HERMIT’S FIRE IN THE FROZEN MEDIEVAL FOREST
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The wind, a teeth-chattering dirge
through skeletal branches,
finds no purchase on the small flame.
He built it low, a secret
whispered to the snow-laden earth,
a defiant ember in the kingdom of ice.
Years bleed into seasons here,
marked only by the shrinking woodpile,
the lengthening beard, the deepening lines
etched by firelight and solitude.
He remembers faces,
ghosts flickering in the flames,
loves lost, battles fought,
a life traded for this quiet burn.
The forest breathes around him,
a vast, indifferent lung.
He is a mote, a spark,
yet the fire persists,
a stubborn refusal to surrender
to the long, cold night.
And perhaps, he thinks,
as the embers glow,
that is enough.
Just to burn.
Just to be.
SILENT WITNESS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the sun, a molten coin, descends,
and he, a shadow lengthening,
holds his breath.
he feels the earth turn,
a slow, relentless dance,
and wonders of his place within the spin.
the sky bleeds crimson, then bruised purple,
and he, suspended between light and dark,
is neither here nor there,
but simply is,
a silent witness
to the fading day.
“If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life.”
~Oscar Wilde
the sky smiles as it watches us
dance in the light of a silver moon
on the veranda of an infinite cosmos~
the only way to make a star
dance in the light of a silver moon,
to music of the spheres as it falls
into a symphony of our poem
on the veranda of an infinite cosmos
where time is the choreographer
of tangos and tragedies~
the only only way to make a star
is with each spark of love we fling
into night's lengthening shadow.
There is a need for quietness today,
I listen to my neighbor's toilet flush,
it takes a long time for the sound
to drain away and refill,
I hold seconds inside my mind
between that rise and fall.
There is space for listening,
the trash compactor chews on
when switched off.
I hear conversations
filtering through the air conditioner,
words both distinct and garbled.
Yesterdays hurried meal
speaks still, moments explore
newly opened pocket.
This is not silence
sound moves upon carpet slippers,
yet steps are heightened
by being audible
in a lower registry of depth.
It is I who creates this lengthening,
this processional unwinding of
of unremarkable moments,
a distance between
and marked by blank labels -
every note,
an eavesdropping deliverance.
"Album Daylight by Jonathan Patterson" - Quote by Poet
In the precinct of sprawling emptiness,
curved out by the contours of desolation,
the spreading daylight of prime promise
bursts with the brilliance of magnificence,
creating the serrated shadows of silence,
where I'm consumed by illumined calmness.
Within the light and shadow lattice,
the fused sunray strands weave
the tapestry of argentine ecstasy
on the silvery barrenness of seclusion
for me to walk in search of the lost dreams.
Trudging with the forlorn life
across the shades of grey in the wilderness,
I take a lonesome journey with my pallid heart
across the silhouetted grandeur
of the daylight dwindling.
Walking the last mile of the journey
in the remaining hours of the day,
I long for respite for the last time,
step into the waiting memory corridor,
see my dreams return enwrapped
within the lengthening shadow of me.
A Tiny seed,
Planted inside of Me.
Long Before I Grew to be,
This branch of reality.
Anchored in Eternity,
About to come out.
A Tiny little Sprout,
Being tossed about.
The winds of Change,
Strengthen the Core.
Lengthening its story,
Exploring it's territory.
Roots Replenishing,
Nurturing Within.
As little leaves,
Gather their green.
Experiences in the breeze,
Reaching with Ease.
A little tease,
Arising Ideas.
Abstract and real,
A nub is revealed,
Sealing the deal.
The path is real,
Energy returns to It's roots,
Matching up the Truths,
Found in its trunk.
Tossing the Junk.
Returning,
winds start Churning,
Leaves twisting and turning,
Branches Contorting,
Reporting back to Source,
Then back up to resume its course.
Strengthening it's Existence,
Like Trees In the distance.
It now sneaks up within the grey
And brings the Arctic air our way
Its evil spell is taking hold
So we must brace against the cold.
Celsius degrees hit sub zero
And small mammals burrow below
To escape from the worst of times
And most birds fly to warmer climes
The sky that was a joyful view
Now dreary grey replaces blue
Each day we see no sign of sun
That pleasure now is surely gone
We suffer shortage of day light
And shiver through each day and night
But we endure and we pray
That long dark hours go away
We dream about the coming spring
When daylight then is lengthening
And bringing joyful springtime skies
And then we see the snowdrops rise.
A moon-lit day
End of Fall
The Sun an unseen presence
Far down south-west
Behind some silver cloud
Maples showering gold
On a lengthening walkway
Lovely as the Milky Way
A young couple in embrace
On a lonely bench
Hush, hush, silent speech
Tip-toe vagrant breeze
A teenage cutie
In Halloween fancy
Of rainbow hues
Floats her way
Did the trees around
Send her down
With their sliding leaves?
Time in lethargy
The skies in brood
Life in slow motion
Fowl in meditation
Perched on the bank
Their eyes lost in the sheen
Of the placid pond
Is this an evening
Or a dream?
Rub your eyes
Pinch your thighs
This can never be
Anything but a dream
"Wake you dreamer"
"Into what?
Another dream?
A dream within a dream?
And then a dream within a dream within a dream….? "
Isn't life an evening of Fall
Unending within a dream within a dream……?
No one wakes here
A dream-some nowhere
November 7 Praises to God Bible Meditations Based on John 9-10
Key Verse – John 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
PRAISE BE TO GOD FOR MANIFESTING HIS WORKS
Praise be to God for manifesting His works in our:
Workmanship by His watchfulness
Weakness along His worthy winning
Waiting inside His will midst His wisdom
Worship according to His wondrous ways
Weariness-wrestlings toward His well-done welcome
John 10:11 Praise be to the Lord for
being our good Shepherd:
Loving us in His leadership
Lifting us up against lowliness
Liberating us from loneliness-lingering
Letting us listen to Him while on Him, leaning
Lengthening our lives while learning His lessons
John 10:27 Praise be to the Saviour for allowing us
to hear His voice of:
Redemption for our repentance and ransom
Restoration, reformation with renewal-readiness
Resurrection toward our righteous rejuvenation-revival
Restraint along our rescue in returning to His restrengthening
Reminders for our reinforcement and reward midst His replenishment. Amen!
November 7, 2024
Paratroopers stealthily slide unnoticed,
chutes deployed, small blazes of white obscured by
fog that lingers lazily, til their numbers
cover the meadow…
Faster, faster, not just content to cover,
reinforcements filling in, words unspoken,
synchronized with perfect precision, ever
picking up tempo…
Occupation utterly overwhelming,
swamped defenses, raising a flag, surrender.
Long, the arm of conquering winter, brings a
lengthening shadow…
October 30 Praises to God Bible Meditations Based on Luke 18-19
Key Verse – Luke 18:27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
PRAISE BE TO GOD FOR MAKING THINGS POSSIBLE
Praise be to God for making things possible:
Against impossibilities by His power
Amidst interruptions with His purpose
Above infirmities upon His perfect plan
Away from iniquities through His pardon
Around the inspiration of His performance
According to instructions from His precepts
Assuring influential impact toward His praise
Luke 18:42 Praise be to the Lord for saving us:
Loosing us from sin’s disability
Liberating us against soul’s despair
Leading us from satanic destruction
Letting us learn from His Scriptures’ decrees
Lengthening our lives to serve Him with diligence
Luke 19:10 Praise be to the Saviour
for seeking us to:
Grant us His forgiveness
Guide us with His firm fervency
Govern us through His faithfulness
Grip us with His fortitude that frames our faith
Give us faith to face foes while focused on His fulfillment. Amen!
October 30, 2024
October creeps amid the shadows
Lengthening
The shortness of the day
Dancing amid the pumpkins
Chortling in its chill
Adding boney fingers to the trees
Reaching into our fears
Tickling with terror
The mystery of a gleeful night
As demons dance with ballerinas
Midget masterminds plot
Against larger super heroes
Trembling
As the door opens
A hand reaches out
A shriek, a panic of footsteps
A hollow laughter trailing
October
She scares ‘em every year
But gives really great treats
Light throbbing in the heart of darkness
Shakes its density and solidity
Dawn lengthening towards morning
Mops up darkness slowly
Shadows vanish
In its brightness
It rubs them off the bodies
Of men and furniture
Lion, camel, orangutan and tiger;
Light focused on cave
Clears the obscurities
Light of reason removes
The stumbling blocks of superstition
Light of knowledge conquers ignorance
Light of conscience deals with narrowness
Pushing it towards broadness and righteousness
Light broadens the narrow space of the heart
Leads it towards benevolence
Pride and prejudice, niggardliness vanish
With the white purity
Of the effulgent Divine light
The light of lights!
It hovers round us
Flashes with higher consciousness
In search of us groping in the dark
Near us comes it giving chance to embrace
Sure it is that we move pulled towards it
Let that light grace us towards fulfillment.
June 4 Praises to God Bible Meditations Based on Job 16-18
Key Verse – Job 16:20 My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.
PRAISE BE TO GOD TO WHOM WE POUR OUT
OUR TEARS UNTO
Praise be to God to Whom we pour out our tears unto for:
Joy of no joke
Justice midst jesting
Joviality against jitters
Jubilation beyond jackpot
Job that jolts us to jolly journey
Job 17:15 Praise be to the Lord for assuring us hope in His:
Kingdom along His gracious kinship
Kindness with His granted knowledge
Kingship, governing us along our kneeling
Keenness, guarding us from being knocked-out
Keeping with His gloriousness beyond kindling kaleidoscope
Job 18:18 Praise be to the Saviour for His light:
Leading us to His love
Livening us by His lawful lessons
Liberating us against lamentations
Lengthening our lives for lovely legacy
Letting us listen to and laud His loftiness for our learning. Amen!
June 4, 2024
Besieged by stygian forces...
Left to rot a hermit's gloom.
I lay hidden from the world
Entombed within my room.
I would not venture hither
Against a cold that swallows whole
And challenge winter's malcontent
That afflicts my troubled soul.
But Nature is auspicious
Knowing the coward that I am
And grants me some advantage
And insight to her plans.
She springs forth the blessed tulip
To bring wonder to my gaze
As winter's shadow starts to dissipate
With the lengthening of days.
But the sign that lifts my spirit
To know winter's laid to rest...
There are robins flirting to and fro
As they build their family's nest.
The End
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