out into the light, the stone was quite ordinary--even common. But in the dark of her closet, it once again glittered like jewels. This story inspired me to pause and reflect on this somewhat dark time of selling my house.

Jewels I found in my pocket...

Meeting a young lady at a yard sale
is more precious that a for-sale sign

Loving my neighbors means more
than chipped paint or shiny floors

Sometimes a sister in law
is closer than a sister

The economy of a home sale is not a personal thing;
it's just part of the greed machine

A cup of coffee on my front porch
is still the best place to go deep

Memories with your children
are your dearest treasures

Giving away the old piano
brought me peace, and a new friend, joy

My old grill sitting on the sidewalk
was just what a passerby wanted

Packing up boxes of things formy children to open in the future
is worth my aching back and yards of packing tape

An unexpected container of beans and rice
in my fridge when I got home from work

Mr and Mrs cardinal chattering the reminder
that His eye is on the sparrow...and cardinal

FaceTime with Maggie always makes me yearn
for my new home

7/23-7/25/15