Painting Flaws and All

Back in 2013, I started painting regularly. I watched Bob Ross on PBS every day while I ate my lunch. I was in awe of the way he made a canvas pop in just a half an hour show. I then went out in my garage and tried to replicate what I saw him do. Though I never really was able to master the paint brush like he did, I learned enough to create my own style of painting. I loved experimenting with paint and colors to see what I could come up with. This is one of those paintings. I was pleasantly surprised that some people actually enjoyed my work. Painting was as almost as gratifying as writing poetry!!

An amature’s attempt

Texture and imperfection

Flaws some might feel

detract from the value

But,

Beauty is found

in the eye of the beholder

Where flaws add character

and uniqueness is perfection

Painting: Dwight L. Roth

Amazing

All the world around me glows

Atop trees red leaves whisper

As birds sing sweet lullabies

Arias unique to each

Ants build hills under my feet

Albatross soars high above

Azure blue skies call me home

Today at d’Verse Laura introduced us to a form of poetry called Pleiades. We must pick a ONE-WORD TITLE  then write a SEVEN-LINE poem of SEVEN SYLLABLES  whereby each line begins with the FIRST LETTER of your title.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com Then click on the Mr. Linkey box and read other poems.

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Finding Common Ground

The death of Congressman John Lewis, bring a reflection of the intense turmoil  he lived through during the Civil Rights era. The struggle for respect and equality still goes on sixty years later.  As I look at the division that still remains, I realize it will not be resolved  without God’s love changing our hearts allowing us to live together in peace.

Some views are shotguns blasting away

Others sling shots pelting against the gate.

Let’s have a conversation they say…

Come together // find common ground

Solve our differences together.

*

How does that happen with shotgun politics

and sling shot twitter, that couldn’t hit a brick wall.

When our view is the only right view,

Each conversation become one of persuasion or condemnation…

A ticket to ride our train non stop to our destination.

*

Legislated change without heart change, brings little hope.

History keeps repeating with every rotation.

Change comes with give and take // listening and hearing

Appreciating uniqueness // instead of condemning it.

*

Only a revolution of the heart will bring peace from division.

Perhaps, “love your neighbor as yourself”

are words that could make our world a better place…

Opening the door to finding common ground…

Bringing the “Hope and Change” we really need.

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Here is a favorite song from the Folk era by the Youngbloods called Let’s Get Together

Perhaps what is missing in this generation is the truth in Folk Music… Music that brought people together!

What We All Seek

So many people
all with differing views
in our changing world
looking for love and kindness
Seeking Authenticity

Some seek their truth
Answers that define us all
Uniqueness shines through
Reveals how different we are
Seeking Authenticity

So many voices
lost in the thundering roar
crying to be heard
claiming their place in the world
Seeking Authenticity

We are a mix
like it or not // here to stay
Proud of who we are
As the wheels… go round and round
Seeking Authenticity

My Zinnia Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse, Anmol shared that in the midst of all that is going on, June is Gay Pride month. He asked us to write a poem that relates to this. I decided to look at what I feels is the motivating factor underlying all that is happening, and that, I believe, is being recognized as authentic! I decided to use the Tanka form for this poem, and do several stanzas.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

American Tossed Salad

Some say America’s a melting pot
People from all nations blending together
Immigrants searching for a better life

I believe America is really a tossed salad
A mix of oil and vinegar // freedom and law
Spread over a variety of unique cultures

Rich in heritage, traditions, and values
A mix of spicy music, art, and creativity
Races and religions respected from around the globe

A toss of unique cultures all working together
Give and take is needed to bring out the flavor
A cultural tossed salad // the envy of the world

So, yes, melting pot seems NOT the best metaphor
How sad it would be to be one bland blend
Losing all that uniqueness and no flavor in the end

Bing Photo: antiquewearhouse.com

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

 

Nature’s Patterns

Nature’s living things are all composed of defined patterns. Things don’t just happen. Everything is designed for a unique function. From the smallest microscopic creature, to the biggest elephant, to you and me; we are all special and unique. Everything about us is planned for our best interest. Some things grow and adapt to changes in their environment, but their basic pattern and design is still there.  Some think all this just happened, but I believe there is a God, the creator, who set it all in motion.

Nature’s patterns show

 perfectly designed flowers

bloom every summer

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Our True Colors

Our true colors become evident
As the sunlight of God’s Love
shines through us;
Allowing us to be all that we can be…
Radiating unique beauty and warmth to all.
Without Love, we are like cold pieces glass
Captured beauty hidden from the world.

Today, at d’Verse Poets Pub, we were shown Chihuly’s work, The Sun, which stands outside the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal, Canada. We were asked to write a Quadrille of exactly 44 words and use the word sun as our prompt.

Dan Chihuly’s – The Sun

We recently visited the Strasbourg Cathedral in France where we marveled at the beautiful stained windows that shown in the sunlight. It reminded me of God’s love that shines through us, bringing out our unique beauty. Amazingly on the outside there is little or no color at all.

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

 

 

 

 

Unique

Some don’t fit the norm

Expectations run deep;

Thinking all should look exactly the same

Full of petals // one upon another

But what of the ones who don’t fit that form

With petals fragile and few // spread open wide

Some mutations occur without warning

Does it make them of less value or less beauty?

No // beauty doesn’t come in just one size and shape

Uniqueness brings a beauty all its own

 

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Theory of Everything

This week at d’Verse Poets Pub, we have been discussing theories of everything both real and imagined. When Darwin’s theory of evolution was presented it was greatly challenged by the Christian Church leaders. Those who believed in creationism could not accept this far out theory. The debate still goes on, with no one really able to prove their theory.  Yet one has to wonder, as we look at the world around us, how it all came about!

As I contemplate my existence
How it must have all come about
I find a thought persistent
In my mind and won’t come out

If as some believe we all came from the ocean
Organisms and fish learning to breathe on land
Evolving into monkeys, dinosaurs, and toucans
Then we are all the same both woman and man

In every drop of water and every living thing
The DNA strands in us and them should all be the same
But the opposite seems to be true it seems
DNA is different in every living organism, woman, and man

So how can it be possible to have such strange dichotomy
Millions upon millions of living things
All different yet with such unique anatomy
Not one of them the same whether on legs or on wings

With such a well-ordered plan and imaginative design
It seems intelligence beyond our comprehension
Has put in motion this world a one of a kind
And we all participate in this great dispensation

Photo: Dwight L. Roth