concrete

How can I keep a straight face
when nature cannot draw a straight line?
How do I take an immutable stand
when cracks appear on our concrete,
and even mountains are wearing down?
How will I ever speak the truth
while the weather changes every day?
How do I have faith
when gravity doesn't ask what I believe?

Crocuses

Ah!
They waited,
for long months,
under the snow,
in the cold,
in the dark,
in the dirt,
for just a day
like today,
to bloom,
in the warm
sunlight.

I think
I feel some
of the same...

It's not all green leaves and yellow blossoms

Green

1.
Here the first signs of life are green,
green beneath the sun,
green in the direct sunlight,
green humble yet persistent,
green before any other color.
Green is the first sign of life here.

2.
Something inside me feels green,
perhaps in my eyes,
or my mind and heart,
maybe it is in my hands
ready to dig into the garden soil,
or reach up and touch the sky.

My Work

I watch
a raven land on our garden wall, survey our yard
And fly away.

I sweep
the dusting of fallen snow from our door
As new snow falls.

I pile
Rocks up around our garden to hold the soil
That weeds will invade.

I plant
Trees, shrubs, flowers, herbs, and vegetables
And then water them faithfully.

I weed
Those invading wildflowers society condemns
That God gave so successful traits.

I build
Tables and benches, dulcimers and strummers
From small scraps of wood.

I write
Cobbled words together to make poems
And then hide them from the world.

I love
My family, but cannot solve their problems
I can only stand with a helping hand.
I search
For truth, for God’s hand, mind, and will
In the chaos of my world.

I live…

Thoughts from This Season Between

1.
These rains have melted away the last snow,
and green leaves, clover and grasses reveal
that life continued through the cold dark months
waiting for the warmth that would come.

I also follow this season as it changes
wearing lighter jackets out into the fields
the morphing wonders of this new time,
still wet and cool allows me to imagine the sun.

2.
This is the season between,
rain begins to replace the snow,
(though it may still freeze)
and green rises above the white.

3.
rain
ponds rising
green leaves
a yellow blossom
worms on the sidewalk
all signs

4.
Things are rarely simple in nature,
not at all like our light switches,
but gradual, multifaceted, nonlinear,
meandering through time and space...
We may watch for one thing
but see a hundred confusing signs
for what we think we are waiting for.

5.
God is not simple,
He is not "yes or no."
rather He is, "Come and see."

Look deeply,
carefully
to see beyond
our human
models of reality...

Thin Ice

we are in the season of very thin ice
and mud sticking to our shoes
of anxious birds chattering in the brush
and longer, warmer days
not spring just yet
and not winter anymore
a season of very thin ice and mud

The First Blossom

The rain melted the snow off our garden,
and in the uncovered ground
I found this single blossom,
the first sign of spring yet to come,
it brightened my heart and soul,
it was a reward for enduring the long cold.
I picked it and rushed inside to my wife,
with a hug and a kiss...


(And then, a day later, it snowed again.)