Heart of mine throbs with triumph
grateful for exposure to life yon survival
while beholding beauty of kindness
midst faith's navigating compass.
Likewise, my soul keeps on worshipful
seeking for God’s approval and favor
basking in His grace, mercy, compassion
along faith's childlike trust.
Despite challenges and trials
my spirit strives toward victorious claim
vanquishing adversities while reaching-out
with faith cleaving to the Omnipotent hand.
Steadfastly clinging to divine help
I continue on, delighting in my journey
doing my best, inspiring others
as faith increases, glowing with vibrant hope.
Simple truth strong health advice.' Check out This body.'it strives against medical vice.'
Against oligarchy.. Tangled with quackery; so rife.!
Just do your due dilligence, before joining' Is my only considered advice.!
Calmness bids me as grief strives to cease
Enabling sincere thanksgiving-prevalence
Midst gloom, hiding serenely still while
Exemplifying grace under pressure... yet
Tears cannot anymore control their fall
Exposing prayer of my heart for closure
Recognizing heaven's victory over death* since
Yon the grave is eternal bliss with the Source of life.
*1 Corinthians 15:55-57 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
May 29, 2025
3rd place, "Cemetery" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Constance La France; judged on 6/2/2025
I often think
In darker times
It's pointless toil
Creating rhymes
For what do rhymes
Achieve, and such?
Perfection strives
For words to clutch
Some faint idea
Some headlocked chat -
It smiles, then fades
Like Cheshire Cat
Chasing thought
Down rabbit hole
Succeed or fail
No heads will roll
From bitter world
To jammy tart
Where sweetness lives
In printed heart
No grumpy queen
No neckline threats
Beguiling words
This soul begets
Perhaps, in time
Simplistic notion
Can be transformed
With the right potion
Perhaps, if time
Allows, we will
Through heartfelt words
Our dreams fulfill
Bubbling with triumphant mirth
then weeping midst frustration…
heart strives to strike a balance
between composure and chaos…
projecting strength under grace while
anchored by prayer not to fall…
staying poised in the crucible of stress
yet serenely hiding hopelessness mask…
vibrant soul today faces tomorrow's mysteries
expectant of miracles yon realities...
that’s the mother in me who champions
life-building commitment with: “So help me, LORD.*”
*Psalm 78:4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
May 14, 2025
Honorable Mention, "YOUR CHOICE g" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand; judged on 5/15/2025
Written: March 22, 2025, for contest sponsored by Craig Cornish
***********************
In the heart of my kitchen spices exude their aromatic allure
a harmonic blend of flavors coddiwomples mute grief. . .
cimmerian saudade in emeritus pickles, a nostalgic taste
longing for a whiff of jasmine s p e c k s. . .
the acridity of blue cheese, the poignancy of bygone days. . .
lavender aromas snip from vessels of proclivity
hidden under an ominous cloud of r e m o r s e
on par with brimstone-soaked steam,
harmony strives to alleviate concealed pain
pleading palms to purge passed-over prose
as seclusion seeps still as a slow-spreading sickness…
Scathed by sadness solitude simmers silently,
In this mixture, marvelous magic manifests for mending
spicy ambrosial nuances partake in a gracious w a l t z
pain intermingling with delight
a buffet embellished with dishes of acrid herbs,
the core character intertwines with previous fails
textures and fragrances intertwine
to create a tapestry rich in pain and d e l i g h t,
harmonizing sadness and joy in life's tangled web.
What I write and what you see
May differ entirely
Thought and understanding
Absorbing is demanding
The beholder shapes the appeal
Yet the poet strives to steal
A fleeting moment of your mind
A glimpse or gaze…attention mined
A starving artist’s quiet plea
Offering the best of me
You may not be family
You may not be friend
You may not be foe
Or even a soul to comprehend
Perhaps my fleeting distraction
A refuge from something inanimate
A borrowed spark to feel adequate
Still I write and you perceive
Adapting my craft to achieve
Confronting barriers in my way
While meaning shifts each day
Fragmented thought strives to join all the dots,
attempting to make sense of what appears
but analysis partitioned in slots,
can define not pathways bliss rapture spears.
Calling upon a fish to climb a tree,
dog to work out square root of minus one,
the sunken to tell us how to be free,
doomed to failure, thus we must come undone.
In silence, employing mind of the heart,
consciousness aligned with the universe,
wisdom imbibed even before thoughts start,
we pen a verse with no need to rehearse.
Simply by relinquishing all doership,
God does all doings through our heart’s worship.
Kathleen is a kind person who strives to be kind to even those who are not kind to her.
She is a musician who loves music and makes it a large part of her life.
She likes to laugh and even laughs at herself when circumstances warrant.
She is a poet, who often handles life by writing about both the pain and joy that takes places in the realm of life.
Cats make her smile in a way that is truly special and she has a very special feline in her life, as well as other felines that live nearby and brighten her days often.
She has two sons who are adults and are trying to find their own place in this big world. She loves them immensely and is there for them when needed.
She shares life with her husband of 31 years, who is truly her soulmate.
Overall, Kathleen lives a full happy life!
A world seen through open eyes,
No one is wearing a disguise,
Sharing a part of their prize,
As their love starts to rise.
Silencing hungers cry,
No longer slaves to their demise,
People growing wise to the lies,
No longer afraid,
They claim their lives.
As humanity strives for a brighter tomorrow,
Love comes in drowning the sorrow,
No need to beg, borrow or ask,
Money will have a different task.
As we bask in our dreams,
Listening to the streams,
As the sun beams,
Joy into every seam.
People and nature in harmony,
Animals are no longer mean,
Now that the system is balanced and clean,
Everyone is on the same team.
We affix a new regime,
Where love is the leader,
The Preacher, and teacher,
Within the Heart of every creature.
Man strives so hard, for what precisely?
To live a good life, and die afterwards,
What an Irony.
Man wants to survive for what precisely
To hope that someday a dream would be valid
But today I understood better. life is a journey of different destination, if you work so hard and smart, and you don’t make up so far and you die you would need to come back to life and the journey would begin all over again
For today a man dies tomorrow another is birthed the first cry of a child is the cry of uncertain vision, cry of desperation to make it so as not to come back to a familiar journey.
You want for the crawls and climbs,
sublimes and lemons.
Let the kid run, helplessly,
so he or she strives
for the unreachable star.
“Stop growing!” a mother hollers.
A father has their bags packed.
Shikata Ga Nai, the wise say.
Mother must cry when separated
by the wibble-wabble of time.
Dad must harumph over remnants,
tricycles and toys in garage and attics,
shed tears behind dry eyes.
Most children fall
into another’s arms
and mother must cry.
Shikata Ga Nai cannot be denied.
The silence of empty nest and eventual death.
The middle years of hugs from kids of kids.
Kids calling through the ether,
wondering why their kid must keep growing taller.
You want to tell the secret, but must hint
at the eventuality -
reality it seems,
Shikata Ga Nai -
don’t deny the truth.
Shikata Ga Nai - It cannot be helped.
Quarter moon strives,
grows half.
Half-moon yearns,
grows whole.
Full moon offers—
New moon envies:
half, whole, full.
The Cynicism Trap
apathetic engaged
withdrawn open, free
distrusting entrusting
pessimistic feeling hopeful in outlook
always expects failure ahead strives onward for success
skeptic about the future to come altruistic in hope for the future
selfishness, deceitful, dishonest truthful, honest, cooperative
emotionally detached, withdrawn engaged, committed, sharing
gives up easily, becomes inactive resilient, determined to stay on
alone, stifling creativity and connections encourages partnerships, joint efforts
dust stirs
oblivious to
God’s life breath
that makes it feel alive
so it struggles and strives
living in a make belief world
until one day dust enters silence
realising that in truth it never existed
all that always was and is, is breath of God
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