Merry Christmas

Wishing you and all those you love a Happy, Merry, Blessed Christmas

the brave that day

giving their lives
to save the children
being stopped
by the same death
that claimed so many
of the their students
in the seconds
of their disbelief
they put themselves
in the line of fire
the brave that day

the day heaven cried

a school day
innocent children
murdered
by a violence
we don't understand
it cannot be
our tears do not
wash it away
hearts are broken
mourning their death
together we cried
the day heaven cried

tangled

lives
tangled
a revolving door
of good and bad
who is to blame
we must know
Lord Jesus Christ
have mercy on us
we are all
tangled

Sandy Hook

dawn
another day
the memory
of Sandy Hook
reminding
how lost we are
when we do
not have You
our way
becomes troubled
evil finds the crack
in a crumbling mind
answering its call
taking the most
precious thing
as it searches
for answers
life

stoplight

the small texas town was quiet
no cars had come by
it was a dark rainy night
the only sign of life was a stoplight
flashing its red yellow and green
the only evidence of what
once might have been
we wondered why it was there
where had the need for it gone
the light from the stoplight
made red yellow and green raindrops
that disappeared like the town
on the dark wet streets
deserted by time
no place to stop
no place to wander
no place to go

play

children play
cats play
dogs play
squirrels play
crows play
bees play
deer play
butterflies play
rabbits play
bobcats play
I learned this
here at the cabin
as I watched the
silver fox play
until dark

the other day

the other day
a good neighbor died
he was my first friend
here at the cabin
I miss him
the other day at night
a raccoon as big
as a vw bug
was on the front porch
eating cat food
yesterday a small black
white and brown butterfly
came by to sit in the sun
with me and drink some
of my kombucha elixir
it returned several times
I am a guest in its world
what time was for
the other day

when another old friend dies

when another old friend dies
a day dies in its own way
how long will I continue
to include them as usual
how long until my mind
will let them go
I don't know
I don't know

wandering mind

a dangerous mind
a wandering mind
lost in itself
consuming thoughts
mixed up
with joy and tears
searching the waves
thinking too much
out of control
not free anymore
tied by too much
old time
making the ultimate
artificial mind

joy

joy
thoughts
forming waves
lost youth
walking alone
lost in time
owned thoughts
peaceful stones
painful moments
slipping sliding
another gone
hanging onto
tomorrow
trying testing
fringed walls
trusted strings
loving ideas
day of wonder
ancient freedom
inheritor frames
to be
to love
joy

cabin sweet cabin

first light
first cold
fireplace
chasing away
a shiver
most asked cabin questions
grandma do you
have a clock
grandma how do
I get a glass
of water
comments
grandma don't ever
more back to town
best sleep
best food
best fun
the world stops
on the gravel road
cabin sweet cabin
how we love you
the idea of you
I want to go
to grandmas house
webbed dreams
wrapped nestled
cotton candy cabin

living the connection

if you have not yet found Jesus
get going and do it
your life will never be
what you know you want it to be
without Him
by now you have looked
many places for happiness and peace
and have not been successful
give Jesus a try and find
the answers you know are there
don't be afraid of Him or others
stop struggling and being stressed
relax and get on the path
He has for you forever
He is waiting for you
and whether you know it or not
you are looking for Him
He will walk down a path with you
or sit by a quiet river
listen in your silence
and you will hear Him
remember He came in sandals
and plain and simple robes
He preached on hillsides
no cushioned benches
no bands
people came for Him
families worshiped together
want to know Him better
be more like Him

one life

one life
to live
do it
well

organic food
not too much
exercise
not too much
sleep
what you need

if you don't
run your life
someone else
will

take time
to find
your
perfect
peace

remember
what it
is like
to be
a child

3 weeks with nick

where we lived
in rural indiana
proved to be
a dangerous place
for nick
the fellow who kept
his horses in our stable
fancied exotic animals
he had a large exotic rooster
one day it attacked nick
it scratched him on his face
he came running with blood
on his cheeks
this was the last time
we saw that rooster
next week nick was riding
on our wheelhorse tractor
with his father
it somehow rolled over
and landed on nicks head
pinning him down
dad somehow
picked up the tractor
and nick ran to the house
I was on the phone
with our doctors wife
I took one look at him
and knew something was wrong
I brushed his hair back
his forehead was purple
the doctors wife called
her husband and told him
what had happened
we met him at his office
a concussion
next week
I set a cup of my hot coffee
on the kitchen table
in those days a cup and saucer
nick came running
put his hands quickly on the table
catching the edge of the saucer
flipping the hot coffee into his face
I ran to get ice in a cold towel
put it on his face and he said
mom I can't see
I paniced but said
why can't you see nick
he said because you have
the towel over my face
we treated the burns

marbles and hair

when the kids were small
I didn't leave them often
a few times I left all three
with their father
things didn't always go well
one time Nick found his limit
and cut sarahs hair
another time
sarah swallowed a marble
when I got home
they had that
don't tell mom
look on their faces
they were hiding something
no one wanted to tell me
we usually laughed it away

marbles and hair

the go mode

Sarah was always
in the go mode
at four years old
she would come down
the stairs
completely dressed
in atleast
three different outfits
she had been told
we will go tomorrow
her words were
is this today?
which meant
is this the day
we go

be gentle

be gentle
like first light
sunset newborn
quiet steps
mark the way
alone silence
peace in place
baskets of joy
levers to pull
fingertip love
clearly slow
sweeping dusk
to night

mom

74 years ago
my first breath
was with my mom
my memory tells me
she was always
with me and still is
she made those about her
feel good
she was Gods gift to me
he said learn receive
she was not afraid
to let go to love
not a selfish bone
in her body
at 88 she took
her last breath
when it became mine

Daniels View

five year old daniel
loved to fly in the big planes
returning with mom and dad
sister sarah and brother nick
from looking at ranches
on the snake river in idaho
he was wide awake as we were
coming in for a landing
in south bend indiana
he was looking out the plane window
at a sky full of stars
he looked over at me and said
mom we must be up really high
I said why is that daniel
he said because there are stars
above us and below us

uncle henrys cardinal

it happens every so often
on gypsys old porch
now covered with feral cats
sleeping eating hanging out
as i sat at my computer
i heard the dreaded thump
a bird flew into the window
on gypsys porch
the fringes I had hung
on both porch windows
weren't working
as fast as i could i ran
could i get there in time
to save a live unconscious bird
well bad news
uncle henry the cats favorite
feral and a nice guy
was out in the yard
eating a male cardinal
all the other cats
were watching and waiting

Lexi Rain Milnor

my name is Lexi Rain Milnor
it is august of the year 2012
and I just became one year old
my mom and dad were trying
to show me off walking
for grandma diane, taylor
and grandma milnor
they stood me up
and said walk to daddy
but you know what
just standing was magical
the smile on my face
was made of pure joy
look at me I'm standing
the wonder of it
in her shinning smile

surviving

post the post
on a post
like the old
burma shave sign
along the last road
travelers read
as they ride
learning from
tired tire tread
spinning free words
as it wears away
choking on exhaust
letters learning
to breath the magic
of survival

humanities tears

today for the first time
i am inside a rain drop
dancing in the wind
falling towards something
can't stop to choose
why not jump jump jump
outside a water tear
rolling down my cheek
filling the cracks of today
with yesterdays silence
huddled in a puddle
of humanities tears

my life aroma

find the bouquet
my life aroma
espresso just finishing up
bacon frying in moms iron skillet
mixing with fresh air
a sunrise soul feast
starting a new day to ponder
first unsure claiming particles
blue sky holding white clouds
vultures circling a meal
joyful clear silence
perfect peaceful place
where God put me
I will leave the world behind
when I can finish with it
finally knowing the truth
of all that was and will be
my life aroma

I wanted it all

I wanted
it all?

fame fortune
the world

why couldn't
I have been
happy

with
just
you?

funny

you were always
so funny
I relied on you
to make me laugh
it is what first
attracted me to you
it lasted for most
of the time
for most of the years
it was good to laugh
so much

yucca love

we wonder
how it all works
we ponder
we talk
we question
as human beings do
then we see something
right under our nose
the answer
the yucca
fell in love
with the rose

age has the last laugh

funny thing is
the older I get
the less important
the future is

the past at last
is where it is
memories go by
way too fast

the whirlpool
surrounds me
where am I
content to be

majestically
the omnipotent
present
fends

in truth
we are all
alone
in the jungle

slithering
sputtering
scraping
searching

sweet love
keeps us
for the one
who waits

age
has
the last
laugh

katydid

maybe she should
maybe she shouldn't
maybe she could
maybe she couldn't
maybe she would
maybe she wouldn't
her dilemma
as she hid
under her lid
katydid

mamas threads of light

Seeking shelter and a place to rest a poem unable to be written weaves in and out my thoughts. I keep thinking you better get it in print or it will find the wind and find no home with you. The sad thing is no one else in the world has it and if you don't sprinkle it on the page it will become dust on the dirt road of time. The shiny poem pleads with you to take care of it. Shed all that tries to keep you away from it. Do it!



shimmering shiny silver silken threads

driven by the wind

webs hanging on the lifeless fence

randomly swaying to and fro

because they

like mama found no easy place

loose ends

fragile

reaching wildly frantically

finding eyes that couldn't let go

fascinating rhythm of the earth

unnoticed until

she walked through them

webs on her face and arms

she let me imagine

what the sunlight could bring

as it came through the woods

she found time to see them

time to embrace

what she wanted to be woven

through the cloth of our lives

mamas threads of light

Seeking shelter and a place to rest a poem is unable to be written weaves in and out of my thoughts. I keep thinking you better get it in print or it will find the wind and no home with you. The sad thing is no one else in the world has it and if you don't sprinkle it on the page it will become dust on the dirt road of time. The shiny poem pleads with you to take care of it  Shed all that tries to keep you away from it. Do it! mamas threads of light shimmering shiny silver silken threads driven by the wind webs hanging onto the lifeless fence randomly swaying to and fro because they like mama found no easy place loose ends fragile reaching wildly frantically finding eyes that couldn't let go fascinating rhytum of the earth unnoticed until she walked through them webs on her face and arms she let me imagine what the sunlight could bring as it came through the woods she found time to see them time to embrace what she wanted to be woven through the cloth of our lives

for me

remember and forget
old age digs holes
in the stuff our lives
are built on
remember old friends
death selected so long ago
that still live when your
thoughts find them
the sound of their voices
their smiles survived death
they last in old memories
we cherish and hold
a field full of people
animals places and things
a portrait of my life
framed and treasured
I want to remember you
but not that you are gone
keeping you in thoughts
dancing on puppet strings
keeping you alive
for me

remember and forget

remember and forget

grief

grief

sadness followed

I want to remember them but I want to forget they have died -sometimes I can't find the part of me that separates my thinking of them as if they are still alive -but it doesn't matter because in thoughts it doesn't matter if they are dead or alive -thoughts are hard to leave knowing they are over but sometomes I forget -I met a man at the pool one day the next day after the pool we talked in the hot tub later that day he died I couldn't find his place in our short life together -Skip why were you in my life-who just died and who just before them -sadness followed these thoughts-go away life is best

coffee with bobtail

55 slow degrees
first light
coffee time
perfect superb
second morning
of yemen coffee
on the cabin porch
with bobtail
first cup
of yemen coffee
from the roasteria
on vashon island
ordered as a special
of the month
anticipated everyday
done first
grinder purrs
aroma mixes
fresh morning breeze
as the fog settles
on the twin peaks
the deer graze
bobtail pesters
my first feral cat
she is mine
I am hers

the great one

really great poems wait patiently
hiding behind noisy wished on lines
poets keep struggling in foggy tangles
desperately rescuing weak vague words
for unsure destinations
wishing hoping needing wanting
their rhyme of all time
to be memorized repeated and loved
between the pages for eternity
success is a sweet reward
found in quiet places
where poets hear their songs
dancing on time lines never done
searching ever searching for
the great one

ED

he will be remembered
by many who loved him
he left gentle footsteps
on his lifes path
his smile
his twinkling eyes
his easy way
he made you important
he is remembered
as he treated those
about him in life
he is not finished
just on his way
to a brighter clearer day
God puts us
where he wants us
I am glad he put
Edward Hollar
in my life

catalpa worms

when I was a child
perhaps sometime in 1948
my father would take me fishing
on clear lake in indiana
where we had a cottage
we stopped on the way there
to collect catalpa worms
on a farm whose owner
my father knew
there was this big blooming tree
of the trumpet-creeper family
covered with caltapa worms
plentiful for the taking
we put them in an old
coffee can where we had put
some leaves and twiggs
when we got to the lake
dad and I got out our
old cane fishing poles
that had just the right
hook line and sinker
the old wooden row boat
dad had painted green years ago
was still tied at the dock
it had a 5-horse johnson motor
hooked on the back in case we decided
to ride around the lake
we loaded up the worms poles
live well life jackets and gas can
and unhooked the boat from the dock
fishing had begun
we were after pan fish
which we got plenty of
but now and then a largemouth bass
would decide to eat
a big jucy catalpa worm
this was quite a fight
and surely lots of fun
dad and I ate fish later
and if we had to share them we did
if the catalpa worms were not in season
dad had a contraption he made
that he plugged into an electric outlet
and stuck the metal end into the ground
where he had dumped some water
out of the ground came big night crawlers
you had to grab the end that was out
and pull pretty hard
sometime you didn't get the whole worm
they also ended up in the coffee can
the fish liked them as well
stuff like this you never forget
you just sometimes forget
to write about them

what I want

this is what I want
from now on
a slower pace
a more centered existence
and the feelings
of perfect happiness
to be found
in the moments
I come home to myself


by Linda Weltner

quick thoughts 2007

heavy-heavy
yellow strip
graduated squares
fast hands on the clock
a propeller through your heart
crying aloud
missing something alive
my dog
green leaves and big beaked birds
mountains
flutes
alone

giving up the world

the more of the world
I hang around my neck
the harder it is
for me to be like You
the world has gathered
bits and pieces of me
for many years
now I must look
for what of me
will be left
when I finally find You
as I came to you
in the beginning

giving up the world

wooden walk
marking the water
no end
the mountains
blocking eyes
mind
shuting out
trapeze artist
life-line
times tablet
worlds price
you

and then we imagine

the total frustration
truth cannot
be photographed
neither can love peace
hate fear deceit passion
and on and on
you can take a picture
of someone or something
that you think represents
one of the above
but you can be fooled
you must find your love of self
joy peace passion etc.
without limits
the flow of your impalpable
self must move freely
limits you feel and see
will be
the string from
a helium baloon slipped
from a holding hand
watch it go
eyes hold it
until it disappears
and then we imagine

daylight darkness

mind photographers
photographic memories
every detail
frames
holding everything
rejoicing at even
the smallest
most insignificant
a dung beetle
rolls a ball of dung
across the gravel road
mind photographer
watching frame after frame
flickering like
an old silent film in color
never ending never finished
like the daylight and darkness

death came in the night

death came in the night
it took all it could
none of my things were gone!
the deal was
just me you see
I got up as usual
then I noticed
nothing had changed
I thought about that
and wondered
this was right
I died where
I wanted to be
peaceful and happy
life is a slippery slide
be careful
what is important is
how you make others feel in life
maybe because
it is how they will feel
about you when you die
better watch out
better not pout
better not shout
I'm telling you why
deaths whispers
finish the breeze
and he is
coming to town

death selects

they came in the night
to remind me
family long gone
uncle jim a missionary
died in canton china
uncle walter was killed
early morning riding his bicycle
to the mill where he worked
in elmira ohio
cousin bill we called big bill
died on lake superior
on the edmond fitzgerald
at whitefish point
nephew tom died in denver
murdered by a dasterly deed
mom and pop, grandma and grandpa
died on the italian cruise ship
in their life jackets
in their cabin
in the dark
alone
he held her comforting her
until the water came
her hand in his
he felt her last breath
as her life left
then he followed her
what about the children who died
joy terror
foolish mistakes catching the innocent
the living left behind to never understand
they are all of us from everywhere
death selects calls us to come
life goes on
we forget just why

help

what will we do to celebrate
something special
we have never done before
how about a cruise
the kids helped
they wanted to go all out
after all we were getting old
excited anticipation
finally first day out
was the last day out
as the water claimed the
excited anticipation
finding the watery grave
before they were ready
heavy hearts feeling sorrows pain
can't be true
can't be
why? why? why?
it should have been a good time
foolish mistake
innocent waves covered
and silenced the laughter
men women and children
stolen by a watery grave
panic just survive
someone will come
to help us
life jacket
lifeboat
don't be afraid

Cold

so cold
first fingertips
then nose and toes
arms aching
legs shivering
cold clear through
feeling winter
wishing summer
shorts t-shirts
porch chairs
raccoon shade
wishes can't
make you warm
unless they ride
the suns rays
to winters
cold days