Birds are Timeless

A pair of house finches pull sunflower seeds through the mesh. A new year has begun for us; but, for them it is still a matter of survival. Hopefully, my feeder provides them with needed resources as winter comes on strong.

Time keeps on ticking
Means nothing to my finches
Everyday’s the same

 

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Today at D’Verse Poets Pub, Bjorn asked us to write a Haibun that refers to the new decade starting and new beginnings.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

Night Fliers

Sixty years ago, when I was twelve, we loved to go sledding in the moonlight. The bright full moon shone down on us as we sailed down the hill, past the mail boxes, on our sleds. All the neighbor kids joined in for a fun evening in the cold. Those were great times.

Mem’ries of snowfall
Bright Wolf Moon shines down on us
Sliding down the hill

Photo: from our family album

Frank Tassone asked us to write a Haikai poem that alludes to the Wolf Moon in January.

Join us at: https://frankjtassone.com/2020/01/04/haikai-challenge-120-1-4-20-wolf-moon-okami-tsuki-haiku-senryu-haibun-tanka-haiga-renga/

Shame

“Metamorphosis doesn’t look the same for everyone. Don’t be afraid to share your story.”

We live in a time where Mental Health issues and PTSD  affect many in our society. Some things in life cannot be fixed by a pill, a doctor, or a will to change. In the past generation, sharing this kind of issue was a stigma and considered shameful by many. Our scars and differences are not something to be hidden or kept within ourselves. Sharing our story can be the first step in finding healing and wholeness again.  Our story is what makes us unique from everyone else. How good are you at listening to what others are going through?

“Shame happens

when we largely treat suffering

like a problem to fix

rather than a story to tell.”

Photo from: Lora Myers Roth

Used by permission

Quote came from an article in Christianity Today:

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/december-web-only/wakeupolive-heiligenthal-bethel-church-miracle-doesnt-come.html?share=&fbclid=IwAR3tKk4Mnz61_bKZX-iWhpBgXOSuBIalHIsmmN60A1RRmUotyGWSjaYIYHg

 

Taking Down Memories

Today I took the ornaments off of my Christmas tree, and packed them back in the box, to store until next year. I enjoyed looking again at each ornament, remembering that many of them came from my former elementary school students. Some I remembered; others had names on them. You may think an ornament is an insignificant gift, but mine have hung on my tree every year since 1970.

Gifts bring back mem’ries

Each one was a warm spot in my heart

Winter of my life

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

The I am the Earth Theory

I realize there are some of you who see things differently , but this is my opinion. You are welcome to share yours.

Like Ptolemy before us, we believe
we are the Earth, and everything revolves around us.
(figuratively speaking of course)
There are many who believe we humans
are destroying the planet
through self-centered carelessness
that causes global warming.
Populations explosions are putting
more and more demands on the Earth.

I believe in due time
the Earth will take care of itself;
Perhaps through famine, draught, illness or war.
Ecosystems have come and gone, as well as species
The Earth has been around long before us;
And will very likely be here long after we are gone.
When we cry over Global warming,
It is like attending the funeral of a loved one.
We mourn deeply for the loss;
But, we mourn even more for ourselves
and how the loss will affect us ongoing.

Earth’s heartbeat continues;
It will take more than we puny human beings
To destroy the Earth.
It will take something much more cataclysmic!
We are just warts on a sleeping giant.
Its rumbles, stretches, and groans
will continue to reshape
what we understand the Earth to be.

Diagram: Wikapedia

 

 

Expectations and Faith

After seventy-two years of observing the way Faith and Expectation works, I have come to the conclusion that we put way more expectations on our faith than the writers of our scriptures ever intended. The following is something I have been mulling around in my mind for a couple of years. This is the best way I can express what I personally have experienced. You may see it differently and that is OK. To me faith is simple and easy to understand. Many have made it complicated and demanding, filled with unrealistic expectations.

I’ve prayed but had no answers;
Believed in miracles // still waited my turn;
Had faith to move mountains
but the mountains remained;
Read the promises of comfort in times of trouble…
Believed I would find peace in the storm;
Yet saw only blackness and overwhelming sorrow.
Believed Jesus would carry me when I could not go on;
Instead, fell flat on my face crying to God for help.
Discovered there is a time for everything under heaven;
Everything in due season // sometimes sooner // sometimes later.
So, when you pray don’t expect expected answers;
You will usually wait for things to take their course.
Don’t lay on God expectations beyond what might happen;
Leave the miracles for the unexpected occasion.
Don’t let your faith become a denial of reality;
Most illnesses take their course // healing may or may not come;
Most troubles will blow over in due time with scars to show;
And yes, you will feel scared to death through it all.
So, hang on for a wild ride on this roller coaster we call life;
And, if in the end we are blessed with a loving caring family
and friends //consider them a blessing from God.
They will sustain us and walk with us
through the valley of the shadow of death.
If not, we will endure to the end…
When our spirit rises to rejoin our creator.

*********************
It is interesting to me how different most prayers are from this example Jesus gave his disciples!

Matthew 6:9 –
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11
Give us today our daily bread.
12
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one…

NIV – Gateway Bible.com

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Blue Flame

I learned recently, while watching an episode of Moonshiners, that the blue flame that is the hottest when using propane. When they distil the alcohol from the mash, they like to have the propane burner giving off a blue flame. This means the mixture of air and gas is at optimum performance.

Let me burn with a blue flame
Not orange or yellow;
Let me be intense
with the heat of inspiration.
Let the blue flame rise up
when abuse and injustice reigns
feeling the heat rising within
ready to speak to the issues that matter.
Let me burn with a blue flame
Hot as a moonshine still;
distilling the truth and letting it run
through my fingers and into my poems.
Let my mind bubble and churn
as the purity of my words become clear;
coming through one hundred and sixty proof.
And when my time is done
let it be a blue flame that returns me to dust;
as my spirit rises with that eternal blue flame.

Photo: Getty Images

Anchored

On top of Grandfather Mountain is a long metal swinging bridge. The winds coming across the ridge create extreme stress on the bridge. In order to keep the bridge stable, there are several heavy cables anchoring the bridge to the solid granite rock below. As a result, there is little chance of damage to the bridge. As we come to the last day of 2019, it is important to remember to stay anchored in 2020! What are your anchors?

New year has arrived

Every year has challenges

Stay anchored in truth

Remember what’s important…

Family // Faith in God // and Friends

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

 

Reminders of Spring

The warm days over Christmas have given the flower bulbs a jump start. I saw these daffodils pushing through the ground in my flower beds. It was a pleasant reminder that winter will not last long and spring is on the way.

While we celebrated with family and friends

Daffodils remind us the seasons never end

New growth has started generating new flowers

Pushing through the ground with warm sun and showers

Many cold winter days still to come

Plants will shiver as they wait for more sun

So… if January days give you the blues

Remember that spring will be here on queue

iPhone Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Doves in Winter

It is always interesting to me when people feel the need to put little jackets on their dogs or blankets over the backs of horses. I may be totally uninformed, but I think,  “Why would you do that?  What about all the other creatures in nature that spend all winter in the freezing cold. They all adapt to the temperature changes with thick hides and hair or fluffed up feathers and a high metabolism rate that keeps them comfortable. The dove above sits on my deck rail, right in the snow, and seems to be quite comfortable as he watches me eat my breakfast. You can see all those fluffed up feathers insulates him very well!

Mourning dove eyes me

eating my breakfast cereal

Not phased by cold snow

 

Photos: Dwight L. Roth