In 15 Words or Less Poems

A Heated Dispute

Wildflower or rhubarb?
Dice, sugar, heat and simmer.
I serve my evidence;
Rhubarb sauce.

More In 15  Words or Less Poems at laurasalas. 

In 15 Words or Less Poems

 

That's Life

We live for  shiny moments;
Rich, reflective, full-orbed.
Weighty memories,
Heavy in the hand.

 

More In 15  Words or Less Poems at laurasalas. 

 

In 15 Words or Less Poems

 

 

Celum et Terra

(Heaven and Earth)

 

Banded together

Transfigured, translucent 

United in death

United in life

The Risen Christ speaks,

"Come Forth!" 

I have always been awed by architecture, particularly the architecture of the great Cathedrals of Europe.  I have never forgotten how immensely diminished I felt as I stood in the great Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.  The disparate sensations of feeling weighed down by the great weight of stone above and yet spiritually lifted into the heavenlies surpasses description.

It's been thirty-five years since I first experienced what R. C. Sproul describes as "the threshold experience:"

A threshold is a place of transition.  It signals a change from one realm to another.

R. C. Sproul, The Holiness of God

Today's photo transported me back to that cherished memory.  Instead of ripping off my first impressions in less than 5 minutes, which is my usual approach to this project, this week I wanted to explore the Scottish cathedral that housed this shining, living stone:

THE BLACADER (or BLACKADDER) AISLE

This aisle, probably intended as an undercroft for a chapel above, is said to occupy the site of the cemetery consecrated at the beginning of the 5th century by St. Ninian.

When I discovered that this luminescent, alabaster aisle was built upon the site of a cemetry, images and words filled my mind, making sense of my response and bringing into focus my "threshold experience" with this image.

These shining columns, reaching from the grave to the sky, brought images of Christ's transfiguration, His resurrection, His ascension; the raising of Lazarus, and our union with Christ in His death and resurrection. 

The cross on the vaulted ceiling, banding the outstretched columns together reminded me of the power that holds all things together, both in heaven and on earth. 

Celum et terra.  On earth as it is in Heaven. 

More In 15  Words or Less Poems at laurasalas.

In 15 Words or Less Poems

Revelation

Standing, garbed in recent past,
Mossy mantle,  cloaked and veiled;
The secret history of trees.

 

More In 15  Words or Less Poems at laurasalas.

In (almost) 15 words or less

 

So. . .

. . .about that deposit over there?
It wasn't that I didn't care.
I tried!
(At least you didn't slide!)

 

More In 15  Words or Less Poems at laurasalas. 

 UPDATED TO ADD:

I never read Laura's post until after I compose my poem (so I don't get any ideas from anything other than the photo) and when I went back to read it, I learned that the puppy is not a puppy after all and his name is Captain Jack Sparrow.  As a huge fan of Cap'n Jack, I decided this dog needed a more appropriate poem.

Looking into that sweet little face, it was hard to think of that boy Jack as a pirate. But then, I remembered he is a beagle and beagles are notorious thieves. Here's my ode to Jack the Pirate-y Beagle:

Yes, I nicked it,
don't look irate;
but you knew that
I am a Pirate.

In 15 Words or Less Poems

 

Picnicking with the Past

We dream;
our blanket spread
on the wake of sea dreams;
gritty sand in our mouths.

More In 15 Words or Less poems at laurasalas.

Law and Grace

In my morning blog reading, I came across an excellent short post by Iain D. Campbell at Reformation 21, Law and Gospel.

To demonstrate the essential need of the church for both the Law and the Gospel, he included a short exerpt from Ralph Erskine "The Believer's Principles Concerning The Law & the Gospel"

Thus gospel-grace and law-commands
Both bind and loose each other's hands;
They can't agree on any terms,
Yet hug each other in their arms.

I'm somewhat familiar with Ralph Erskine, having stumbled upon several of his sermons online, but I never knew he had written these Gospel Sonnets.  Naturally, I googled:

The Believer's Principles Concerning The Law & the Gospel  by Ralph Erskine (1685-1752)

You'll find three sonnets.  Here is an excerpt from the first one, The Mystery of Law and Gospel

I through the law am dead to it,
To legal works and self-conceit;
Yet, lo! through gospel-grace I live,
And to the law due honour give. 

 My printer is finished.  I'm off to read the rest of the sonnets.

ADDENDUM:  Rebecca has left another link to a goldmine of Erskine sermons and poems --both Ralph and his brother, Ebenezer in the comments.  Two I have read and recommend:

Christ's Treasures Opened by Himself 

and

Heaven's Grand Repository 

Chicagoland! Sing along with me:

   

It's raining; it's pouring.
    The old man is snoring.
    He bumped his head as he went to bed,
    And couldn't get up in the morning.

Or, perhaps you prefer an adage: April showers bring May flowers.

Or, a poem:

Rain
     
I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

I step very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can't do a handstand--
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--
I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head.

Shel Silverstein 

Or two:

Like Rain it sounded till it curved
And then I new 'twas Wind --
It walked as wet as any Wave
But swept as dry as sand --
When it had pushed itself away
To some remotest Plain
A coming as of Hosts was heard
It filled the Wells, it pleased the Pools
It warbled in the Road --
It pulled the spigot from the Hills
And let the Floods abroad --
It loosened acres, lifted seas
The sites of Centres stirred
Then like Elijah rode away
Upon a Wheel of Cloud.

Emily Dickinson 

Or, my personal favorite:

    Rain, rain, go away,
    Come again another day. 

Related Tags:  spring poetry rain

In 15 Words or Less Poems

 

Bait and Switch

Snow presides over the garden.
Robins gather, chattering.
Their complaints are mine.

Thursdays are "In 15 Words or Less" Days at laurasalas.  Each week Laura posts a photographic prompt and the challenge is to write a poem in 15 Words or less, of course.  All submitted poems are then rounded up in a post onFriday.  It's a fun exercise and the variety of poems inspired by the same image is always interesting and often hilarious. 

This particular image invoked such a strong response in me that I can put it in less than 15 letters:

RATS! It's back! 

In 15 Words or Less Poems

 

chance

 

like tumbling dice

scattered over the
big bang sky;
who  believes God
works like this?

 

You can read more 15 minutes or less poems by visiting our hostess, Laura Salas.

Waxing poetic

I've never participated in Miss Rumphius' poetry challenge before, but since my 15 Words or Less poem sort of wrote itself this morning, I'm still feeling poetic so I checked it out.

This poem is based on an arresting photo.   As always, I don't read anyone else's take on the photo before writing my own and I take just 5 minutes.  If I can't come up with something in 5 minutes, I take a pass.

This is another one that "wrote itself"

 

Questions

Black and white
and read all over.

But who can read?
And have we read?

Or have we papered over?

In 15 Words or Less Poems

Textile

Icy loom,
warp and weft.
The shuttle sun
weaving impermanent
winter dreams.

 

You can read more 15 minutes or less poems by visiting our hostess, Laura Salas. 

In 15 Words or Less Poems

Transportation

to jump off
properly,
turn the swing
to face
the further shore.

Pump, pump, JUMP! 

 

An Irish Poem to Get Things Going

With Easter coming so early this year, Saint Patrick's Day just hasn't had its usual prominence in my thinking.  This year's celebration will be toned down a bit.  I've almost settled on my Saint Patrick's Day Menu.  I'll post it in a day or two and then share the recipes with pictures later on.

Thoughts

God's will would I do,
My own will bridle;

God's due would I give,
My own due yield;

God's path would I travel,
My own path refuse;

Christ's death would I ponder,
My own death remember;

Christ's agony would I meditate,
My love to God make warmer;

Christ's cross would I carry,
My own cross forget;

Repentance of sin would I make,
Early repentance choose;

A bridle to my tongue I would put,
A bridle on my thoughts I would keep

God's judgment would I judge,
My own judgment guard;

Christ's redemption would I seize,
My own ransom work;

The love of Christ would I feel,
My own love know.

An Irish Poem, author unknown

How about some pictures of my plate rail and curtains? 

I've had my Irish curtains and plate rail up for several weeks already.  I was tired of winter and knew that I'd have to change them over to Easter the day after Saint Patrick's Day, so they went up right after Valentine's Day.

Here you go: 

 

 

 

The photos aren't great, but you get the idea. 

Thoughts Divine in Human Speech

THE OLD HYMNS
by
Rev. Lawrence Keister

Hymns are cups of consolation
Placed by God within our reach;
Wings of worship and salvation,--
Thoughts divine in human speech.

Through the years they oft befriend us--
Is there not a constant need?
Hidden manna kindly lead us,
While for unity we plead.

Live the hymns and learn to sing them,
In the school of God's free grace;
Spirit-led to others bring them
As and angel face to face.

Sing the hymns that live for ages,--
Sing their music and their truth,
As each one your heart engages,
Youth is yours, eternal youth.

Here's an old one for you:

O Light That Knew No Dawn 

O light that knew no dawn,
That shines to endless day,
All things in earth and heav'n
Are lustred by thy ray;
No eye can to thy throne ascend,
Nor mind thy brightness comprehend.

Thy grace, O Father, give,
That I may serve in fear;
Above all boons, I pray,
Grant me thy voice to hear;
From sin thy child in mercy free,
And let me dwell in light with thee:

That, cleansed from stain of sin,
I may meet homage give,
And, pure in heart, behold
Thy beauty while I live;
Clean hands in holy worship raise,
And thee, O Christ my Saviour, praise.

In supplication meek
To thee I bend the knee;
O Christ, when thou shalt come,
In love remember me,
And in thy kingdom, by thy grace,
Grant me a humble servant's place.

Thy grace, O Father, give,
I humbly thee implore;
And let thy mercy bless
Thy servant more and more.
All grace and glory be to thee,
From age to age eternally.

In 15 Words or Less Poems

Mist at the Crossroads
Stop or go?
Blinking into the mist;
Drenched by degrees
I debate.

Hosted each Thursday at laurasalas.

Poetry Friday: Irish Winter

I sat in the waiting room of my cardiologist’s office yesterday for nearly an hour and got all the way through an oversized, hardback picture book of Ireland.  The photos were breathtakingly beautiful.  I kept gasping as I turned the pages (I'm pretty sure the little old lady and the little old man that were waiting there with me were fairly sure I was going to have a heart attack!)

One photo in particular "spoke" to me; maybe it's because we've had so much snow this year (14" the other day!) or maybe because measurable snow is so rare in Ireland, I'm not sure.  I wish I could share the photo with you--it was a stunning scene that captured all the isolated, wind swept, harsh and beautiful aspects of a remote Irish landscape.  Even as tired as I am of snow, I yearned to walk those fields and feel the sharp bite of icy snow on my face.

Alas, I cannot share the photo, but I can share a poem by my favorite Irish poet, Anonymous, that captures a bit of the drama of the scene:

My tidings for you:  the stag bells
Winter snows, summer is gone.

 Wind high and cold, low the sun
Short his course, sea running high.

Deep red the bracken, shapes are hidden.
The wild-goose has raised his wonted cry.

Cold has caught the wings of birds:
Season of ice--these are my tidings.

--Anonymous, translated by Kuno Meyer

 

Poetry Friday is hosted this week at AmoXcalli.  You can find the schedule for future Poetry Fridays at Big A Little a.

Bloggy Giveaway Carnival

 UPDATE:  I'll be closing the comments and drawing the winner at 5 pm. CST today! (Friday, Feb 1)

Shannon is hosting another great bloggy giveaway this week.  You can find all the details by clicking the button in the sidebar.

This time around I have something for Tolkien fans.  I am offering a mounted, unframed 8.5 x 11 print of Bilbo's Bath Song, "Sing Hey!" and a Lord of the Rings bookmark, made by yours truly to be chosen by a random number generator.  Just leave a comment at this post and you're in!  This giveaway is open to bloggers and non-bloggers alike; all I need is a valid email address so that I can contact the winner.

 

 

I can colorize and mount "Sing Hey!" to harmonize with your bathroom (within reason--I'm not Home Depot, so if you ask for 'burnished eggplant' or 'fresh peach marmalade' I won't know what you're talking about!) 

Update on Monday, January 28, 2008 at 09:03AM by Kim from Hiraeth

OOOPs!  Forgot to add:  I'll be "random generating" on February 1st!

In 15 Words or Less Poems

A cracked gate, a cracked door can go either way, can't it? This week's "In 15 Words or Less" inspired two poems:

 

 

Squeeze through!
Darkness is creeping
Dinner is ready
Mom is waiting
Hurry up!

 

Silenced

Cold and forbidding,
Frozen in place,
An insincere gesture;
Hard to read
Impossible to approach. 

Upon further review:  an edited version

Silenced 

An insincere gesture:
Cold and forbidding,
Frozen in place;
Impossible to read
Foolish to approach.

In 15 Words or Less Poems

Like Tupperware treasures
tucked in the fridge;
words preserved
for later-
unidentifiable to me.

15 Words or Less Poems