Christmas is a State of Mind

I am very pleased to announce that my poem, Christmas is a State of Mind, has been included in the Old Mountain Press Holiday Cheer Anthology. I want to thank Editor, Tom Davis, for including my poem in this anthology. You can read the poem below.

When I think of Christmas

I am carried to that special place

hidden somewhere in the past

*

Christmas is a state of mind, you know

those childhood memories

packed away in boxes, like decorations

brought out to celebrate the season

*

Christmas is a time when a tune or a song

will open the window of my mind

to images seemingly forgotten, yet vividly clear

Music does that, you know

The song always remembers

Christmas is that feeling of reliving

school days, of pictures to color

decorations on the wall…

recalling church programs with four-line

recitations dressed up as Mary and Joseph

with the baby Jesus in a manger

and frightened shepherds and Wise Men

*

Christmas is a feeling of comfort and joy

being loved and appreciated

singled out and given special gifts

remembering the smiles on people’s faces

*

The joy of giving and receiving

is what Christmas is all about…

God’s gift of love and grace to us

is now our gift to share with others

*

Christmas is a state of mind

lived out every day of our life.

You can read all of the poems in this anthology by going to Amazon Kindle at:

Holiday Cheer: A Poetry and Prose Anthology

You can also order a hardcopy at: http://www.OldMountainPress.com

Liberty’s Passion

The sight of Lady Liberty standing in New York Harbor

stirs passion in the hearts of those seeking freedom

A new life, new opportunities, escape from oppression

A welcoming symbol

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses

yearning to breathe free…”

*

The cross a symbol of freedom to Christians for 2000 years

Stirs passion in the hearts of believers seeking freedom

A new life of Faith, Hope, and Love

Turning their backs on their dark past, now walking in Light

God’s Grace welcomes all…

“Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden,

and I will give you rest…”

Stamp Art: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse, Merril asked us to choose a historic symbol that is stamped with passion and write a poem of our choosing about it. I did this piece of stamp art a few years ago. When I did it I thought of the meaning of Freedom. One is a passion for physical freedom from oppression and religious freedom, the second, the freedom from the oppression within our souls. To me the similarities are amazing.

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Quotes from: Emma Lazarus poem on the Statue of Liberty and from the New Testament (Bible).

Feeding the Hungry…birds

Winter is coming

Don’t forget our feathered friends

Keep your feeders full

*

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Dragon’s Breath

Assumptions

Everyone has an opinion

Dragon’s Breath

Watercolor Painting: Dwight L. Roth

The Original Recliner…

This beautiful old chair came in to the Habitat Restore on Thursday while I was volunteering there. It had an arm post that had pulled loose which I reattached. I was amazed to see that it was not just a straight chair, but also an antique recliner. It had a very old wood and metal design mechanism that worked very well. The foot rest pulled out to adjust to the length of one’s legs. I never saw any like this before! As you can see it had some cosmetic issues with the lamination missing along the seat, but overall, it was in sound condition. 

Antique recliner

An ingenious design

The first Lazy Boy

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Dancing Queen

Shimmy and shakin’

Having the time of your life

Dancing on my rail

*

Strutting

claws digging deep

owning it

*

Knowing every bird watching

Will shake with fright

Hoping you will dance till night

And not take flight

 

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse, Lillian payed tribute the music group ABBA. They had only one number one hit in their career. It was the song, Dancing Queen. She asked us to take only one line from the song and us it in a poem of our choosing.  I chose the line, “Having the time of your life…”

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Royal Splendor

Though life took its toll and age unraveled before her

She held her head high crowned with royal splendor

Containing a sweetness outlasting the superficial

Beauty from within crowning life’s aging body

Where one could draw nectar from her soul

the honey of life

***

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse, De Jackson asked us to write a Quadrille of exactly 44 words using any form of the word crowned. This is a zinnia head, from my flower garden, that has lost all its petals, yet continues to feed the bee that comes for nectar. An example for us all.

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Buy Local – (senyru)

With spending up and the supply chain clogged at the docks, perhaps we should think about buying local this year. It would be a big help to small business in our community. Perhaps downsizing our wish list would not be such a bad thing. Maybe we could focus more on what is really important at Christmas/Hanukkah. Enjoy your family and hug the ones you love! ( and, …maybe even the ones you don’t!!) 

Shipping containers

Stacked up on the docks this year

Buy local

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Nature’s Big Toe

Rocks along the Oregon coast were formed long before we showed up. The lava formations, now eroded away, reveal rough and rugged shapes. Studying these shapes is like looking at the clouds and seeing animals, or faces, etc. This is one of those odd formations that remained as the ancient lava cooled.

Nature’s big toe 

Hardened in cold ocean surf

Waiting for next step

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Alchemist’s Creations

We are just squishy pots of clay

spun and shaped by the master

Starting out as greenware

Aged and dried in the sun

Young and vibrantly smooth …

But we’re not finished

Till baptized in life’s colors

Full of toil and troubles

Only to be fired in life’s kiln

Aged // glazed with experience

Hardened with love’s beautiful finish

Yet, some struggle so hard

that their final hardened glaze

is crackled raku, tried by fire

still beautiful in its own way…

The Alchemist loves them both

Painting: Dwight L. Roth

Posted on Open Link Night at d’Verse Poet’s Pub

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Check out this great pottery site!  The Alchemist’s Studio