Who would have guessed — when I tilted my heart
toward baby lizard, perched on a colored desert stone,
she’d blink one eye at me, turn to smile, it seemed,
and lend a listening ear?
I’d only said in a lizard way:
I love you.
And who would have thought — that when stone had heard me
loving her, it would, it seem, speak back?
Loving stone, I was!
Stone, I so admire your villages.
I smile to your many stone peoples.
I eavesdrop on universal questions posed
around sacred fires carefully tended.
And around one hearth, among
cinder specks scattered– that one minute wisp,
grain of cinder there.
Dare I say I love you too?
I do! I do!
In that cinder grain I hear —
worlds of stars, sweetly singing!
By way of explanation, reader friend,
such is what a practice of
loving all beings equally
has made of me.
Crazed being?
Could be.
But could you nonetheless
accept the possibility
and likewise go love adventuring?
If you’d prefer, we could earnestly
and objectivity talk it all through.
Or say ~ Love come!
Speak through us.
Teach us how to listen.
In corners hide some secrets
They're buried deep in walls and cellars
They lie there best forgotten
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Many voices ring clear, true,
Carved in verses sparkling new,
For a moment held in sight
To catch the fast fading light.
The brushstrokes are soft and deep,
Like a rippling stream, they seep:
Do voices of equal shine
Bear same weight in space and time?
Deception with a smile will destroy many
Hidden jealousy will drain your life
A smile can become a mask, so
Live lightly and try to be anxious for nothing
This is not easy, but necessary in this modern world
When your smile is gone
He cares; all you have to do is
Dare to call Him even when you 'fall'
He knows your pain,
So retain your joy and live your
Life with God like a little boy
God cares, so share your pain
With Him and He can carry your burden
God is the great surgeon
When your smile is gone
He cares; all you have to do is 'dare'
To call Him even when you 'fall'
God is good
He stood on a 'hill' and declared
His love as He came down like a dove and
Showered us with mercy and grace
He cares when your smile is gone,
He is the great surgeon
Copyright ©2026 Mark Frank
what is equivalent to a penny
scrambled my brain but could not think of any
I can easily convert nickels into a dime
but equating pennies messes me up every time
An object with faces six
A combination of values and variety mix.
A part of game,taken as challenge
Played for fun,not revenge.
Every roll of the dice
Needs some trick and attempt, wise.
The face with one, has a value small
Helps one win,stands tall.
The face with two has a pair
The credit both,equally share.
The face with three is a trio
That shows up ,with the right brio.
The face with four has two pairs equal
With two and two,that make a sequel.
The face with five,has a member odd,
Yet,is strong,oh! my God.
The face with three pairs is a six,
All in one frame, together fix.
Each face has its significance
That really makes a big difference.
The fate of a player depends on the dice roll
One needs to play wisely, to reach the goal...
I don’t know how we end up in a war,
become the monsters I see on TV,
but I felt sick and so sad when I saw
how it hurts families and kids like me.
I watched the bombs and homes being lost,
how locals were displaced as refugees,
I don’t care what the big wigs say it costs
as our society must help them flee
from the pain and grief, and provide relief
by making a truce and agree not to fight,
help them recover and return to peace,
to all live together with equal rights.
I was just eight when they began this hate,
it’s still not too late to own their mistake.
the carrot and the stick... the carrot made me sick... I welcomed the stick
Isaac Newton is said to have stated,
'For every action,
or force in nature,
there is an equal and opposite reaction.'
And the proof in his pudding is,
if I exert myself
in search of who knows what I want to be,
it also brings to bear
an equal and opposite influence on me.
As, by doing so,
my own headwind I create,
which inhibits my progress,
and the harder I push, or fixate,
the more resistance I set up,
so to speak,
and the farther away I am
from finding whatever it is I seek.
Indubitably, it's a rule of thumb,
the more forward I go,
all the further behind I become,
but is it better to do nothing at all,
than beat my head against
an invisible brick wall?
You have no equal. (1)
You have no rival. (1)
For God so loved.
He is lifted above.
Don’t let the moment pass.
Bring all you have.
Lay it down at His feet.
Your needs He will meet.
His anointing is sufficiency.
Step into His glory.
Edify brothers and sisters.
Obedience of the master.
For God we thirst.
In God we trust.
With God we love.
Through God we live.
We are saved by grace.
Fear has no place.
Taste the heavenly gift. (2)
Taste the good word of God. (2)
Rejoice in His love.
That love from above.
Sent by the perfect dove.
My soul is where it grows.
Love is seed I hold.
My soil is in the fold.
He is the gate.
I am His lamb.
Let Him hear me sing.
Praises to the king.
A new song and a new thing.
I thank you, Father.
(A poem by ScottM, written in church 5/25/2025 praise tapdig com)
footnotes:
(1) “What A Beautiful Name” by Hillsong Worship 2016
(2) Hebrews 6:4-5
Let's be fair meet in the middle
Let's each do our share
Do like in any other real partnership
AP: 1st place 2025
Miss To Be Equal
Miss To Be Equal likes a
bit of
saw dust in
her tea or in
her coffee.
.
she can wear the
pants
but she doesn't
have to
Cinders of no edifice can show proof
How hoary did it look under the dome,
Nor dust can vouch if it came from tall roof
Of a hallowed church, or from poor man’s home,
Or if the dust was blown by a tiny
Burst of rare breeze, or by world wind so great,
No warden would vouch for its pedigree,
Nor would a priest predict its sublime fate,
So does the ash of a funeral pyre—
If it peeled off a prince in regal suit,
Or off a pauper that died a death dire,
For, hushed up dusty graves lie stony mute,
And death cometh equal as gasping breath,
Levelling all— if not in life, in death.
_________________________________
Sonnet | 01.11.2011, revised August 2024 |
To much love is to
Much hate in return also
Can't guess woman's thought.
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