POEMS BY MEMBERS
DECEPTIVE DECEMBER
Bev Conklin
Deceptive December
is here once more.
Bearing gifts,
he takes the floor,
touting the joys of Christmas,
the coming New Year,
and then, of course--
he'll disappear!
CHICKADEES
Dewell H. Byrd
A young
chickadee
pays popcorn visits
to our butterfly bush,
samples seeds,
tidbits we can’t see.
At the window sill birdfeeder
she examines a variety of morsels,
chooses a sunflower seed,
flits back to the bush.
A flock of chickadees arrives---
quick, sharp movements.
Each takes a turn at the feeder
chooses a prize.
A Cooper’s hawk
flies between window and bush---
fast as summer lightning---
dives into brambles across the street.
Chickadees freeze, disappear into the
rhododendron bush.
We watch Sunday afternoon football
and during commercials
watch a vacant birdfeeder.
THANKLESS HIPPIE SON
Steven Penticuff
Eats nachos and BBQ ribs
on our china, stacks gold-rimmed
cups and plates in the dishwasher
when we're gone, always uses
our best silver to scrape
burned rice from old pots.
We, who took those treasures
from the hutch five times
in fifty years, are upset at first,
but time like this floods life
with light: Anything but thankless,
he honors us with every chip
and scrape and bite.
COLLAPSIBLE ORANGE
Harding Stedler
Lying ripe
in open fields,
waiting for a face
followed by a name,
then a persona,
pumpkins allow the moon
to paint them orange.
For all those that go unclaimed,
unnamed,
and have nothing to look forward to
but the freeze and thaw of winter,
they squeeze their seeds
like a protective mother would
her child.
There is depression in December
when I drive by
and see rows of orange collapsed,
knowing some deserving pumpkin
was left unpicked.
WINTER WISHES
Diane Auser Stefan
Do you hear the church
bells singing on the breeze
Each note whispers clearly though the bare dark trees
Choirs join the music with hymns of glory and of praise
Evening chills vanish with these sounds at end of day.
Maybe this year will come a perfect gift of love
Brought gently on the wings of Hope by a Peace dove
Every heart can strive to make a world that’s right
Remembering God’s gift to us on that first Christmas night.
THANK YOU FOR THE
CHRISTMAS COOKIES
Laurence W. Thomas
I like surprises
like cookies with something hidden in them:
nuts, cherries, peppermint patties
baked into chocolate cookies.
They come when least expected—
that’s why they’re called surprises—
and, come to think of it,
I don’t always like them.
The phone rings and somebody’s dead,
coming home to find a tree on the house,
biting down hard on a pecan shell
in a Christmas cookie.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SON!
Pat Durmon
It’s your thirty-fourth
birthday, John.
Unforgettable! We sent a card of love,
birthday wishes and a little money
for a nice dinner for two.
But I wanted to send you much more:
I simply could not figure out how
to mail the wordless gift from here to there.
If I knew how,
I’d find a box big enough to hold the primal
smell of the river, smooth skipping rocks,
and white foam rippling; I’d definitely
send a lively fire-pit smoking and crackling—
surrounded by cedar stumps, a sweet gum
dressed in her autumn skirt, and a fine-spun
mist that gently touches a face as it rolls by
before it tries to climb the mountain. I’d
pack it all carefully, then add some leftover
cowboy coffee and zucchini bread to help you
remember the exact tastes and smells found
here at home in the Ozarks. Well, maybe
I would add one more thing: sweat—
all for the joy of manual labor.
A birthday present, John— one to unpack
when rain comes pouring down
on your big city.
My love to you,
Mom
DILEMMA
Pat Laster
Awaking from a vivid
dream,
I hatched a scheme:
how to display
--revolving tray--
to show what carries sound the best.
My child had guessed
that liquid would.
Should parenthood
now take the ball and organize
in 5th grade guise
this project made
for science grade?
EVERYTHING I NEED
Jean Even
I lift
up my eyes towards heaven
And see the wonders thereof,
Every road I travel, every step I take,
Are blessings from above.
I call upon You, Father,
For everything I need.
Through a troubled world I journey;
I'm glad I have you for attorney.
You are my guide, indeed,
I lean on You for everything I need.
SLIPPING BENEATH THE SILKY
WAVES
Heather Lewis
Slicing
Splashing
Softly shimmering
The sounds and scents seem to say
Share your treasures
Test my strength
Sinking beneath the sultry sands
Seems more of a life than staying
Above on the shore
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THE WIND TAKES YOU
Dave Gregg
Like impatient children
the leaves
Scamper across the frosted
fields
Wearing badges of red and
yellow
Dancing on points of elm
and oak
The edict comes from the
heavens
Go as far as the wind will
take you
Go beyond this river and
that hill
Follow the curve of the
mountains
And the bends of the air
reach out
To live the life of leaves
now free
Go as far as the wind will
take you
Learn the lessons nature
provides
Whirling fancy of the
breezes seek
The trees you have not
known and
Go as far as the wind will
take you
Seasons change and the sun
removes
The color from your stem
and leaves
Go as far as the wind will
take you
No longer crisp or crunch
but memory
Go as far as the wind will
take you
Go as far as the wind will
take you
THE BIRTH OF HOPE
Jeanetta Chrystie
In a world of abject
darkness where men’s souls were
weighted by despair,
And hearts reeked of evil’s dark decay trapped in sin’s deadly
snare;
There remained a flicker of light that shown as a candle
lighting the night,
In the prophecy of our Savior’s birth as an infant Israelite.
Chorus:
Now see the babe’s feet cradled in his Father’s hands,
Now see the youth standing tall,
Now see the man stretch his love across Calvary,
Now see God’s love for us all.
Until one clear night a
babe was born in a Bethlehem manger
stall,
To complete this first step in God’s divine plan to redeem
those who heed His call.
Our Heavenly Father cast His pearl, His Son into the world
With angel’s songs and a virgin birth, the Christ Child brought
hope to our world.
Chorus:
Now see the babe’s feet cradled in his Father’s hands,
Now see the youth standing tall,
Now see the man stretch his love across Calvary,
Now see God’s love for us all.
What a wondrous birth!
What a glorious gift the Father
offers to all
Who through faith accept Jesus as Lord of their life, to ransom
them from the fall.
As promise and prophecy now see fulfillment begin in a baby’s
smile.
Now hope can sing in the hearts of all whom the Christ Child
reconciles.
Chorus:
Now see the babe’s feet cradled in his Father’s hands,
Now see the youth standing tall,
Now see the man stretch his love across Calvary,
Now see God’s love for us all.
EPISTLE TO MY
CHIROPRACTOR
Henrietta Romman
Dear Dr. A.,
I find myself
released
and eased.
No more
shooting agony,
now I can flip
from left to right—
That ghastly grip
of sciatic pinch
that led my life,
like a faulty soul
melted, vanished..
Now I am free .
So, bent and rent
with pain, chained
to ails, subject
to all the ‘dos’
and ‘do not’s . . .
all that is gone.
Dr. A., your work
was not in vain:
It set all right
the wrongs, when
bones and age
both schemed
to steal my peace!
I wish to thank you
more and more for . . .
Well, do I pray that
you’d truly know the rest:
“Forever this indebted
frame will remain addicted
to your care and name.
And now, Dr. A.,
Where do I go from here?
Sincerely.
SPEAKING IN TONGUES
Tania Gray
On Monday nights I drive on
darkened streets
to learn some secrets, sit with people I
don’t know. The runes and scribbles mystify;
obedient, we chant like parakeets.
Demands are made, always solo repeats;
attempts to answer fluently are bleats.
Of course the goal’s not just to satisfy
our guru; more than that, perhaps July
I’ll visit Rome, glad for the language feats
on Monday nights.
AT
CHRISTMAS TIME
Tom Padgett
An angel came to make the way
at Christmas time, at Christmas time
and to a maiden fair did say,
"God has prepared a special day
at Christmas time."
Then Joseph took the maiden fair
at Christmas time, at Christmas time
to Bethlehem, where there they stayed
till Mary in the manger laid
at Christmas time
the baby Jesus, Holy Child,
at Christmas time, at Christmas time--
the One on Whom the heavens smiled,
so pure was He, so undefiled
at Christmas time.
Some shepherds in their fields that night
at Christmas time, at Christmas time
were startled by a brilliant light
of angels hovering in flight
at Christmas time.
The angels sang, "Now have no fear
at Christmas time, at Christmas time.
The God of Love tonight draws near:
in Bethlehem His Son is here
at Christmas time.
And Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar
at Christmas time, at Christmas time,
three wise men from their homelands far,
came
following the guiding star
at Christmas time.
Then parents, shepherds, wise men, all
at Christmas time, at Christmas time
to worship did before Him fall
and on His Blessed Name did call
at Christmas time.
Today in faith that never dims
at Christmas time, at Christmas time
with candles, bells, and trees to trim,
we praise His name and honor Him
at Christmas time.
VISIT WORKSHOP FOR
AN ASSIGNMENT.
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