Month: November 2019

Advent

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IChristmas painting 2014 (2)As darkness deepens
on a world filled with sadness
Advent brings new Light
Hope for a brighter future
Reach out for God’s Love and Grace

Painting Piercing the Darkness: Dwight L. Roth

Tomorrow is the first Sunday in Advent in the Christian tradition.  Frank Tassone asked us to write a Haikai poem that refers to Advent. For me Advent is all about the contrast between darkness and Light. I did the painting above a few years ago to illustrate that concept.

The Gospel of John says:  …”and the Word become flesh and dwelt among us” This is what Advent is all about! Jesus brought Light and Life to all who will follow after him… a refreshing change in a dark world.

Join us at: https://frankjtassone.com/2019/11/30/haikai-challenge-115-11-30-19-advent-haiku-senryu-haibun-tanka-haiga-renga/

Homemade Pies

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There is nothing much better than homemade pies. I enjoyed the delicious smells this morning as my wife and her friend baked these pies from scratch. We are all ready for Thanksgiving Dinner. Bring on the Turkey!!

Pumpkin pies are cool

Turkey will soon be baking

A great day of Thanks

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Pumpkin and Rhubarb pies ready for Thanksgiving Dinner!

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

A Thankful Heart

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EER_0488.JPGWhen the world closes in with darkness and sin
I am thankful for blessings beyond imagination
Through depression and illness God has restored us
Children and grandchildren bring out our love
God’s grace and mercy sent down from above
Blessed beyond measure more than we deserve
Happy Thanksgiving to all those who serve

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

The Joy of Friendship

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Today, I am grateful for friendship. Over the years I have had some of the best friends anyone could ever want.  Friends come and go, but the feeling of connection is always there. In the photo above are two friends who live down the street. Danny is my age and is blind, and David lives right across the street from him. They both wanted me to teach them to play the guitar, so last January we started to get together twice a week.  We play and sing all of the old songs of our past. David learned very quickly, but Danny has taken longer due to his sight disability. We have adapted, by letting Danny play the home chord all the way through the songs, while David and I play all the chords. The clash of chords is not noticeable most of the time. We have great fun together.

Grateful for friendship

Young and old bring me much joy

Thanksgiving is here

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Photo: Vera Payne

Today at d’Verse, Frank asked us to write a Haibun using a form of gratitude as our prompt. There are so many things in my life that I could be grateful for, but right up at the top is friendship. My connection between friends is second only to family.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

 

Superiority & Prejudice

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Superiority is the greatest enabler of prejudice!
Downfall of all of us, it seems // from the Garden to now
Outthinking God // we believe our own truth
About life // about others // about faith
Encapsulating God in our own image
Superiority seems to bring out the worst in people
Evolves equally in both rich and poor
Entitlement blinds the moral compass
Making North South and East West
Seduces the good // enrages the oppressed
Superiority evolves from the Id and builds the Ego
Falsely filling our minds with our own fake news
Selfish desires rise above right and wrong
Elevating race and color above common sense
Claiming ideology and theology to be the basis for greater truth
Superiority is the greatest enabler of prejudice

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

 

Giving Thanks for Family

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Painting together

Thankful for son and grandson

Making memories

Each Thanksgiving reminds us

of blessings past and present

 

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Frank Tassone’s Haikia prompt for today is Thanksgiving. As I was looking through my photo collection, I came across these pictures taken a few years ago. We decided to sit down together and all paint the same picture. Each one faintly resembles Looking Glass falls in the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina. I am so thankful for all my children and the wonderful things they will do in their lifetime.

Photos: Ruth Roth

Recycled frames from Habitat Restore

Join us at: https://frankjtassone.com/2019/11/23/haikai-challenge-114-11-23-19-thanksgiving-haiku-senryu-haibun-tanka-haiga-renga/

Neighborhood Grinches

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Grinch picture

Stealing Christmas
The Grinches are stealing Christmas
One gift at a time
It seems thy care not for children
Their brains are made of slime
In Dr. Seuss there was only one
Seems they’ve cloned a hundred times
Sneaking up on your front porch
Stealing your packages and mine
What nasty sorry creatures
Those Grinches have become
A nuisance in the neighborhood
They steal from old and young
From house to house they go
Following Fedex block to block
Hoping to score a big one
When they rip open that box
There is a place where Grinches go
Not to hell, though we don’t know
But there is a cell at the local jail
That will box them up pretty well

Clip art from bing.com

With Christmas not far off this is the time when many order online packages delivered to their door. I wrote this a couple of years ago, but thought it would be a good reminder to share it again.

Old and Bold

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Today at d’Verse, Frank asked us to take a quote from a favorite poem and write an imitation poem in the exact same style. I chose the following quote from T. S. Elliot…“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

“I grow old … I grow old …
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.
Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.”
*****
This is my rewrite:
I grow bold … I grow bold …
I shall shave the round top of my bald head cold.
Shall I trim around my ears? Do I dare to wax my chest?
I shall dress in old cargo pants, and set out on my quest.

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com