AWESTRUCK (to Diana and Ashley)

Treat every day as pilgrimage –
Be tourist in This land
As if the common place were new –
As if the plain were grand.

Greet every word as foreign phrase –
Search etymology
As if the language were a guest –
Give hospitality.

Meet every one as Deity –
Show honor to the small
As if the humble soul were God –
As if the child were all.

(31 March 2009, BYU, Provo, Utah)

POEM xD (for Scott)

“What does the Lord say about me?”
He says that you are free
To choose prison or liberty –
Real joy or misery.

He says that you are infinite.
You have a destiny.
You have the power to change the world
With moral agency.

(31 March 2009, Provo, Utah)

OF GOOD REPORT

Who wouldst Thou have me be, oh Lord?
Thy birth in Bethlehem
Has got me humming first noels
And skipping like a lamb.

What wouldst Thou have me do, my Lord?
Thy home in Nazareth
Reminds me to grow grace by grace,
To fear not even death.

Where wouldst Thou have me go, dear Lord?
Thy walk in Galilee
Has left me restless for Thy shores,
Thy blessed propinquity.

When wouldst Thou have me learn, dear Lord?
Thy days in Bethany
Tell me to seek a better part
In Thy proximity.

Why wouldst Thou salvage me, good Lord?
Thy sharp Gethsemane
Seems hard until I see the pain
Transformed to victory.

How wouldst Thou have me help, kind Lord?
The path to Jericho
Requires a good Samaritan
To ease a Neighbor’s woe.

(24 March 2009, Provo, Utah)

REMISSION

“Who dost thou say I am, Child?”
Thou art the Saving God –
Light of Lights – the Lamb of Lambs –
Whose feet with peace are shod.

“Who do I say thou art, Child?”
A Saint of Latter Day –
Sister – Daughter – Teacher – Friend –
Whose shoes will walk Thy Way.

“When will I see thy face, Child?”
In prayer both night and dawn –
At the Holy Place each week –
When I put Kindness on.

“When wilt thou see my face, Child?”
When I look up and live –
When I serve others as Thine own –
When I this song Thee give.

(23 March 2009, Provo, Utah)

THE ROMAN PREFECT (To Elissa)

She pleaded with her husband: “Please,
Do not harm this Man.
I had a dream that He is just.
Release Him, if you can.”

He thought of her imploring, but
Accusers over-ruled.
So Pilate washed his hands of Right,
Admitting he was fooled.

“Behold the Man,” he jeopardized
As he gave mobs the choice,
Let their hostility prevail.
They crowded out his voice.

Ironic superscription sign
Proclaimed the coward news.
Greek, Latin, Hebrew read the line:
“This is the King of Jews.”

Though Pilate feigned to intervene,
The Christ was crucified.
But he conceded Truth to men:
An Innocent has died.

Beneath the politics, he knew
His governing was flawed.
His low Centurion confessed:
“This was the Son of God.”

(19 March 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

KING FOR A DAY

The hazing starts with rolling dice:
A prisoner is “king” –
The soldiers’ lot: to “serve” a lord –
The Lord is suffering.

The role reversal mocks the King –
The whole band takes a turn –
“Anointed” Him with “crown” of thorns:
His blood not their concern.

“Endowed” Him with a purple “robe”
As one by one they toss –
They “scepter” Him with filthy reed –
Make Simon bear His cross.

The round of torture’s wheel twists on –
The cohorts play their “game” –
They almost sense His dignity,
Sufficing in their shame.

The King of Kings will now be “throned”
In piercing infamy.
Forgive them for they did not know
They hung Eternity.

(17 March 2009, Antonia Fortress, Jerusalem, Israel)

IN GALLICANTU

“Put up thy sword,” the Lord had said
When Peter smote a guard.
To follow Him takes more than might.
The Discipline is hard.

Obedience, not sacrifice?
To live for Him, yet cry?
Excruciating subterfuge –
The bitter cock crows “Why?”

(19 March 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

WEEPING FOR PETER

“Judge not, that ye be not judged”
Applies to Peter, too.
To die, or to deny the Christ?
The man had work to do.

The gentle Master told him that
The test would be extreme:
“You will not know me thrice by dawn
As bold as you may seem.”

What agony of loyalty,
To love but not to tell,
To go where danger fed the flames,
To choose an inner hell

And thus survive to testify
That He was God in deed,
To witness for the scattered sheep,
To heal, to seal, to bleed.

(16 March 2009, St. Peter in Gallicantu, Jerusalem, Israel)

INCENSE PSALM

Is there any trace of Jesus
In this anxious ancient land?
A hair of head, or crust of bread?
A skin cell from His hand?

Is there any sign of Jesus
In this neighborhood of Job?
A footprint on a sandaled trail?
A tassel from His robe?

Is there any hint of Jesus
In the remnant of His seed?
A shepherd leading one lost lamb
To where the safe ones feed?

I thought I caught a glimpse of Him
In Shiloh's sacred space --
Where Rachael and her new children
Are putting stones in place.

(13 March 2009, Haon, Galilee, Israel)

SABBATH SUNSET

"What good can come from Nazareth?
So insignificant!
How could a Governor emerge
From such a settlement?"

"What King can rule from Bethlehem?
From such humility!
How could a man of modest means
Claim Principality?"

"What Lord can walk on Galilee
And vanquish surly winds?
What makes you think a carpenter
Can ransom us from sins?"

His greatness came from Elohim --
And Mary gave Him grace --
In scrolling coasts and fruitful hills
I sense His weathered face.

(13 March 2009, Haon, Galilee, Israel)

MOON SET

The Galilee is waking --
The Moon is veiled in dawn --
Her abalone fringes
Are putting ripples on.

The birds chime in as cantors --
A full-fledged gamelan --
Opalescent hosts of hope
Transverse the brave Golan.

(13 March 2009, Haon, Galilee, Israel)

SHILOH PSALM (for Rachael)

The incense of Priesthoods
Still sifts from the stones.
The cisterns are filling
With blessings – not bones.

A princess of Judah
Restores Ephraim.
The flaming Shechinah
Returns to redeem
The perfume of almonds –
The gold statice scent –
The Holy of Holies –
The veil that was rent.

She’s gathering pillars –
She’s teaching the scribes –
She’s reading the Torah –
She’s schooling the Tribes –
She’s stretching out curtains –
She’s strengthening stakes –
She’s laying foundations
For all of our sakes.

She’s fighting the envy –
Uprooting the pride.
She’s planting the garden
Where God will reside.

(12 March 2009, Shiloh, Ephraim, Israel)

VILLAGE PSALM

A moon of milk and honeycomb
Is setting over Galilee --
The hidden sun is scaling heights --
Revealing its identity.

The morning birds anticipate
A day of pilgrimage --
Across the water dawning marks
Apocalyptic images.

(12 March 2009, Haon, Galillee, Israel)

ALL THY MIND

Full moon is out in Galilee --
North Star -- above the sea --
The gentleness of vesper waves
Is pacifying me.

The frogs are bleating like lost sheep
Who know they will be found --
The lights of cities on a hill
Rejoice without a sound.

Tiberias is vigilant
Across the western shore --
The Golan Heights insomnious --
Retreating from the war.

(11 March 2009, Haon, Galillee, Israel)

SHABBAT SHALOM

Do birds sing in Jersalem?
Do stars shine as in old?
Which steps lead to the Olive Mount --
To stories that were told?

Can Peace come to this place again?
Can good will reign on Earth?
Can deserts blossom like a rose
Because of one Child's birth?

The wedding dancers wend to bed --
The Christian pilgrims dream
That every step toward peace they take
Makes Stars of David gleam.

Today the birds awoke at four --
The Holy City slept --
Three waves of prayer preceded dawn --
The first Shabbat was kept.

(7 March 2009, Christmas Hotel, Jerusalem, Israel)

CHRISTMAS RESEARCH (for Margaret Baker)

To sing is not to sin –
The glory has a skin
That covers flesh with luminence
And clothes the voice within –

(January 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

RESOLUTIONS, 2009

Out of bed first, on my knees –
Book of Mormon, one verse please –
Seek the Savior, find His way –
Write one letter every day –
Make poems daily – walk a mile –
Index records – give a smile –
Eating healthy – sleep eight hours –
Fix the garden, plant some flowers –
Temple weekly – EDL –
Finish Webster – Do work well –
Love my neighbors, greet by name –
Count my blessings, Grateful-Game –
Laugh more often – let things go –
Teach the students, help them grow –
Boldness, yes, not overbear –
Bridle passions – serve, prepare –
Never idle – always pure –
Seek forgiveness – still endure –
Cherish virtue – walk in light –
Help my family, choose the right –
Thinking clearly, sunny side –
Keep it simple – forsake pride –
Honor family – treasure souls –
Daily planning – write down goals.

(2 January 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

CALLING

“Why, why hast Thou forsaken me?”
Was not an idle cry.
When Father turned His face away,
His Son yearned to know why.

“Why, why dost Thou abandon me?
Did my attempt displease?
Was it this? Was it that? Is there
No way to now appease?

How have I disappointed Thee?
How did my mission fail?”
All of the dread that humans feel
Became a twisting flail.

His distance from Father’s presence
For a moment was more than ours,
But then He ran to succor us
In all the utmost hours.

(13 December 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

PREPARATION

How do I follow thee, Savior?
How do I find the Way?
How does my will change to Thy Will
In all I do and say?

Please, may my prayers be not in vain.
I’ll do better next time.
O please – mend the wall in my heart.
Heal the words in my mind.

Father, have I forsaken Thee?
The tendency is sly.
Before I know, my focus roves
And blindness films my eye.

Love, Thy Glory – Thy glory, Love.
After the moon goes down –
Time, the Seer – the seer, time –
A glow consoles our town.

(13 December 2008; Phoenix, Arizona - Pleasant Grove, Utah)

REQUITED

The Word I chose, chose me – I’m told.
He first loved us – they say.
The road I took takes me to Life –
To Him: the Truth, the Way.

The One I seek, seeks me – it’s said.
He first sought us – they tell.
The door I knock upon is His –
He comes to where I dwell.

(23 February 2009, Pleasant Grove)

“WRINKLES IN TIME”

My spirit blooms – my body fades –
This is no time for masquerades –
Cosmetic youth is useless now –
But inner strength augments somehow.

My shoulders bend – my courage grows –
This is no time for stiff repose –
Poetic voice is vibrant here –
I have to be a pioneer.

The pace is quick – response is slow –
There is so much I still don’t know –
The beauty that I long to be
Is coming out in spite of me –

The ageing mars – the laughter mends –
Both earth and heaven are my friends –
Prophetic truth is useful still
As I seek to obey Thy will.

(9 February 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

SENSE AND RESPONSE

What happens when a candle burns?
Does wax turn into air?
What happens when a fire glows?
Does matter disappear?

Can voices translate into light?
Can sounds become a prayer?
What happens when we speak to Him?
What takes our message there?

When carbon burns, electrons move –
Wax makes new energies –
The fire makes cool matter hum –
Creates electric bees.

The hive turns sound to radiance –
With colored frequencies –
Our words pass through glass fiber cells
In honeyed melodies.

(8 & 12 February 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

SESSION

Intelligence loves Truth and Light –
Virtue cleaves to Virtue –
Benevolence will choose the Right –
Mercy fosters Mercy.

The Pure in Heart seek Purity –
Wisdom perceives Wisdom –
The Just pursue compassion’s Claim –
Vision receives Vision.

(6 February 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

PRECOCIOUS

The daffodils are dancing up –
A January dare!
The deer turn up their nose at them –
The shoots don’t seem to care!

I worry if they rise too soon
Their trumpet gold will freeze –
They send out green notes anyway –
Their only aim to please.

(22 January 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

BIRD WORDS

The words are pouring out again –
I’m not sure how they come –
Awake, asleep, at dawn, at dusk –
They aren’t as shy as some.
They gently squeeze between the steps –
They dodge – they dart – they dare –
They have a keen intelligence –
They know when to beware.

They come and go in their due time –
And I just have to write –
Sometimes they stay with me all day –
But sometimes they take flight.
With sequin eyes – by window panes –
They sense me through the glass –
I try hard not to startle them –
They hide – they seek – they pass.

They do not ask for cleverness –
They do not covet power –
They flutter in and out at will
At any given hour.
They swoop – they rise – advance – retreat –
They give – they gain – they brood –
Their furtive gleaning lasts all day –
They thank me for the food.

I offer ordinary seed –
And sometimes I forget –
But they return – forgiving me –
They overlook the debt
As if they owed me providence!
Their generous reprieve
Is feeding me with confidence
To share and to receive.

(2 February 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

ALIJAH

He gathers all His children –
He numbers flocks and herds –
They know Him as their Shepherd –
He guides them with His words.

He will fulfill the promise –
Their long dispersion ends –
He brings in all the nations –
He counts us as His friends.

The gathering is literal –
The going home, concrete –
The call is individual –
The welcome is complete.

The promised land is visible –
The mountain is in sight –
The evidence, perpetual –
The proof is in delight.

(1 February 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

EXPRESS

I’m looking at a distant star
Whose light just greeted me –
Its journey does not seem that far –
Just past eternity.

I don’t know why it winked at me –
I didn’t seek its face –
But somehow through the universe
A spark of joy crossed space.

I thought I had to wait a life
Or sacrifice my breath –
But it arrived before I blinked –
Without requiring death.

Its promises are messengers –
Its particles are wise –
It found a line between the blinds
And shutters of my eyes.

(2 February 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

REALITY CHECK

I can’t sit in a darkened room
And look for truth in gloom.
I need to view a scene that’s bright –
Where faith turns into sight.

Glory is glow – shining through light–
Magnifying to white –
Like inspiration with insight.
Revelations at night

Come – deer are browsing down the ridge –
Though drowsy – I can’t budge.
The moon hides shadows in the snow –
One by one – cervids go.

The Savior keeps me safe – The Lamb –
The King – the yet I-AM –
The Mighty One may make me bold –
Redeeming me from cold.

(14 January 2009, Provo, Utah)

HELP WANTED

The light – stretched from the distances
Of your hills to the east
Unto the mountains of my west –
Dispenses subtle peace.

The patience of a desert land
Makes desolation null.
The treasures of stalactite caves
Make expectation full.

One thousand cranes with crystal beaks
Make isolation moot.
The hidden feet of catacombs
Make cries of bleakness mute.

(14 February 1988, Tucson, Arizona)

HERE’S MY HEART

If not yet pure, more purified –
Refined, if not yet fine –
If not yet sure, more confident –
Less mine – if not yet Thine.

If not yet true, more trustworthy –
Enlightened, if not light –
If not yet clean, less small and mean –
More righteous, if not right.

If not yet psalms, more poetry –
More whole, if not complete –
If not yet firm, confirmed by hope –
Less brine, if not yet sweet.

(24 December 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah )

INTERCESSION

Like sunshine melting ice –
Like water soothing stones –
The love of Christ will touch each cell
With power that atones.

So vast to reach the dark
And pull out stars unknown –
The transformation of our souls
Comes through His name alone.

An instant change is rare –
We need the time to grow
Into the gown of righteousness
That He wants to bestow.

So, patience is a friend
And waiting – not a foe
As point by point we put on light
From head to heart to toe.

(28 December 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

ROUND AND ABOUT

Dreams are the reservoir for sense –
Sense – the sanctuary for verse –
Verse is the orphanage for truth –
Truth – repository for dreams.

The key of Thy protection went
With me everywhere on my way –
Breath, pulse, sight, heartbeat, and brainwave –
In sleep, journey, study, night, day.

(11 August 2008, Provo, Utah)

UNREQUITED

“Mine own received me not,” He told –
Without self-pity’s tone –
“And, wounded in the House of Friends,
I had to die alone.”

Could we not watch with Him one hour?
Why do we hesitate
To walk with Him across the Brook
Through Kidron’s grave estate?

The need for reciprocity
Could not confound His love –
He found a way to foster us
In spite of the rebuff.

Reproving us with equity –
He breaks a loaf of bread
And feeds a thousand with His words –
“Come unto me – be fed.”

(12 December 2008, Provo, Utah)

THE HEM

She has issues – problems that drain
Her body – her living.
She seeks solutions for the pain –
Encounters but misgiving.

Unknown by any man – unclean –
No one can approach –
She feels the corner of a robe
That heals without reproach.

“Who touched me?” asks the One whose strength
Poured out to proffer health.
He turns to see a Trembling smile
Repenting of its stealth.

The woman kneels and tells the truth.
“My daughter, go in peace.
The blood that flowed from you is mine.
But blessings will not cease.”

(29 November 2008, Provo, Utah)

REVELATION MEDIATION

Red Dragon seeks to harm the Wife
Whose Son will heal the earth.
She flees into the wilderness –
Her crown a Swaddling’s birth.

Tonight each baby is the Child –
All mothers Mary seem –
All fathers proxies for our God –
All angels Joseph’s dream.

The Church appears – a woman clothed
With sun and shod with moon –
Although a Heady Beast brands men
The Bridegroom will come soon.

The Dragon Killer wins the war –
Defeating Babylon –
While Zion rises from the dust
To put a white dress on.

(15 November 2008, Provo, Utah)

THE TEMPEST

The wind is wiping waves of dust –
The storm is whipping screens –
Just to the east of the garden
An Angel intervenes.

His two-edged sword is flaming –
His countenance is flint.
The Tree of Life stands gleaming –
Awaiting His consent.

You know the way ahead is strait –
You know the coast is clear –
Press forward in the Ark of faith –
You know Christ will appear.

His Body makes a bridge to cross
From sea to firmament.
He stretches like a rainbow arch
From earth to sacrament.

(1 December 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

BEING STILL

Our Father is a Modest Man.
He shows His face – but rare.
His words come as a rustling voice
In scriptures – or through prayer.

He lets Creation speak for Him.
He has the Creatures tell
The stories of His handiwork –
The letters of His spell.

He stands behind apocalypse –
Provides a faithful veil
To guard us from the blinding light
Of Love that cannot fail.

He helps us without recompense
Sufficient for His pains –
Provides us with abundant life –
With sacrificial gains.

His name is Man of Holiness.
His style is reticence.
His arguments are enthymemes –
Concise intelligence.

(2 December 2008, Provo, Utah)

NEW ORLEANS

Change your cry into a song,
Your fear into a prayer.
Let your mind rest on the Word.
Choose patience, not despair.

Turn shame into a beacon.
The scorching is a flame
That scorns the inquisition
And blamelessness proclaims.

Let agony refine you.
Let ashes renovate.
Be born again in beauty.
Your duty consecrate.

Forgive the brutal torches.
Forget the stenching blaze.
The Lord of Wounds and Bruises
Will heal you with one gaze.

Go beyond your pain to His.
Wipe away His drops.
Hold the hand that He extends
Until the terror stops.

(23 November 2008, Glendale, Arizona)

YEW TREE FARM

Across a sea of cirrus,
Around a lake of sky,
Near the quarried Tilberthwaite,
I saw with Shepherd's eye

The Roman rock-cathedrals,
The Nordic-named Tarn Hows,
The stone-walled Celtic borders,
The hills where grey sheep browse.

I saw the Author's cottage,
Retired in ancient rooms,
Found my way through kissing-gates,
Meandered chapel tombs.

I saw past time to circles
Where point meets outer space.
I saw beyond the District
The other side of place.

(22 November 2008, Utah to Phoenix)

HE WILL COME

Gethsemanes of disregard
Are distant torments now –
As hope elopes with touchstone truths –
Sealed up in topaz vow,

In snow and gold, necklace and ring,
In cut, in clarity,
In color, and divine design –
The troth is parity.

Simplicity is manifold –
Sincerity – a foil
To show the shining deathlessness
Of love the dark can’t spoil.

(18 November 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

ALLUSIONS

Hallowed be Thy name –
Holiness to the Lord –
How great Thou art – Sweet is Thy work –
Beginning was the Word.

O, Divine Redeemer –
Nearer, my God, to Thee –
Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it –
More purity give me.

(18 November 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

DUTY AND THE EAST

The trees are shedding leaves like tears –
While Centuries shed years.
Don’t heed the inner Critic’s voice –
Resist the outer fears.

Don’t take the old Accuser’s blame –
Don’t patronize his shame –
Choose light – not Anti-poetry –
Guard close the sacred Name.

“The way chose you,” the Statesman taught –
“Go forward, and fear not.”
The trees are sprouting bud-like gems –
You’ll find the Spring you sought.

(18 November 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

DO I KNOW HIM?

The “docile” Gentle Man draws near –
Refining presence – strong and dear –
Very clean – able to wash us –
Wholesome – ready to hallow us –
Chaste and delicate and tender–
Very pleasing to His Father –
Persecuted for perfection –
Punished for loving purity –
Mocked for fostering modesty –
Marred for His meekness and mercy –
Powerful – but never a boast –
Crucified for being the Christ.
Do I really know who He is?
Shall I say – I know He forgives?

(15 November 2008, Provo, Utah)

ENSIGN PEAK

Velocity is vertigo –
Vitality is quick –
For dizzy daring summit climb,
You’ll need a walking stick.

Virtue’s journey is vertical –
A sunny shawl beckons –
A yellow handkerchief comforts –
The fear of heights – lessens.

(15 November 2008, Provo, Utah)

SPINS

My feet can write on ice –
The figures etch a grace –
In spite of falls and shaky moves –
My spirals leave a trace.

I don’t write with my hands –
My poetry has feet –
They scribble lines around the rink –
Composed by friction’s heat.

The form is everything –
The posture must be sure –
The balance comes from taking risks –
The power must be pure.

The sheet of white is cold –
A chill burns in the brain –
But frosty turns and ferry glides
Perpetuate – sustain.

(12 November 2008, Provo, Utah)

NOVEMBER

This is the Robin’s resting place –
Here is the Sabbath choir –
In every elm – the counting birds
Survey the temple spire.

This is the Reason for the quest –
Here is the Jubilee –
On springless trees – the redbreast bards
Appraise my revery.

This is the morning Reveille –
Here are the warm Farewells –
The branches bow with messengers
Whose endless gospel swells.

(9 November 2008, Provo, Utah)

WHAT RILKE KNEW

Not for money – not for favor –
Nor for name – nor for eyes –
Not for scholars’ approbation –
Not for a noble prize –

Why do these words come to visit?
Why do they speak to me?
All I do to earn their trust is
Gather in poetry.

What are these words trying to teach me?
I should have thought to ask!
Pulling the truth through light’s needle
Is not an easy task.

Just for Meaning – just for Freedom –
Just for Joy – and Glory –
I – for Angels’ commendation –
Sew a priceless story.

(5 November 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

CERVIDS

In glowing cloud a half-moon shines –
A spotlight for the lake –
Where ice congeals into a rim
That crystals undertake.

I’m not quite sure how much you know
About our neighborhood –
We haunt the hills when winter comes –
We feed on frozen wood.

We make the dreamer catch her breath –
Her heart pounds with our leaps –
We startle constellation Bears
While Timpanogos sleeps.

You need not fear our forwardness –
We haven’t got a chance –
But just before we slip away –
Please catch our stealthy glance.

(5 November 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

SURPRISES

The birds are not awake yet –
Though crouching – dawn’s alarm
Is upstaged by the sparkle
Of heaven’s star-struck farm –

Suspense – Anticipation
Are contradictory –
The first is pain that pierces most –
The other one is glee –

While autumn’s intermission
Gives cue for winter’s scene –
A cast of characters from spring
Are clowning on the green.

(29 October 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

MAY AND MIGHT

I feared the Spirit’s purge –
But – baptized by breeze – learned
Remission is a soothing day –
Earth-kneeling – rinsed in May.

The will to live is strong –
Like hopes we had foregone –
The iris in dim cardboard room
Had sprouted – seeking bloom.

(9 May 2008, Pleasant Grove)

REDEMPTION

That stone must be quite heavy –
That boulder on your back –
A stumbling block so hefty
It must twist – like a rack.

I don’t know how you bear it –
I’d help you if I could –
I also have a burden –
This solid log of wood.

Your stone could be a Corner –
My beam become a Frame –
We could consecrate them to
The House that bears His Name.

That Cornerstone of honor –
That Doorway to the well
Will make our woes seem lighter
Than clumsy words can tell.

(28 October 2008, Pleasant Grove)

EMERGENCY

I don’t have time to worry –
I have to work or die –
So please excuse my hurry –
In case you wonder why

I’m moving every minute –
I’m pressing forward fast –
The downhill sprint is thrilling –
Though uphill, I was last.

The moments skip like hours –
The hours run like days –
Days dash down the trail like months –
And months are years in pace.

I like the swift momentum –
Inertia is a breath
That leads me to the finish –
Outracing even death.

(28 October 2008, Pleasant Grove)

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Vem visar sig på drömmar och syn.
Hans ord är tyst och trofull;
Hans hjärta är fridfull och ren.
Han kläder sig i vit och ljus.
Hans händer är stor och skön.

Min ängel skrivar med aktsam fingrarna
I bok det här sidor i form av fjärils vingar.
Vad han upptecknar i okänd språk
Är så väsentlig, så viktig,
Det jag ska vänta stille och tålig
Ända till han visar sig här, nju och nu.

(28 Januari 2002, Provo, Utah)

BOOK OF LIFE

To write is an essential route –
From fears and fantasies –
To Being who we really are –
With possibilities

Of sailing boats to promised lands
On vindicating seas –
Then building Temples out of stones
And windows into keys.

You will outlive me – Cherubim –
So seal my words up – please –
In pages shaped like butterflies
Who seek their destinies.

(27 October 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

TRACK LAPS

A field of yellow flowers – Faith!
The feathers on a wing –
The fortress of a mountain peak –
The facets on a ring.

A harbor in the desert – Hope!
The heartbeat and the breath –
The haven in a hurricane –
The health that conquers death.

An unexpected letter – Love!
The language of a child –
A lyric from the Spirit’s lore –
The light the Savior smiled.

(22 October 2008, Provo, Utah)

"AS YOU WISH"

All I have left is Poetry
To keep my Hope alive –
This stimulating Company
Ensures that I’ll Survive.
I may not charm a farm-boy Prince –
He may not have the Time –
But I can print enchanting Scripts
In Canticles sublime.

All I have left is Melody
To keep my Harp in tune
For delicate glissando Notes –
Arpeggios of Noon.
I may not meet a gallant Knight –
He may not pass this Way –
But I shall stitch a linen Thread
Into a latter Day –

All I have left is Prosody
As Bridle for my Heart –
The beneficial Boundary
Brings bounty to my Art.
I may not marry in this Life –
That may not be my Role –
But I dare write a Record for
The dowry of my Soul.

All I have left is Harmony
As templet for my Loom –
The warp and weft will lift the Weight
Of waiting – in the Tomb.
I may not know the Hero well
Who wins immortal Fame
By slaying dragons for my Sake –
But I can spell His Name.

(26 October 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

CHAPEL

The Spirit wants to speak with us,
But He is so polite.
He won’t compete with dissonance.
He doesn’t want to fight.

The day is full of whisperings.
The night is full of doves,
But He won’t force us to revere
Even though He loves

To bless us with benevolence –
Baptizing us in springs
Of living pure intelligence
And countless spotless wings –

Anointing us with clean delight,
The freshness of a child,
If we but listen to His voice,
So still, so small, so mild.

The Spirit has so much to tell –
He’s longing to explain
The footsteps of a faithful life –
The happiness we gain

By kneeling at the Fair One’s feet
And washing them with tears –
And kissing them with ointment prayers –
And sacrificing fears.

(19, 26 October 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

PATIENCE (Dickinson J712/Fr479)

Because I could not wait for Words –
They daily wait on me –
Their Message comes in Figured rimes –
And sometimes Poetry.

They softly speak – They have no price –
And I can yield for free
My stresses and my pressured times
To Their Tranquility –

We bless the Stage where Mortals play
At Business – in the Plan –
We bless the Woods of Tender Trees –
We bless the Meekest Man

Because – He first blessed Us – with tongues –
My thoughts are shivering –
The holy Gospel tunes, the Gifts
My Hands delivering –

We pray within a Home that seeks
A Silence for the Sound –
The Answer – nearly audible –
The Spirit – is Profound

So that – it’s Paradise – but still
Seems humbler than the Dust –
And I’m surprised that Wisdom’s Words
Would lend me lyric Trust –

(18 October 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

MORE HAIKU

Loss paralyzed speech –
Mother gone, I could not teach –
Knowledge locked – thought blocked

The bean is the queen –
Stringing green in garden spot –
Bringing life to plot

(18 October 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

ORNITHOLOGY

I called the birds to breakfast seed –
The quail cooed in reply –
And flinching sparrows let me know
They heard my whistled cry.

My siblings have their dogs and cats –
Their sturdy children, too –
While I just feed the wilderness –
My flying fenceless zoo.

A scrub-jay perches on the porch
In azure majesty –
While juncos, finches – felines – search
My grass menagerie.

(18 October 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

FOR WE KNOW NOT

I now surrender fear to thee –
My dear worst enemy –
No more terror – anxiety –
Go in peace – set free –

May you savor the jubilee –
Revel in liberty –
May Providential clemency
Grant you security –

I’m just longing for purity –
Hungry for clarity –
Too thirsty for sincerity
To forsake dignity –

Do not grieve what can never be –
What should have been will be –
What could have been will also be –
Weep not, adversity.

(17 October 2008, Provo, Utah)

HAIKU POST-KYOTO

Grief has been a sea
A row of waves ungraining
Drawing life anew

Monterey Bay waits
A falling in love can be
A calling for life

What was lost is here
Nothing can keep you from joy
What was gone is near

Furrows in fields sweep
Chasing the sun in cotton
Wind kissed nectarine

This year Spring lingered
Leaping pirouette dancer
True dreams cannot cease

We have time to sing
The carol was a Spring verse
Dance conveyed the tune

April moon in white
Coming from the east mountain
October turns to June

Be Thou my comfort
Don’t let go of me, Father
Be Thou my right hand

Copper Creek yet stirs
Autumn evades destruction
Time is on standby

Triangle Pass calls
Step by stone to Copper Lake
Face to lace with light

TWENTY-THIRD PARISON

Thy love is my dowry: it shall not fade.
He waketh me to dress up in clean garments:
He teacheth me to find the still-hearted.
He renews my song:
He guideth me in the ways of friendliness to His home’s gate.
Lo, though I run through the canyon of the famines of dearth,
I will feel no hunger: for Thou dost feed me.
Thy rock and thy bread both strengthen me.
Thou repairest a broken wall for me in the desert of my misery.
Thou appointest my time of joy; my heart overfloweth.
Truly kindness and beauty will hallow me every day that I write,
And I will bow on the hill at the feet of our Savior.

(16 October 2008, Provo, Utah)

PEERLESS

The only one who stands alone
Is He who did not stray –
The rest of us have company
In turning our own way –

The only name in earth or sky
That has the strength to save
Is His – The Son of Holiness
Will lift us from the grave –

So we are never desolate –
We have a perfect Friend
Who leads us – steadfast, bright, and true –
Enduring to the end.

(15 October 2008, Provo, Utah)

DIANA

The moon betimes is minuscule –
Her ministry is meek –
Yet clip by clip she magnifies –
Compounding strong from weak.

She rises from the rim of dusk –
She navigates the bay –
She lingers over sleepless rooms
Before she slips away –

Administers her molten balm
To Mercury and Mars
And shares a silver sustenance
With all the hungry stars –

Then exits into morning’s edge
Above a swanless lake
In sunlit practical descent
For every creature’s sake.

(14 October 2008, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

MILLES BORNES

Two compass spindles – One points north –
Step by step – the Second –
Quivering – switches back and forth
Line by line directions.

Digressions, detours, delays bring
Grace to grace Remedy –
Hazards, hardships, heartaches bring Face
To face Epiphany.

(20 September 2008, Aspen Grove, Utah)

PAGE TWO

A prism marks a common wall –
Assuring me that light
Belies the Lord’s economy –
Though hidden from my sight.

A bevel in a curtained room –
With no apparent source –
Arrays as it uncovers truth
With modest layered force.

My poetry is back again –
A rainbow’s outer lines
Help me to see the colors of
The inner world’s designs.

(13 October 2008, Elk Ridge, Utah)

CLIMBING

I never want to burden you –
I just need to ascend –
My back against a chimney wall –
My hands and feet depend

Upon the mercy of belay –
A rope – below – above –
One word of cool encouragement
That gives me faith to move.

(13 October 2008, Mt. Pleasant, Utah)