THANKS BE

THANKS BE

I’m grateful for surprises –
The sudden clemencies –
The subtle interventions –
The unexpected ease.

(17 December 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

ON HIS OWN

ON HIS OWN

He came unto His own –
Laid down His life for friends –
Deflected the Accuser’s rage
With medicine that mends

The nations of the world –
The kingdom of the earth –
With comprehension so complete
That every soul has worth.

(22 December 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

NEIGHBORS

NEIGHBORS

Eight deer are resting on the slope –
The watchful one alerts her pose
To watch me watching from the door –
I’m sowing birdseed on the porch.

The others waken from their bed –
From comforters that lightly spread
With sage and shadow as a screen –
Their soft hides hidden – sometimes seen.

(31 December 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

NIEVE

NIEVE

If snow comes from the heavens
And poetry is snow
And spring is resurrection –
Then verse will help us grow.

(30 December 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

SOLSTICE PSALM

SOLSTICE PSALM

The days are getting longer now –
The sky is brightening –
And though the darkness drags its feet
The dawn is lightening.

I love the cresting luminance –
The incremental warm –
Such primavera promises
Hold amaranthine charm.

The latter days are lengthening –
Small things are waxing strong –
And though the earth is chilled with dusk
New advent won’t be long.

Before the world turns into dust
The Lord will come again –
The crystal seas will ripple praise
As Angels shout, “Amen.”

(3 January 2010, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

CURFEW PSALM

CURFEW PSALM

At times I cannot rest at night –
My body wants to sleep –
But little worries mutiny
And drive away the sheep.

I count my blessings anyway –
Review my covenants –
I read until my eyes are red –
I hush the arguments.

Then – while I’m fencing pirate rogues
A slumber boards the ship –
And furls the sail – takes back the wheel –
And into dreams I slip.

(3 January 2010, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

ARK PSALM

ARK PSALM (Mosiah 3:9; Moroni 9:9; for Virtue 1)

Most dear and precious of all things –
Most pleasing tenderness –
A golden ensign on a hill –
A type of endlessness –

The banner for the pure in heart –
A shawl of chastity –
The veil of Virtue’s timeless joy –
A cloak of charity –

A mantle made of miracles –
A garment delicate –
The wedding robe of righteousness
Is plain yet intricate.

A likeness – A similitude –
An altar, table, throne –
The body is a covenant –
He came unto His own.

(3 January 2010, Pleasant Grove, Utah)