Prayer Is for me A unique type of power Prayer Is a lifeline A means of disentangling The vines of worry Within one’s head A way to empty So as to focus To fill With a semblance Of peace
Prayer germinated peace Is a peace Beyond the reach Of worldly woes Worldly worries A peace which grows From faith Out of the Heart of Love
Peace fed by faith And truth Is not of this world But is present in this world It can lend clarity Commitment And courage To our walk Upon this earth.
I pray to a God of Love To the Spirits of Love Those gone beyond Who loved deeply Gave dearly And, I imagine May now weep At the evil Present in our world.
Can Love from afar Change the hearts Of those living in the flesh today? Please let it be so
It is my prayer that all hearts be opened even a crack that a beam of Light might enter to warm and soften to stifle fear and nurture compassion
Prayer Deep, quiet, wordless prayer Entering the presence of Love May it soothe our souls Renew our Spirit And inform our paths
May prayer Heal the United States of America May prayer Bring love, compassion And truth in action To our fragile World.
Luminous white Dinner plate Glows like a torch Against the tarry night sky A smattering Of twinkling stars Join in the illumination The snow blanketed earth Reflects the light Like a quilt embedded with a million precious diamonds
Night marches on The moon Resplendent in its fullness Rises westward into the sky As the wee hours of morning arrive A dark curtain With a rounded edge Creeps across its face From east to west
As the curtain Advances across the celestial body The color of the orb Morphs from fullers white To a red-orange color In muffled horizontal stripes Of varying hues and intensities
As I gaze upon this blood red body A thought arises Unbidden Am I seeing The Sacred Heart of Jesus?
The rays of the sun Are blocked By the umbra shadow of earth The blue light from our solar orb Scatters easily The rays must now filter through Earth’s atmosphere As during sunrise And sunset.
When the full-spectrum light of the Sun Is blocked By the earth The red beams remain
This Blood Worm Moon Heralds Winter’s end And Springs awakening A time of renewal And rebirth
When hope seems gone And evil blocks the light Let us look to the sky And remember Love endures Love persists Love grows When we reflect It out!
The trees Bend, swirl Flex and resist They shed branches, needles But still, they hold Their ground Roots planted deeply In Mother Earth The once undisturbed Blanket of white Littered now with debris Covers the tender soil The moon watches over From the west As the layers of pink clouds Resting in the eastern sky Give notice Of the rising Of the sun The air is filled With the howling of the wind And the crying out of the trees As they protest the assault Gone is the peaceful Muffle Of a snow-covered world Hold your ground Soldiers of the woods Shine your lights Orbs of the sky And wisdom Please come to me Come to us Courage Please take up residence in me Come into all of us Instruct and inspire me As I dwell safely now In my warm home How might I resist? How might I Protect the vulnerable Defend our country And stand tall Like the lady In New York Harbor?
Not in a card adorned With glitter and hearts Not in a church hosting A woman in white And a man in a tux Not even at a table Lit by candles.
I saw love In a hospital In the voice of a woman Speaking for her husband Advocating through grief-filled tears For his final wishes For a merciful, peaceful release
I saw love In a young woman Sitting beside her dying father Holding his hand Telling him stories Expressing her love Sitting, being present Love embodied
I saw love In a daughter Pulling strength From deep within Speaking truth Selflessly supporting Her dad’s wishes Bravely explaining All he has endured To be her dad, Their dad And out of that love Expressing gratitude For what has been And releasing now From suffering Acknowledging the truth Of what cannot be.
I saw love today In these three women Walking together Holding each other up Crying, sharing, laughing Only they Truly knowing How great a loss They are experiencing
I saw love today In a beautiful Hand-made quilt Cloaking a man So gentle and kind A man so full of love For these women It filled the room.
I saw love in nurses Whose eyes radiated compassion Whose hands worked With a tender touch Whose knowledge Offered strength And decrease of suffering.
I saw love In medical providers Accepting their limitations Acknowledging the inevitable Despite heroic attempts To change that path Medical providers speaking truth With humility and compassion.
I saw love In old friends Being present Where few dare to be Setting aside all else And standing sentry Carrying a magic bag Of sustenance Giving a ride When tears block vision
I saw love In a pastor Speaking truth Offering prayer And compassion With no demands Supporting this family Who so embody love.
I saw love today And what an honor it is To know and be present with This family This woman who has dedicated her life To serving And being love incarnate.
Hello to all! I thought it was time to pause, say hello and let you know what is going on here!
My dear friend and now co-author, Marjorie Burke, and I have completed our book! The title is Spirit in Creation: Two Women, One Vision: Finding Peace and Truth in Creation. The book is at the editor now!! Our goal was to complete the manuscript before Tom and I leave on the trip which I shall tell you about!
Tom and I leave in less than a week for Tanzania. We will be volunteering at The Small Things which is a children’s village begun over 10 years ago by the daughter of a dear, late friend – Dr. David Ross Russell. He is the person who my book, Navigating Life’s Final Journey: Conversations, Choices, Resources is dedicated to. I worked with him for over 25 years. His daughter, Bekka, began the village after perceiving the need while on a trip to Tanzania during her studies at London School of Economics. It is staffed by all Tanzanian people excepting Bekka. We look forward to helping out in any ways needed. Tom is going to give some classes on aerodynamics to the children and I will be helping with a writing group.
We expect this to be a transformative experience. We are also going to have opportunity to go on a safari with one of the staff members of the children village – a trip which will go to supporting the village and fulfilling a life dream!
I have a sneaking suspicion that my next book will be borne out of this trip to Tanzania! I have cameras ready and travel journals stocked. More to come!
I would love to hear from all of you! I am not artificial intelligence, I believe in human contact – we all can learn so much from each other!
Let the white flakes of beauty Dance through the air And land on the glass In patterns of delight Complex patterns Artistically unique Let them land on my eyelashes Reminding me of sledding Down the hills of childhood Laughing with delight Oblivious to the cold Let me catch them on my tongue Tasting joy Nurturing life Let them coat the winter landscape Of greys and browns Painting an image Of pure and new Reminding me That we can all begin anew
Let there be snow That I may give thanks For the woodstove The heat and comfort of home The privilege Of no longer commuting The teamwork of marriage
Let there be snow That I may breathe deeply Inhaling the beauty All around me And take comfort in knowing Spring will follow winter.
Not merely in your own strength Not hardly It has served you Sometimes well But it also has blinded you Your own power, knowledge, fortitude May have caused you To miss the Power of the Flowers Emerging from seeds Some likened in size to a grain of sand. They break through earth The texture of clay Or rich, pliant loam Finding a way through Sprouting, surviving Growing leaves of green Buds appear All closed up cocooned Waiting For their time To shine At last, blossoming Facing the sun Unabashedly Rejoicing in life Giving testimony to beauty
There is power in a flower It is not blinded by its own strength. But empowered by trust.
Trust takes great courage Imagine Residing beneath the soil No light, no air Trusting Your time will come The seeds which would become delicate petals of flower Once dwelled Buried in the earth But with trust They eventually Sprang to life Watered with rain Fed with nutrients From the soil Warmed by the light of the sun The power of the flower Is in trusting And knowing Nature provides.
I come to the mountains From whence cometh My peace My wholeness My soul’s nourishment
As the car crests the hill A vista opens Revealing Forest Fields and Mountains near and far From Kearsage To the Whites The vista embraces all Birds soar Riding wind currents In the valley below The trees Now mostly barren Stand nevertheless Unabashed In their greys of winter
The zinnias Persevere In contributing color To the field Amarinths Stretch skyward Their cranberry colored Feathery blooms Enrich the landscape One tree The tallest On orchard’s edge Still beautifies With its cloak of Sunset orange Its color Vibrant With the frame of grey Created by Woodland comrades
The scene plays out Beneath a deepening Drape of blue As the sun’s rays Lower in the Evening sky.
Crumbs for the Journey 