The Oil of Gladness

The first time I recall hearing the term oil of gladness was when I was a child in church. It is a term used in the Psalms and in the KJV* that means an ongoing  outflowing of joy, happiness, and blessing in ones life.  I love the term because it is oil that lubricates, reduces friction, and keeps things running smoothly. I believe it is the joy and happiness in a person’s life that is the oil of gladness that blesses others and draws them into relationship with each other.

The Oil of Gladness

Ever try celebrating when no one cares?

A big event a great surprise

Yet no one seems phased

Inside you are jumping up and down

Outside you are sliding on a splintered board

Surrounded by arthritic emotions

The oil of gladness

A necessary part of healthy living

Sharing joy with those who rejoice

Finding happiness in well-earned success

The oil of gladness

Celebrating with the child who comes in second

Eating over-baked cookies with a smile

Finding joy in the little things of life

The oil of gladness

Makes every day run smoother

Seals relationships with a lasting bond

Love begins and ends

With the oil of gladness

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

*  Psalm 45:7

You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions. NKJV

Feminine Beauty

I love the natural look!  Pop singer Alecia Keys announced this week that she is no longer going to cover up with makeup when going out in public. She looks fabulous. In the bird kingdom the female is less colorful and less flashy than the male. Everyone oohs and ahs about the beautiful red male cardinal. Until this year I felt the same way. Then I saw this beauty on my rail and thought what was I thinking. She is beautiful! See what you think…

Feminine Beauty

In the world of birds

Feminine beauty lies not in the flashy

Nor in the bright red hues

But in the accented subtle grays

Touches of orange bring out her best

Allowing her to blend in

While watching over her children

Feminine Beauty is in itself most beautiful

When left in the natural state

Crimson flashiness for the male ego

Unneeded in the female

She knows she is beautiful

Inside and out

Only an accent of orange is needed

To highlight the naturals elegance

Of inward and outward beauty

A lesson for us all

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Photo: Dwight L. Roth

 

Response my poem to Dumb and Dumber

This poem come to me from my friend Bob in response to the political satire poem I posted yesterday.  I thought is was very good so, with his permission,  I am posting it on my site. Thought you might enjoy reading it as well.

 Poem by Bob S. in response to Dumb and Dumber

They went to the polls to make their choice

This time hoping someone would hear their voice

 

They wound up getting a Big Mouth celebrity

As well as a woman with no integrity

 

Only 39% favor either of the two

Which leaves an American wondering what they should do?

 

When the best they can get is the best of the worst

Perhaps they should abstain and see what happens next

 

Like having a party to which nobody came

Without a clear winner should they do it again

 

For a country that’s based on such Blood Sweat & Tears

The two of these candidates bring out our worst fears

Dumb and Dumber

A political tale….

Dumb and Dumber

Dumb and Dumber were different as day and night

Time was short

The clock was ticking with each passing year

Although they were very successful

Each decided being president would seal their historic place

Using different tactics they went their way

The name calling joker and the forked-tongued lawyer

“I can fly to the sun, said Dumb, I’ve been there before!”

“Wow! I am sure you can,” said some

“I can promise you the moon,” said Dumber

“Yea!” said others, “I know Dumb can’t say that!”

“Will free cheese come with the moon?” asked others

“My back yard fence will be bigger than yours,” said Dumb

“Oh, but you can’t build a fence in your neighbor’s yard!”

said Dumber

“Yes I can, and I will make them pay for it!”

“I will crack my whip,” said Dumb

“Then I will take away all of your whips, answered Dumber

Dumb tried to one-up Dumber, “When those stray dogs come into my yard I will toss them right back over the fence!”

“Oh, You nasty soul, you can’t call your neighbors stray dogs!”

“And,” said Dumb, I will not let my kids take their toys to play in the neighbor’s yard! No sir, I will whoop their tails!”

“My house will be the greatest on the block!”

“Anyone who sets foot in my yard will feel the whip,” said Dumb,  “And , oh by the way…

“That is the one you can’t take away from me!”

“He is so Dumb, he doesn’t have a clue,” yelled Dumber!

“She is just a ‘Big it’,” said Dumb, “She is way dumber than me!

The battle rages on and on and on…

The public now must choose

Will it be Dumb or Dumber?

Or………………… will we be Dumb and Dumber

If we choose either one!

**  **************************************

Think this is silly…. just watch the news!

Art work: Dwight L. Roth

Towhee

Beautiful birds are one of God’s best creations. They come in all size, shapes, and colors. I love watching them compete for the never ending food supply. The squirrels bully their way into the mix, gobbling up all they can eat till I think they will pop! Sometimes they get so full they just lay down in the food. The birds back off and wait till he is finished.  Then they too eat their fill.

Dancing for joy on my deck rail

Gobbling down seeds with your sharp black bill

Towhee chasing all others away

The seeds on the rail have made your day

Beautiful bird in your fine black tux

Orange shirt to match just for luck

Tail in the air strutting your stuff

Exuding  confidence under all that fluff

Eat till your full leave the rest for your friends

Red Bellied Woodpeckers Cardinals and Wrens

They all eat knowing there’s more to come

My welfare birds will all eat as one!

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

This Old House

The beauty of growing old is what has transpired to bring us to this point. Character and strength become lasting qualities that in the end exit with us. As we age and our structures fail the beauty in our life comes in our children and grandchildren remembering who we are and what we represented.  We all pass on a legacy. The question is what that legacy will be. With those we love, or isolated and all alone?

This old house sits naked and exposed

Shivering in the wind and snow

Windows cracked and broken wide open

Chilled to the bone sitting all alone

Once a fine family home

With joy and laughter all around

Now empty  voiceless resting in cold isolation

Stark stately beauty silhouetted against the white shroud

Weeds and brambles robbed in heavenly crystals

Out in the back we find the shack

With frosted rims and dry holes

Home for mud daubers and wasps

Sitting all alone in a field of white

The door flapping in the wind

No warm bottoms thawing the seats

Peaking through broken panes I see

Floorboards lifting plaster walls crumbling

Evidence of termites on sills and porch

This house sits on death row

Awaiting demolition or Department torch

Dust to dust ashes to ashes

To be remembered no more

Just tales blowin’ in the wind

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B & W Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Broken

Roth Poetry

Perspective is everything in life. I have always been one to pick up objects that people put out on the street and take them home to fix.  I see treasures where others see junk. Today I finished a project given to me by a friend. This guitar was dropped and broken and about to be thrown in the dumpster when they remembered me. The fixer of broken things. I think of this in relation to life and my relationship with God. I am glad God does not trash us when we are broken. Read the poem to see how it turned out.

Broken

What do you see when something is broken

An object to discard

Or an object restored

Half-full or half-empty

Perspective is everything

Affects all of life

We all become broken

At some time in our life

Thinking we are beyond repair

But God sees us otherwise

And…

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Smoke Screens

          My former pastor used to say, “What’s happening is not always what’s going on.” I have seen this happen time and time again over the past years. Promises of change and hope for a better future seem to  be great political lines for candidates running for office.  If you think back to earlier elections, the hot topic issues back then are hardly mentioned today. In most cases they were issues used to get votes.  A lot of times they were religious based issues such as abortion  or gay rights used to polarize a particular group. I have come to the conclusion that most of what is said by the candidates and the news media is not what is really happening. Their talk is used to take the attention off of more significant things. This poem addresses this.

Politics

A circus of smoke and mirrors

Half-truths polished and shiny

Stretching every word out of context

Smoke screens of the insignificant

Always hiding reality  behind a cover of lies

Showing only fragments

Promising pots of gold at the end of the rainbow

False hope in a holey bucket filled with wishes and fantasies

Pouring steadily out the bottom

Mirrors in a TV funhouse of fright

Giving only distorted views

Twisting everything out of proportion

Don’t believe the hype

Look beyond the smoke and mirrors

Dig out the shards of truth

Always remember

Always question

What you see is not what you will get

Beauty on Beauty

Beauty on Beauty

There you were in the middle of my shot

Resting on a petal sunning yourself

Surfing on all that beauty

Drowning in light

Reflecting every minute detail

Flawless yet simple

Elegant

An engineering work of infinitesimal design

A gift from the creator of all wonders

The image of excellence

Beauty on beauty

 

 

Living to be 94

My father-in-law always said he hoped he could live to be a hundred. He is now 89 and still in fairly good health. The only problem is that a couple of years ago he developed Alzheimer’s and is now confined to a care facility. As I think about him and others I find myself wondering whether growing old is really all that great. If you are one who is in good health perhaps it would be a good thing, but I believe the odds are stacked against that happening.  I have always said I don’t want to live to be real old. This poem expresses some of my sentiments.

Living to be 94

If I live to be 94

What friend would come knocking at my door

Being that they’d all gone before

Or maybe they came and I remember no more

Since those memories seem to go right out the door

Why would I want to be that old

Why would one want to be so bold

To out-live all my friends of old

And spend my last doing what I’m told

Not a great option for me…

When death comes passing at 84

I just might hitch a ride while I am sure

That growing old appeals no more

When my only friend left is Arthur Itis

The world can surely do without us

Death, come grab me before 94

For I won’t want to be here anymore!

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Photos: Dwight L.