The Potter’s Love

Hands smoothing and shaping
Admiring sweet creation
Perfect in every form
No need to recreate
Feeling soft clay
Thin smooth as silk
Watching clay spin on the wheel
Hands reshaping and restoring
Feeling the rounded curves
Knowing how beautiful the finished product
As the light from the window glances off
Recreating every line in his mind
Feeling the rhythm of the spinning wheel
Slowing down speeding up
As the slip slides through his fingers
The wheel finally reaches its peak
A final smoothing of the hand
From top to bottom
The original potter really did
Know what he was doing
You are a unique creation

Bing Photo: justinrossow.com

 

Pig Pickin’ Time

One of the traditions of Eastern North Carolina is a Pig Pickin’ ! The hog is split in half and laid on the grill in a cooker. The cooker is often made from an old oil storage tank cut in half, on wheels, with a grill welded in one half and the other half hinged for the lid. Charcoal is put in the bottom and chimney vents are welded into the lid. The pig is cooked slowly for about five hours. During that time as special sauce, made from  oil, red pepper, vinegar, a touch of sugar and Tabasco sauce, is brushed over the hog as it cooks.

When the hog is well done, the lid is opened and folks come by with there plate and pick whatever part of the pig they desire. It is usually served with coleslaw, boiled potatoes, green beans, potato salad, corn bread hush puppies,  and followed up with banana puddin’ (made with vanilla pudding.  And of course, there is always plenty of sweet iced tea.

Best Pork Bar-B-Que

Whole-hog siz’zling on the grill

It’s Pig Pickin’ time

***

Nothing much better anywhere!!

Painting : Dwight L. Roth

I made this painting for a man who had a small Bar-B-Que restaurant in Waxhaw, NC. I used to stop by and get a taste of his great bar-b-que.

Below is our church Labor Day Picnic from a few years ago.

 

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

A Life Well Lived…

The story of  my Grandfather Christian Roth is now available on the Kindle e-book format at amazon.com. It is what I call a fictional biography. Information was passed down to me by my oldest first cousin, which I took and embellished. The facts of the happenings and events were all true, but many of the details were added by me to create the story.

The video above gives a 360 degree view of the exact setting of the book, near Allensville, Pennsylvania. The little gray farm house is where my Grandfather lived and where my father was raised. The white farm across the field is where my mother grew up.

My grandfather came to America with his family from Switzerland in 1882. They were originally form Altkirch, France, but had moved to Switzerland to avoid the Franco=Prussian war.

My grandfather was a concrete mason by trade. He had a little 17 acre farm, and raised skunks to earn extra money.  He was very creative as you will see. Some of his concrete work still remains in the area.

I think you will find the book fascinating and fun to read. Click the link below to view and read.

Or.. go to amazon.com and look up the title A Live Well Lived – Dwight Roth.

**The video above is also the setting for my e-book memoir Farm Stories also found on amazon.com under my name…

https://www.amazon.com/Dwight-Roth/e/B017HW5AHG?ref_=dbs_p_ebk_r00_abau_000000

Music Crossroads

I  really enjoy Ken Burns PBS video series on the History of Country Music. The beauty of it all is reflected in the way music was passed back and forth across the social and racial divides. The influences of all the cultural groups are reflected in the music. Great music speaks to everyone’s soul. It has no boundaries.

Soul melodies flow
Music // blood only runs red
Crossing all bound’ries

**********

Music // an ever renewable energy source
Costs nothing //earns great sums for some
A soft song or rhythm with a driving force
Music can be loud // or only a small hum

Painting: Dwight L. Roth

Can you tell what melody is written on the painting…  Start at the clef and work upward…

Letters From Valley Forge

During the cold winter encampment at Valley Forge, Washington rallied the troops. A big Christmas surprise was about to take place. While the  British partied in Trenton, Washington loaded his men in boats and crossed the icy Delaware River in the dead of night for a surprise attack. The victory that took place would continue to be remembered in American History. I can imagine the letters sent home told exciting stories as the New Year came rolling in.

Christmas Victory

Brought troops hope for the New Year

Winter snow still falls

***

Stamp Art: Dwight L. Roth

Frank Tassone asked us to write a Haikai poem related to New Years.  As I thought about those freezing cold soldiers camped at Valley Forge, I wondered what they must be thinking as Washington laid out his plan to attack the British in Trenton, NJ. This is my Haibun about that time.

Join us at: https://frankjtassone.com/2019/12/28/haikai-challenge-119-12-28-19-new-year-shinnen-haiku-senryu-haibun-tanka-haiga-renga/

 

 

Our 50th

Yesterday was our fiftieth wedding anniversary. Our whole family came home to celebrate with us. It was a wonderful day together. I received this tile from my wife for our twenty-fifth anniversary. This year I wrapped it up and gave it back to her. A reminder of the fifty years we have spent together.  Like our relationship, it has been cracked, but not broken. Now it is cemented together and stronger than ever

Happy Anniversary, my love…
Fifty years have flown by;
Through the years one thing remains; our vow of commitment to stay together for better and for worse.
We enjoyed many great years together with our family and our church. Our faith brought us through the Valley of the Shadow of death and out the other side.
We love our wonderful children and grandchildren. We pray that each one will use the values and principals we have taught them to find their own way.
I love you as much today as I did when we said our vows fifty years ago. Our love has grown and changed over the years, but I believe the love that brought us together was God ordained and he has seen us through.
Happy Anniversary my dear…
I love you with all my heart. I look forward to our next 50 years together.
December 27, 1969 – 2019

Photo: Dwight Roth

 

A Birdhouse for my Grandson

This year we got our nine year old grandson his first tool box with real tools for Christmas. To help get him started, I cut out a birdhouse out of some scrap cedar lumber that I had in my garage.  I predrilled the holes and put in the screws. When I was finished I took it all apart and put the pieces and the screws in a zip-lock bag for him to put together. It will be a good project for him to complete.

Bag full of pieces

Grandson’s first Christmas project

Winter house for birds

***

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

No Room

No Room at the Inn
Travelers came knocking on the door of the inn
After traveling all day tired, hungry, and thirsty;
The donkey needed fed // they needed a bed
A full inn afforded them nowhere to lay their heads;
Pregnant Mary needed a place to deliver.
Water broke // waves were coming on strong;
No time to look elsewhere for a private room.
The inn was no place for a delivery room;
Travelers standing around gawking at the sight
Of a new born baby coming ready or not.
The kind Inn Keeper suggested, “Perhaps the stable…
A private place to deliver away from prying eyes?”
The animals provided warmth from their exhales.
He did what he could to make them comfortable;
Brought water and a blanket as Mary screamed in pain;
He was not the villain in this story as portrayed;
Rather a compassionate keeper avoiding gossip’s scandal.
Why do we think they should have been entitled?
Unknown travelers from afar // they had no reservations.
Thankful for a private spot, it all came about
A child was born in private, and would soon,
In the course of time, change the world;
A Savior who is Christ the Lord!

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

My DeWALT Bass!

The Poetry of Sound…

I saw people making cigar box guitars on YouTube. Only one or two tried making a bass. I decided to see if I could make a 2 string fretless bass. I did not have a cigar box, so I decided to use my DeWalt reciprocating saw case. It was good hard plastic and locked down tight. I had a piece of hickory, from a tree behind my house, that I ran through my table saw to make the neck. I took the grinder and ground out the partitions and drilled holes in the top with my door hole saw. I got a cheap piezo stick-on pick-up on amazon. It seems to work well and has a good sound when I hook it up to my small amp. I tuned it to a low C and E on my piano.

These photos show some of the process:

Photos: Dwight L. Roth & Ruth Roth

Tears of the Moon

Tears of the Moon stream down evaporating in the abyss;
Memories of a blue planet rising and setting echo silently
off the Sea of Tranquility, they are quickly swallowed up
in fiery canyons and portals of a whole new world.

People have been gone for eons,
obliterated when the earth threw a world-wide tantrum
blowing its stacks // spitting fire and ice over everything
ridding itself of the leeches, ticks, and bedbugs known as humans.
Now its a new dimension of colored portals exuding light.
Silence speaks volumes on this Third Rock from the Sun.
The moon still shines, but the echo of voices is lost forever

Tears of the Moon painting: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse, Merril asked us to write a poem that includes some form of the world Echo. I decided to turn my painting into a sci-fi piece.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com