Soon

In memory of those who died in Atlanta and Boulder
.
Winter slithers into Spring
Like a snake across the grass.
Trees are budding
Begging the heavens for warm rain.
A turtle tours the forest floor
Stops to tug at a worm in the ground.
.
Soon robins will return
And romp across unmowed lawns.
The Pandemic’s Winter darkness
Will be pushed aside by purple irises.
.
Soon BBQs will release smoke
Into the dusk’s warm air.
The seeds have been planted
Soon flowers will rise from their warm beds.
.
On a small plot of soil
In the middle of hundreds
No flowers are yet planted.
Too soon to let color celebrate life
When a life was taken so horribly;
Only grief can now grow.

Quote of the Week

“Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear.” –Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Words Matter…but is anyone listening?

It’s been almost 20 years since the terrorists outside of the US struck us on 9/11. It’s been Almost 2 months since terrorists from within this country stormed the Capital wanting to murder Vice President Pence and Congress people. It took years for this insurrection to occur but over that time we had events foreshadowing that day.
In the current issue of Ornament magazine (Vol. 41.5.2020) an interview with jewelry artist Marianne Hunter was reprinted from Vol.26 No2, 2002. Here is a quote from that long ago interview:
“I just wrote a letter to…the president of our country that terrorists can murder us, terrorists can kill the body, but some of the things that are happening in this country are detrimental to the soul of America. And of the two threats I see the second as the most to be feared. You can murder a lot of Americans and America will still be here. But if you subvert the constitution, you subvert justice and morality and fairness. Then America herself is diminished.”
Sound familiar? What she said so many years ago is exactly where we are now! How many Presidents have we had since 2002? How many times have we been warned that the terrorist threats to our democracy loom not from without but from within? Will anything change after Jan 6, 2021? CAN anything change? President Biden, are you listening?

Poetry for Lent

If you are Christian, Lent has begun. I would like to offer you a free copy of my “Stations For a New Millennium”. Through my poetry and artwork I have created “Stations of the Cross” for the 21^st century where each of the 14 traditional “stations” are looked at from a modern perspective.