ASSESSMENT

ASSESSMENT

What kind of teacher is Jesus?
How does He mentor His students?
How does He foster compassion,
Or kindness, repentance, and truth?

How do we follow His footsteps?
How do we live by His message?
How do we measure the impact
Of Light leading Lives in lessons?

(31 July 2009, BYU, Provo, Utah)

TWO DREAMS (for LSH)

I saw a bundle on the road
And people stopped to aid –
I stalled my car and ran to help –
I saw my friend was dead –

She tried to open up her eyes
When I breathed out her name –
Resuscitation was too late –
Revival never came.

And then I dreamed I needed help –
I didn’t have a ride –
My friend appeared and offered aid –
We ran so fast and wide –

We sprinted roads – we vaulted walls –
It didn’t seem that far –
We passed the schoolroom where she taught –
We found her new white car.

(30 July 2009, Provo, Utah)

WHEAT AND TARES

WHEAT AND TARES

I will not listen to the Curse –
I’ll hear the Bless instead –
I will not heed the Undertone
That’s pulling in my head.

I’ll hear the overriding Hope
That leaps across the Log –
I will not fear the Predator
Or languish in the fog.

I’ll listen to the Present sense –
I’ll rest the Preterite –
I’ll vanquish enervating Doom
With Light confederate.

Humility means looking up –
Not groveling in Guilt –
I will not underestimate
The Blood Atonement spilt.

My strengths and weaknesses both count
When He is Auditor –
I’ll face the daily Judgment bar
With Christ as Creditor.

(30 July 2009, Provo, Utah)

HIM

HIM (for Leanna)

He’ll meet me at the Tree of Light –
He’ll offer me a vow –
He’ll carry me across the gulf
No matter Torments howl.

He’ll welcome me into his arms –
He’ll wipe my tears away –
Embellish me with Wisdom’s pearls
And treasure words I say.

He’ll find me on the Narrow Road –
He’ll share the load I bear –
When I arrive in Paradise
I’ll meet my True Love there.

(17 July 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

NIGHT LIGHT

NIGHT LIGHT

An unpretentious history
Is talking in your sleep –
A particle of light you held –
Expedient and deep –

Is gaining swift velocity
And shedding mystery
In daunting luminosity –
It wakens reverie.

(3 July 2009, Crested Butte, Colorado)

WHO MAKES INTERCESSION

WHO MAKES INTERCESSION

He sent my mind a Blessing –
Like hands upon my head –
As if the Father taught me
Respect for self instead
Of auto-condemnation.
We promises reviewed
And words of consecration –
The covenants renewed –
Pacific confirmation
That set my thoughts apart
For meekness and refinement –
Not cogitating buffets
Or darts of scarring flame –
Instead a concentration –
Remembering His name.

(8 June 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

PROCLAMATION

PROCLAMATION

The heart of the husband
Will turn to the housewife –
The heart of the woman
Will return to the man.

The head of the family
Will tender protection –
The mother will nurture
As the father provides.

The hero will counter
The wrath of the serpent –
The lady be valiant
As Deity’s servant.

(18 June 2009, Provo, Utah)

CANNERY

CANNERY

Machinery of metal
Begins cancophony –
A carousel of pistons –
A blistering of steam –

The fellowship of workers –
The rhythm of the tasks –
The providence of order –
Good labor – all we ask.

(24 February 2009, Lindon, Utah)

MARATHON

MARATHON (For Michael R. Hallen)

As if the stars were not enough –
As if the moon were pale –
As if the planets were mere dust –
As if the sun were stale –
As if the birds were static noise –
As if the breeze were vain –
As if all landscape were mirage –
As if all sky were rain

A doubting darkness tries to hide
The route that leads to God –
But we just hum the songs of life
And follow where He trod –
Avoiding any crooked paths –
Contamination’s death –
He helps us make the finish line –
Providing second breath.

(16 January 2009, Phoenix, Arizona)

TEMPLE DATE

TEMPLE DATE

O be wiser – O have vision –
Drink the light of that Place
Where particulating wave-lengths
Shall immensify Space.

(16 January 2009, Mount Timpanogos Temple, American Fork, Utah)

"I HAVE FEELINGS"

“I Have Feelings” (For Dawson, Libby, Jenna)

"When baby brother takes my toys –
That’s when I’m sad a bit –
But sharing solves the problem quick –
And I get over it."

"When thunder rolls and lights go out –
That’s when I feel quite scared –
But we have candles in the house
My parents have prepared."

"When every thing goes wrong at once –
Or when I get worn down –
I might feel just a little mad –
But I can smile, not frown."

And what makes you feel glad? I asked
A beaming three-year old:
"When Jesus whispers in my ear –
It tickles some, you know.

When Jesus whispers in my ear –
Or when the Holy Ghost –
It kind of tickles then, you know –
That’s when I’m glad the most."

(1 July 2009, Sunbeam class, Grove Creek 8th Ward, Pleasant Grove, Utah)