If I was a sculptor

The brain is a wonderful, sometimes irritating, thing.

I woke up
With Elton John
Running through my head
Jeweled glasses
And all.
If I was a sculptor
But then again
No.
I had to look it up.
Now I know
Earworms
Will overtake
My generation,
With visions
Of jeweled glasses
And pianos.
If I was a sculptor
But then again
No.

Sculptor?

Ah, the gift of email. Today it brought an inquiry from a man wanting to purchase a sculpture, possibly from me, to give to his wife for their 20th anniversary.
Alas, I am not a sculptor. Still... if I were a sculptor...

He asks
If I would send him
Pictures of my sculptures.
My mind
Goes quickly
To work.
What warrants
A picture?
What might
I pack
In a box?
Alas
I tell him
I am not a sculptor
I am a poet.

Re-purposed

What's next, We never know.

The boot awaits
A new purpose.
We can no longer
Fill the closet
With
Boots and braces
They were measured
For me.
Goodwill has no spot
For such things.
Pansy or petunia
Planters.
That's the ticket
Pansy
Or petunia planters.
I will keep
The walker
And cane,
I never know,

Churches, big and small

Another big church headline. I wonder how long this one will last.

With the local scandal
It got me thinking
Whether misbehavior
Is limited
To the size
Of the church.
I know
It is not.
Big churches
Are more likely
To get
Big headlines.
Small churches
Warrant a line
In the local newsletter,
If that.
We are people
Who would prefer
Our stories
Clean
Or dirty
Big
Or small.

Lining things up

It wasn't just the turtle who ordered the world in blueberries.

It helps
To line up
Possibilities,
Know one is not alone
In this world.
One is never alone
But sometimes
It feels that way.
There is no such thing
As alone
Still
Sometimes
It feels that way.
I ate
All the blueberries
In the refrigerator
Move on
To clear out
The apples.
My beloved
Will come home
Tomorrow.
We will
Fill the refrigerator
With blueberries.
The possibility
Of my beloved,
The possibility
Of endless blueberries,
Shelves
Of blueberries,
My beloved grading
At the table,
Grading
In the other room
Lines things up
In their
Natural order.

Senate baby

This is more than one historic moment.

When that baby
Grows up
Realizes she was raised
On the floor
Of the Senate
Will she know
She broke history?
Will she know
That floor was full
Of parents
Of grandparents
And realize
In a teeny tiny way
The world
Is her family?

La la la

Oh if we could all live forever.

When the people we love
Grow old
Face it
We all
Grow old
Even if we pretend
There is no
Such thing.
We stick our fingers
In our ears
Chant
La
La
La
When the people we love
Grow old
Even when we pretend
There is no such thing
It still catches us
Unawares
We cover our eyes
With our hands
I don't see
I don't see
I don't see
What do you mean?
What do you mean?
What can you possibly mean?
We all
Grow old
La
La
La

Plump robins

They came back a mite too soon, I think. Or maybe they will bring worms to the surface, melt the snow.

They're back
Staked out their spots
In the yard.
It will snow again
Tomorrow.
Oh robins
I rejoice
In your plumpness.
It may carry you
Through
One or two or three
More inches of snow.
The worms still hide.
Your plumposity
Will hold you
For now.

Application

It's taken me long enough

Finally

I will fill out

An application

For independence.

They will pick me up

And perhaps

Independence

Will be mine.

Perhaps I will know

Freedom again

A smile

Perhaps

Perhaps independence

Perhaps freedom.

Hat-less

Festival of Faith and Writing: Hats mush my hair, so I don't wear them. Still, I am envious of people who do..for example: the panache of the woman in the purple velvet beret

I sat and watched hats
Move through
The space
The purple velvet
Beret.
The cowboy hat.
I wondered
What each one wrote
Or read.
I drank coffee
Hat-less.
If I wore a hat
What would it say.
To that purple velvet
Beret?

Green voices

Dark voices, pale voices, tree buds.

The green pokes through
The surface.
Its voices
Will not be heard
In full
Until later.
I hear whispers
Dark voices
Pale voices
Tree buds.

When green arrives

I continue to figure things out

When green arrives
Is she envy
Or perhaps the color
Of spring
A sign of growth?
When green arrives
Does she wear black
Or find the forsythia
In the hedge
Out back?
When green arrives
Which comes first?
Which comes next?
Does she know
How to hold both
Together?
When green arrives.
How does she know?
Is it time
For mud
Or pussy willows?

A few flakes

The ducks know.

Yesterday brought
A few flakes of snow
No accumulation.
The duck lady
Out back
Was already
In her garage
Where the corn
Is stored
The ducks flew in.
They know
When the table
Will be set,
The food
Served.

Advice

Advice is often unwelcome

I am eight years
Into life
With seizures.
I do not drive.
Do you know
He says
This man
Had a seizure 
Yesterday 
And cannot drive?
Maybe you could
Talk with him?
Of course it depends
On him.
Advice is often
Unwelcome.

I thirst

The meditation I did not give. Still, I thirst. It is Easter and I am grateful.

"I thirst" said Jesus, as he hung on the cross. One of many things he said. One very human thing he said as he hung on the cross.

We all know thirst.

We remember his conversation with the woman at the well when he told her everything she had ever done, and offered her Living Water.

We remember those same words to each one of us:

When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat.

When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink.

Water plays a huge role in our life of Faith. Baptism, of course. Living Water, of course.

I thirst said Jesus , as he hung on the cross.

When I was thirsty you gave me something to drink.

Years ago, when I graduated from college, I took a volunteer job, which required a group of us to apply for food stamps. We filled out the forms, then looked around the room and the large group of people who were clearly confused by the forms...rather like the .confusion which comes with filling out tax forms. As a group we stayed for the rest of the day and helped people fill out food stamp forms. 

When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat

When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink.

When I was confused, you helped me fill out food stamp forms.

Oh there so many ways to hear Jesus, not just His Seven Words from the Cross.

I thirst. I was hungry and you fed me.

I was naked, and you clothed me.

I was sick and in prison and you cared for me.

So many ways to hear Jesus on the Cross

Early robins

Early robins are a signal of persistence. Perhaps this is why I like them so much.

Robins are seen
As common birds
Still
They are a sign
Of spring
As much as forsythia
As much
As pussy willows.
This year I watch them
Listen for worms
Listen
And fail to find them
Yet.
Perhaps they came back
Too early
I will continue
To watch
Any minute now
Worms will surface
Robins will then know
It is time
To nest.