Earth Blessing

A blessing song for our Mother Earth and her many inhabitants. May we live in harmony here, and with all beings everywhere!

Instrument: Brio – Red Cedar Concert Ukulele

Refrain:
Earth we know
Earth we love
As below
So above.
Earth we take
Earth we give
We awake
As one to live!

1. May compassion be our guide,
Seeing all that you provide.
May our knowledge come to show
Wisdom as we change and grow.
Refrain:

2. May we give to you our best,
Loving kindness, peace, and rest.
Harmony is One in All,
Shaping land and waterfall.
Refrain:

3. God above and on the earth
Lives through every death and birth.
Planet of the Spirit, too,
May we handle you with Truth!
Refrain:

Father in this World

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
–John 14:2,10 (KJV)

Being a human father is never easy! As a woman I can’t pretend to understand a father’s feelings, trials, circumstances, responsibilities – just to name a few. But I know we have a Father, the one who created us and did not just drop us here to fend for ourselves, but who makes his home within each of us. My prayer is that every father on earth will turn to the Heavenly Father within for strength, wisdom, understanding, peace, and above all, love.

Happy Father’s Day!

Instrument: Brio – Red Cedar Concert Ukulele

Refrain:
There are many, many, many, many
Bodies in this world.
And each one is the image of
The Father’s love unfurled.
We may not realize it
Through the mind’s unending swirl.
But the Father makes His home
In everybody in this world.

1. If it were not so,
How could we live?
Without love to show,
What would we give?
Refrain:

2. If it were not so,
Christ couldn’t be.
Without love to show,
There’d be no you or me.
But
Refrain:

3. If it were not so,
He’d have no house.
Without love to show,
No mansions to give out.
But
Refrain:

So remember you’re a home
For the Father in this world.

Related

Father of the Blues

Father Made Flesh

Your Father Knows

The Parenthood of God

Wordplay

There is power in ev-e-ry word,
Or at least, that is what I have heard.
But believe it or not,
Those who told me forgot!
And the speeches they preach are absurd!


Written for
dVerse,
though I’m not sure it qualifies. The meter is fun, like all
Limericks,
and a nice break from my usual, more serious meter and subjects!

Still Life

I am the sculpture;
I’ll come right out and tell you that.
Which one?
I can’t say, because you don’t really care.

I was stone before I became this statue.
I am still stone.
And I will be stone even thereafter,
If (Merciful heavens!) I am chiseled to bits.

I told you I am the sculpture,
But I lied.
Yes, I, too, can create a ruse!
How do you like that?
The same way you like it when people point at you
Or put you in their neatly labeled box
And say, “THIS is who you are!”

You are not THAT,
And I am not the statue alone.
Heck! I am not even stone!
I Am Life!

You don’t think so;
You don’t believe what I say.
But did you believe me then,
When I said I am the sculpture?

No matter.
You can have your opinions,
Thoughts,
And beliefs!
These are problems I do not have-
Opinions,
Thoughts,
Beliefs.

But I am still Life!
I was before the stone was.
I was before the sculpture was.
I am now,
In the stone and the rendered statue.
And I will be
Long after the sculpture is no more,
Long after the stone has eroded.
I am there.

But lest you leave this conversation all freaked out on me,
Let me come right out and tell you that
You are Life, too!
Stoned or not,
Oops did I say stoned?
Ha ha even the stones have a sense of humor!

Anyway, no matter the state
In which you find yourself, Grasshopper,
You are Life!
So live on,
For you are sculpture and stone,
Artist and observer,
Creator and creation!

Now step lively,
Rock the boat,
And live Life with the Spirit that You Are!

Oh, before you go?
Tell that painting over there
That it is still life, too.

Thanks!


For
dVerse | Poetics – Chisel Me a Conversation.
I had fun writing this!

Smiles

Smiles spilling all around,
Saturating driest ground,
Calming down with softest light
Every fiery word that bites;
Laying in a bed of peace
Where Hope blooms with gentle ease.
And in the morning glow of Dawn,
We look and find new smiles have grown!


Another for
dVerse,
with thanks to Grace for her inspiration!

Currency

Abundance does our soul enfold,
But we’re forgetful in this world.

Such hardened hearts and trials tough
Show Everything is not enough.

The countless Enemies to blame
Perpetuate a losing game.

If love spilled out like human greed,
The currency would not be “need!”


A Quadrille for
dVerse,
where 44 is the magic (i.e. required) number of words, and one word must be a form of “spill”!

Wake Up!

Instrument: Tempo – Seagull Excursion Folk Acoustic Guitar

1. Drinkin’ coffee, eatin’ chocolate, turnin’ up sad songs;
Drinkin’ coffee, eatin’ chocolate, turnin’ up sad songs.
No wonder I can’t sleep! But how do I move on?

2. Feelin’ busy, thinkin’ too much, wantin’ outa here;
Feelin’ busy, thinkin’ way too much, wantin’ outa here.
And when the day is done, I still can’t find the cheer.

3. Wakin’ up all tense and restless, wond’rin’ what to do;
Wakin’ up all tense and restless, wond’rin’ what to do.
How long’s it gonna take to stop and get a clue!

4. Drinkin’ coffee, eatin’ chocolate, turnin’ up sad songs;
Drinkin’ coffee, eatin’ chocolate, turnin’ up sad songs.
They never wake me up, just keep me in the fog.

5. List’nin’ for a welcome word to wash away my fears;
List’nin’ for a welcome word to wash away my fears.
The Spirit calls my name and whispers, “I am here.”

6. I see the Daystar shine and shimmer, lightin’ up my way;
I see the Daystar shine and shimmer, lightin’ up my way;
I feel the dawn in me, it’s lifting me awake!

7. Let the inside and the outside show the Spirit’s love;
Let the inside and the outside show the Spirit’s love.
And let us keep on movin’ on, come on now, let’s wake up!

O let us keep on movin’ on, come on now, let’s wake up!

Related

Faith of Christ

God Bless this Human Mess

Songbird Sing

Instrument: Tempo – Seagull Excursion Folk Acoustic Guitar
(capo 4)

Soaring high above the clouds
Of chaos in my mind,
I know there is a song to sing
With words I cannot find.

I hunt and peck and try in vain
To force the music out
And feel the pangs of harsh regret
That feed the fire of doubt.

The time has come to let it go
And set the songbird free!
For only when the spirit soars
Can any songbird sing!

I learn to find the hidden nest
Of peace within my mind,
Where love consoles and lifts me over
All the thoughts that bind.

There are no words to look for here,
No melody to sing;
The music of this sacred place
The Spirit plays within.

So, take the time to let it go
And set the songbird free!
For only when the spirit soars
Can you, the songbird, sing!

Download Mp3

Right click this link and choose “Save target as…” or similar to download. Feel free to share for noncommercial purposes only, please.
Songbird Sing Mp3.


“Poetics – The Music in You” is today’s prompt over at
dVerse.

Basically the exercise, for poets, is to write a song lyric instead of a poem. Read the post–I totally agree with the part about poems beaing “heard” in a speaking voice, while lyrics are not!

Most of you know by now that I’m a songwriter. However, this one is a song written more like a poem! It has melody, harmony, rhythm, and honestly, I think it turned out well! But you’ll notice it does not have a refrain or chorus. And it’s written in quatrains, those stanzas/verses of 4 lines. They rhyme, as most (all?) of my songs do. But it can be either read alone, listened to as a song, or both.

I hope you enjoy this. I couldn’t resist writing to this prompt, but the result is not what I expected! No, it is much better!

Also published in
Vision through Words

Know Me Well

Whether we seek to know God, a person, or His other creations, it’s all the same: We cannot truly know, unless and until we give up preconceived expectations, ideas, and judgments.

Instrument: Brio – Red Cedar Concert Ukulele

1. So you think you know me,
‘Cause you passed me on the road a time or two.
And you think you owe me
Your opinions and one version of the truth.

Refrain:
You try to tell my story,
But it is not yours to tell.
When you live without its trappings,
Then you can know me well.

2. So you think you love me,
‘Cause you believe I chose the perfect thing to do.
And you think you hold me
In a pretty little box filled with the proof.
Refrain:

3. So you think you see me,
‘Cause you recognize my body in this place.
And you think you need me
To look the same every time you see my face.

But I am writing you a story
That only you can tell.
When you live the truth inside you,
Then you shall know me well.

When you live the truth inside you,
Then you shall know me well.

You shall know me well.

Elegy to a Loved One

Prompted by
dVerse

The sorrow doesn’t hurt anymore.
The stabbing pain has gone.
I’m not wounded daily by your passing from this world.
But I feel it like a heavy weight
In my sad eyes,
A lump in my throat,
A burning in my chest,
A knot in my belly.
Sometimes I cry;
Always I remember.

It’s strange, what I miss most about you–

The things you taught me help me every day,
And I am left to wonder
What else you could have shared.
When I pull out my tools
To fix or build something,
My heart aches for your guiding hands,
Encouraging words,
The knowledge you gave me.

Someone else will teach me now,
But not the way you did.
And I will learn,
But from different people, in other times and places.
And my own hands will know the tools,
My heart will see the beauty in the fixed and newly created.
But right now they yearn for what they do not have.

And the laughter?
I can’t talk about that
Without crying.
I don’t even remember what you said.
I just know it was funny;
You always brought a smile to my lips,
A happy tear to my eyes,
A song to my heart.

I realize through the shifting sands of grief and time:
I still have this smile,
This happy tear,
The song you helped me write!
And I am glad!

I don’t always feel peaceful,
Yet I am at peace.
I am strong in the knowing
That you are here now,
As you always were
And ever shall be.
Yours is the Spirit of eternity,
The one that cradles and keeps me
As It still keeps you–
In a new form perhaps,
But no less present
Than when I could touch your hand and hear your voice.

You are the Light of the Ages,
The Love that turns this world,
The tides that move and remove.

You are life,
Abundant and free!
And you are here
In me.
–for Kenny
with the song,
Smilemaker