HIGH MOUNTAINS (2 Nephi 4:25)

I’ve met the Father twice at least.
The interviews were washed in peace.
He led me up the trail by hand.
He took me to the Promised Land.

(BYU, Provo, Utah, 13 July 2008)

PHOTO COPY

The spirit replaces cells, too –
Each image brighter – new.
Each step you take to walk in light
Refines the inner site.

(BYU, Provo, Utah, 15 July 2008)

AFTER SHOCK

AFTER SHOCK

We could not comprehend how much she meant
Until the balance in her book was spent.
Her time of work and sacrifice was done
But not the prize and legacy she won.

As if the loss had paralyzed my speech,
When Mother passed away, I could not teach.
The knowledge I had shared before was locked,
And all the links between the facts were blocked.

We walked our mother to the land of death
We gathered as she took her final breath.
When she had passed, we traveled back to time.
We had to carry on, complete the climb.

(13 July 2008, Provo, Utah)

CARPE TREEUM

Danger – Darkness – Degradation?
You were born for Beauty!
Why do you linger in Limbo?
Seize Delight – your Duty.

(BYU, Provo, Utah, 19 July 2008)

PERSONAS

People are more important than places.
Places are more important than things.
Things are more important than nothing.
Nothing is more important than people.

RELEASED

I prefer the house of faith,
Not the jail of doubt.
The house of faith keeps goodness in.
The jail keeps goodness out.

The house is built of daily acts
Of hope, truth, peace, and prayer.
The jail is made of constant lies,
Resentment, and despair.

(Pleasant Grove, Utah, 15 February 2008)

SET APART

Life is not always Eden.
Love is not always Spring.
Light is not always Golden.
Flight is not always Wing.

Sometimes life is a Desert.
Sometimes love is a Fall.
Sometimes light is a Fire.
Sometimes flight is a Wall.

(Orem, Utah, 22 June 2008)

SHOE BUSINESS

The Savior paid the Bride-Price,
Redeemed the Desolate,
Gave dowry to the Lowly,
Placed beauty on the Least.

The price was Expiation.
The cost was Agony,
A path of most Resistence,
The wait of Suffering.

The Bride accepts Betrothal
In covenants of Peace.
The Bride-groom calls all to a Feast
Of fruits, of pure Increase.

(Pleasant Grove, Utah, 22 June 2008)

ACQUITTAL (for R. Shelton's poets)

My native tongue is poetry –
Though some might say mere verse.
My accent is iambic time –
That might get on your nerves.

Phonetically I like to rime –
Syllabically I count.
Inversion keeps me on my toes
When moving feet about.

Some say that rime is indirect –
Inversion is contrived –
The force of form is incorrect,
By sentiment derived –

A nineteenth-century accident –
Anachronistic curse.
I say that rime is precedent
Of bard tradition’s verse.

Inversion is a chance to stage,
A drama, screened by time,
And sentiment can be a sage
Who prompts a phrase sublime.

A meter is a lyric song –
A chant to memorize –
A count to help the words belong
To beats that mesmerize.

Some try to master language flow,
Abandoning old means.
By service to the figures, though,
New power intervenes.

(Pleasant Grove, Utah, 17 June 2008)

KEEPING TRACK

Work the body – heal the mind –
Heal the mind – free the soul –
Free the soul – see the whole –
See the whole – meet the goal –
Meet the goal – do your work.

(BYU, Provo, Utah, 21 June 2008)

LIP'-WIS-DOM, n.

“Wisdom in talk without practice; wisdom in words not supported by experience.”

How to write a poem that is practical:
How to give a speech that is powerful:
How to build a home that is beautiful:
How to see a truth that is spiritual:
How to sing a tune that is lyrical:
How to say one word that is meaningful:
How can I be more experiential?

(2 July 2008, Provo, Utah)

LIP'O-GRAM, n.

A writing in which a single letter is wholly omitted. Webster 1844

This limrick is missing on lttr.
I’m trying to mak my poms bttr.
Th loss of this vowl
Might caus folks to howl.
Don’t blam m; just call a typsttr.

(2 July 2008, Provo, Utah)