Tag Archives: peace

Becky’s Pantoum: Once upon a Warm Winter Day

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Once upon a warm winter day

When gladly the birds did sing

As banks of snow melted away

While melodious carols did ring.

When gladly the birds did sing

As the radiant sun steadily climbed

While melodious carols did ring

Filling the lofty, brightened sky.

As the radiant sun steadily climbed

Chasing away the blanket of clouds

Filling the lofty, brightened sky,

And softly caressing the dampened ground.

Chasing away the blanket of clouds,

The glowing orb continued to shine

 And softly caressing the dampened ground

While also reaching the hearts of mankind.

The glowing orb continued to shine

Delivering a message of hope and peace;

While also reaching the hearts of mankind

To instill a gentle tune of harmony.

Delivering a message of hope and peace

As banks of snow melted away

To instill a gentle tune of harmony

Once upon a warm winter day.

Becky’s Haiku: Petals of Grace

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As autumn gently

Departs, drifting leaves like loose

Petals touch the heart.

A Heart that deeply

Yearns for an unfilled dream yet

Through time it does learn

To remain hopeful

And still believe in Jesus whose

Love never recedes.

It is that hope and

Trust in him who keeps the heart

Sure and safe within.

Inside his blessings

Of grace showered on us like

The softest snowflakes.

Each morn, he reaches

Down from heaven to help me

Be content within.

For it is his aim

That I journey each day in

Peace along the way;

A lasting peace that

Gives hope to proceed knowing

He’s always with me.

So I may live each

Day with a hopeful heart touched

By petals of grace.

I have just attempted yet another haiku challenge from Ronovan Writes blog using the words “petals” and “heart”. If you are up  to the challenge then I invite you to also accept Ronovan’s latest challenge at this link: https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/category/haiku-prompt-challenge/

 

Wind Whispering to Me

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Soft wind flows whispering to me;

Ever so gently branches sway in the breeze.

I pause to listen and to quietly see

That soft wind blowing and whispering to me.

So tenderly the wind filters the trees

As the pines swish and dance beneath the gleam

Of a warm and radiant sunbeam.

The lofty heavens span out like a vast sea

Where waves swell and rise majestically

Only to shrink into a placid pool of tranquility.

Endless sky blankets the earth in an aquamarine canopy

So silently crowning the waving evergreens

As the wind continues to whisper to me.

I sit in contented silence to just quietly be

Still and secretly enchanted by the whistling breeze;

What is the wind saying? What could the message be?

How I did ponder under the awning of the windswept trees.

Softly blowing, gently moving, I could feel and see

The mysterious wind faintly whispering to me.

How noise and clatter of this world can be displeasing

While trials and troubles seem never ceasing

But as I waited, the gentle wind whispered to me:
“Just be still and treasure this moment of peace.”

Once again, I participated in a large collaboration: Poets for Peace. Many have contributed to this and you can read their poems at this link: https://forgottenmeadows.wordpress.com/2016/07/16/calling-all-poetscreative-minds-to-a-grand-collaboration-poets-for-peace/comment-page-8/#comment-20051

Choosing Peace

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Each new day that I gently awake,

I have a choice to make.

I may wake up disgruntled,

In a foul mood and certainly not humble.

Or I might arouse feeling overwhelmed

By the list of endless tasks that must be done.

I may roll out of bed feeling a bit upset with a neighbor or friend

And allow that anger to occupy and reside

in my  vengeful heart and  restless mind.

Then I might journey through the day

Never ridding of the bitterness along the way.

I could open my eyes in deep sadness

When realizing another dream, my latest

Hope has been utterly and completely dashed.

And in doing so I neglect to gaze out the window

To see the shining sun or perhaps a rainbow

Arching in the sky after a night of storms;

And I don’t notice the wind gently cooling the earth.

I forget to call and say hi to a friend

Or to help and encourage someone

Who deeply needed to hear

Words of kindness to alleviate their hurt and fear.

I forget how God has created me

To reach out to others in tenderness, love, and peace.

It is by my own flawed human nature that

I focus on myself ever so selfishly

Seeing only how the day evolves around me.

But the Lord I know has a different plan

For me and for each of us living

 Beneath the forever vast and lofty heavens.

And that is to choose by faith

To wake each morning and live in his grace

Not doubting but in firm and steadfast belief

That we each have the ability to choose; to seek

 To live with each other in heartfelt friendship,

Love and everlasting peace.

I just participated in a new collaboration calling all poets to write about peace. This writing event takes place through August 31st and you can read more about it here: https://forgottenmeadows.wordpress.com/2016/07/16/calling-all-poetscreative-minds-to-a-grand-collaboration-poets-for-peace/comment-page-6/#comment-19687

WHISPERED HOPE

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Wind whistling through the trees;

Honeysuckle waves in the breeze.

Invisible birdsong filters the air;

Sunshine warmth makes the day fair.

Pine trees, ever green, punctuate the horizon;

Ear tingling croaks and chirps chime in.

Reddish glowing sunset;

Evening fireflies flutter and rest.

Day gently fades to darkened night;

Heavens glisten with twinkling starry lights.

Overhead the full moon dimly glows;

Peace and quiet reign beneath its shadow.

Even in the deepest and darkest night,

May the flame of hope in our soul

Be a shimmering, radiant light.

Elusive Peace

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Going through a bit of writer’s block, I decided to try using one of the prompt words from WordPress Daily Post at https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/

 I was intrigued by the prompt word, “elusive” and so was inspired to write about that in a new poem:

I sometimes dream of a place

So peaceful and serene;

A vision which only

My mind’s internal eye can see.

Clear and ever vivid blue

Is the vaulted, stretching sky

As the glowing sun beams

From its destined home on high.

With the ground adorned

In a carpet of lush green grass

Unmarred by any intruding footprints

And the absence of a meandering path.

Statues of towering trees

Swished and swayed beneath

The foliage of rustling leaves.

No other near or distant sound

Met my ever straining ears.

No other hints of movement

Or voices were detected or heard.

The vibrant image lasted perhaps

A few seconds at the most;

Like the fleeting appearance

Of a shimmering ghost.

Just a simple, tranquil place

Where I can quietly be

If only for a moment in the night

In a reoccurring dream.

The Stepping Stone

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Somewhere in the midst of the trials of my day;

Somewhere in the middle of these crashing waves

There is a tranquil resting place:

A warm and dry stepping stone.

Sometimes my eyes are clouded and I don’t see

The peace, the joy, and the love God is showing me.

But I know that somewhere in this swirling sea

There is a place he has made for me:

A quiet stepping stone.

It is a place where I can pause to quietly rest

And take a break from life’s thundering tempests

By standing in the warm presence of Jesus

Upon my own stepping stone.

It is a place you cannot visually perceive

And you must have faith to understand and see

This special spot where the Lord gladly meets with me

Upon my hidden stepping stone.

Walking through this life often alone

No matter which way I may roam.

Time to turn around and head back home

To the Lord upon my stepping stone.

From this place I can stand and just be

While the raging rapids rush by me

As I pause before entering the swaying sea;

Just resting a bit longer on my stepping stone.

So with faith I travel through each new day

Facing triumphs and obstacles along my destined pathway

But if I keep my eyes and heart on Jesus today

I will find that special resting place;

My own stepping stone.

And today indeed I did find that special place

Sandwiched in between the duties of my day

Beneath the golden sun’s stretching rays:

My ever tranquil stepping stone.

Tomorrow as I boldly venture out

Under the bright sun or a canopy of clouds,

While life’s waves carry me up and down

I will find that special resting place of calm:

My forever peaceful stepping stone.

John 14:27 (Holy Bible New International Version):

“Peace I leave with you: my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

 

Return of the Black-eyed Susan

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She had returned once again:

That Black-eyed Susan, my friend.

Resting in the tall, wild grass;

Lemon beauty lass.

Every summer

I watch for her; her simple

Beauty I treasure.

In the grass along

The road; she blooms also in

A hidden meadow.

Each year I search til

I see her golden face so

Familiar to me.

Something about this

Flower causes me to pause,

Think and to ponder.

I find her every

Year like a friend who stays

Close by; so near.

Through the years, life will

Progress to eternity.

And it is by faith

That I learn to be quiet

And patiently wait.

 She then reminds me

That although it can

Be hard to see I must choose

To live peacefully.

Choosing peacefulness

And quietness is hard when

I want to be heard.

But most soothingly

I’m reminded that God hears

My prayers; my every word.

So every year I

Seek her face to remember

God’s true saving grace.

And through love shown by

Him I can live each day in

Peace hidden within.

Isaiah 54: 10 (Holy Bible New International Version):

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord who has compassion on you.

 

By the Bay

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Water lapped in tranquil, glassy waves

Emitting a sense of peace, stillness, and grace.

Sunlight brilliantly streamed

In white translucent sheets

Between clouds of tinted gray

While brightening the horizon across the bay.

Occasional sailboats and a lone ferry

I perceived gliding upon the softly swaying sea

Of gently rolling waves

As I rode by on the late evening train.

Lapping swells appeared to try

To reach upward and touch the sky.

As if to join and be a larger part

Of this vast and endless universe.

The small sea attempted to rise and grasp heaven

 unite with the borderless ocean.

But lo, an intruding mass of land

Firmly obstructed the small sea’s determined path

To rise up and stretch further still

Or to weave around the intruding hill.

So this small and gentle sea

Learned contentment and just to be

Satisfied in its’ uniquely assigned place

Lapping quietly in this crystal blue bay.

 

SPRING DAY

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Sun shimmering light brightens the crystal blue sky

Purple lilac blossoms emitting their fragrant perfume.

Rain fed grass glistens like sparkling green Depression glass.

Ivy plants and trees sway ever so softly in the breeze.

Nesting robins call and sing forming a musical chanting ring.

Gentle warmth surrounds me like a soft cloak of perfect peace.

Dandelions dot the emerald lawns displaying their lemon hue at morning’s dawn.

A quiet walk along the tranquil street proves to be a pleasant journey.

Yielding my still heart and mind to the presence of God; holy and divine.