“Womb” by karmic katha
in a world plagued
by too many words
and too little grace
poetry is inevitable
Grace
All posts tagged Grace
“Landscape with Gnarled Tree” by William Lester Stevens
wood shot through with knots
gnarled by labors of conscience
limbs weakened by guilt
too many storms took their toll
too little time to earn grace
“Yellow House in Winter Woods” by Bob Richey
heaven exists near to home
in this season of silence
a snow settled wood
holy ground
hushed and greenless
my open air chapel
white altarcloth
laid for communion of creatures
crisp air charged with prayer
hoof and paw
fur and feather
my congregant fellowship
take benediction of snowflakes
unseen aspergillum
dispensing white whispers
each whisper
containing an answer
each answer
containing a blessing
each blessing
containing a chance
to experience grace
all it takes is a heart
humble willing and open
inspired to a reverence for life
here and now near to home
From my book Ephemera
“The Father’s Forgiveness” by Daniel Bonnell
broadcast affection
touch your lips to the cruel
who never knew love
From my books Pieces of Wine and Riverthink
“Birds of Paradise” by Vicente Manansala
none are so tender
as those who shed tears
for the pain of a child
for suffering innocence
none are so selfless
as those who give succor
where want is abroad
where despair keeps the clock
none are so loving
as those who raise prayer
for a peaceable world
for the gentlest of journeys
none are so human
as those whose compassion
informs every motive
informs every action they take
these unprepossessed souls
these rare undivine spirits
reveal to the rest of us
pathways to grace
From my book Small Noise
“Ice Skating Dancers” by Kristin Gaze
man and woman
at one with
a rhythm
smooth elegant
movements
so fluent
expressive of
passionate poetry
conjugal whispers
of skates
urging sensual
pas-de-deux
arcs that inscribe
the cloud-white
iced ballroom
each lift and
athletic embrace
bespeaks forms of
exquisite perfection
eliciting sighs
from this poor
enrapt witness
awed by the
grasp that such
flawlessness
beauty and grace
will forever be
out of his reach
this is love of a kind
artful stylized intense
though it lives
a mere moment
a powerful
beautiful moment
but one that
fast fades with the
flower of youth
like the already dying
red roses of accolade
strewn at the stilled
lovers’ feet in that
syntax of silence
that speaks
deep contentment
an echo to fill
an arena between
end of dance
and ovation
“Warp Speed” by Thomas Woolworth
if I could fly faster than time
beyond reach of tomorrows
I might just recover my yesterdays
live them again with more grace
recast my old age with some dignity
passion and pride once so fierce
given over to patience and modesty
faster than time is a speed that needs
magic momentum of mind
special powers of dreamscape
creating remarkable visions
behind sleeping eyes from the
yearnings of penitent conscience
to make the impossible possible
“Lady in a Green Jacket” by August Macke
(This expressionist painting has always fascinated me and gave rise to my following poem.)
what more can be said
when apologies cannot suffice
when all charity drains
from mean wounds to the heart
the aggrieved turn away
leaving evident guilt
unrelieved unforgiven
alone with the sin of itself
a contemptible factor of loss
now condemned to sustain
psychic pain of abandonment
punishment served
without pretense of piety
grace all too frail of a virtue
untenable so it would seem
for the most of humanity
“Communion of Saints” by Elise Ritter
saints preserve us
protect us from
base inclinations of self
tending souls in the making
the taking on shape
holy patrons of cause
intercessors with
Godly intentions
heroic of virtues
with purest of faith
ecclesiast teachers
whose practice of life
serve as maps of
morality marked by
their pious devotions
maps lending clarity
lighting the routes
we might follow to
stations of ultimate
personal grace
Cathedral Rock, Sedona, Arizona
Photo by Mike Koopsen
From dreamsedona.com
red rock altars
consecrate nature
spirits celebrate time
its transformative power
enhanced by a mystical
ever-changed light
casting sacred cathedra
with shadows of shamans
spectacular monoliths
standing like misshapen
elderly fingers at prayer
here may the soul
seek its peace
among ages and aeons
that teach of perfection
of grace that attends
growing old
Poesy plus Polemics 