Long Laboring Poems

I am an Outlander
Who lives on a high hill
Overlooking a man-made lake
That once was a rapidly rushing river
Along whose banks the Ozarks Bluff Dwellers and the Osage and then Delaware
Hunted, fished, and created shelter
For their...

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Our lusty voice was in the tramp of narrow, winding,
     Scree-littered, deep-rutted roads;     
 Ravens, uttering guttural croaks, slow-wheeling above      
 ...

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"A dressed day has disrobed into the depth of a drawer's nightstand." 

(Oh, how positively awesome that what can be sorted out in such an explanatory pattern that a difference would maketh a day.)

The muskiness...

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Though no political pundit, nevertheless...

I trumpet the withdrawal
of democratic contender from out the presidential race.

Breaking headline news story
courtesy rumor monger premieres
showcasing emphatic groundswell
against feeble minded incumbent.

Extraordinary turn of current events
immediately enlivens the United States populace
injecting...

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Ah... the glory of a restful sleep

Nothing beats the refreshing
blissful peaceful easy feeling
resulting from shut-eye after
feeling zonked out staying up
late after a hard day's night
binge reading or slaving o'er
crafting an umpteenth brilliant
masterpiece a comment from
modest...

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O Aphrodite,
Grecian fertility goddess
Matriarch idol of the womb,
your wise children love not reproducing
— Ancient Zion chant
heard in the echo chambers
of the caverns along the Aegean sea

Dwindling cries, dashed on the rocks
in luxurious maternity wards,
are slowly...

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Farewell Advent!
by James Ryman
translation by Michael R. Burch

Farewell, Advent; Christmas has come;
Farewell from us, both all and some.

With patience thou hast us fed
Yet made us go hungry to bed;
For lack of meat, we were nigh...

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1) I hate brown-nosers far more than I hate most other nosers 
of virtually any known color!

2) I will make it a point to slap you in front of your superiors,
with a biblical fury, the...

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I was a vivacious, aroma loving barista, laboring midnights in a coffee shop,
Offering tasty drinks to fellow night owls, while others dreamed of lollipops.

My work was so pleasant and suited me, for I was enamored...

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I was a world famous fashion designer, and quite enraptured with the new,
Like first caress of pink, peach dawn light, smiling at the full moon's taboo.

I adored laboring with colors I loved, in my fashions,...

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Paperback writer’s title was confirmed long ago 
Prepared and ready for imprint info 
It was a simple authored task 
Based on honesty no need for a performing arts mask 
No hidden comments 
Only an eerie...

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your first observation must be
I seem to be persisting LOL
it is easy to be dangerous these days
but deeper still is less a guess
than it was a thousand years ago
and what is revealed
can always be corrected
this...

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I (a youthful sexagenarian)
can no longer quip being
a country boy at heart,
but me as urban cowboy,
I declare would never 
so fuhgeddaboudit dear reader
nothing 'cept bucolic existence
laboring organic garden
harvesting fruits and vegetables
by the bushel and quart
constitute...

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He was there, He told me so!
On that cloudy morning a few years ago,
When a shaft of light from the Montana sky
Fell on his grave and caught my eye.
The raindrops that fell as if tears...

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In my head, I’m in the library, at
a podium, before a microphone, looking
out into the faces of a yearning sea
of people, knowing they expect 
a little kindness but mostly, a lot of
answers from me. ...

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In this tumultuous political climate
I find both parties irrelevant and obsolete

They do not speak to me or my families’ needs
Neither do they consider our suffering 

Day after day immigrants look for respite from expulsion from...

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(Isaiah 50: 4, 5 /  Song of Solomon  /  John 11: 23 – 27  /  Revelation 21: 3, 4)


Out of Cold Shadows On A Highland Moor
Will You Come Walking To...

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Grief, more often than not,
clings to the naked silence, the breathless
onslaught of memories, hasty recalls,
laboring in dewlike glimpses,
through tears who glisten against a heart’s 
resistance, feelings bleeding
through the memorials, the winds
blessing away the whispers
of a...

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Born into the lap of loneliness
Adam paced restless up and down
God knew he badly needed a mate
And willed the solitary man, a companion
Nonpareil in beauty and grace,
God wanted her to be the marvel of marvels
With...

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Why subject them to danger and risk?
If they represent something so special
Why not attend to them with such brisk?
Especially, when things look crucial
Every child is an important element
It’s been my intent to save every child
Come...

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To this scene we have gathered on September’s eve
Under darkening sky, where a storm may conceive
Not a sight better is that face I’ve hardly known
So frail and aged in years past he had grown
A tragedy...

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Mary Lou Sims was young and enterprising, like stars routing dark;
Or mauve dawn on the verge of discovery, awaiting time's remarks.

Mary Lou's best friend was Cora Mann, ever since sweet childhood;
When they'd sat in zesty...

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Serving the Lord demands complete trust in the Saviour, 
… testing total obedience
What matters most is our faith, coupled with patience and resilience.
We must seek His presence, not just stirred in our own confidence
Let’s abound...

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October 9 Relationship to God Bible Meditations Based on John 13-14

Key Verse – John 13:10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash [his] feet, but is clean every whit:...

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September 17 Relationship to God Bible Meditations Based on Mark 10-12

Key Verse – Mark 10:1 And he (Jesus) arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and...

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