Like little princess
She sits on paws;
With innocent looks
And ferocious jaws.
With purr so loud
And conspicuous meow,
She says to me,
“Please take me out.”
With sharpest talons
She persuades,
As if to tell us,
“Please cut my nails.”
With little jumps,
She turns around;
She says, “Let’s be
For bedroom bound.”
When younger,
You could throw a toy,
And she would fetch
With happy joy.
And on my lap
She likes to sit,
Especially when
At screen I sit.
In the middle of the night,
I hear distantly
A roaring motorcycle
And trucks on the freeway.
Near dawn, I wake again.
The freeway is humming
With many more vehicles.
Then a bird nearby
Is singing,
And squirrels run gaily
Across the roof.
And nothing can compare
To the morning air –
Not any other wonderful thing.
Sleepless nights
And restless days;
I wake at one,
And then I pray.
What are you trying to teach me, Lord?
Why can’t I hear Your voice?
I beat against Your heart, so good;
Don’t seem to have a choice.
There’s something that You’re saying;
My ears are all stopped up.
I need a precious miracle;
Don’t let me now give up.
Extending through the mists of time —
The mystery of Your love divine.
If I could grasp that love so deep,
My heart and mind would be at peace.
I was once your enemy;
The fates of war
Placed us on opp’site sides —
We had our pride.
We had a cause,
We gave not pause –
Our cause was just –
To fight we must.
Sure those in power
Were not always right,
But many focused
For loved ones to fight.
The many fallen,
The dead, the suffering,
The broken hearts,
The shrapnel puncturing …
The refugees,
The enemy aliens,
The lost, the forgotten;
The orphans taken in.
And then it ends;
We pick up the pieces.
We must forgive,
Or hatred increases.
In the end, the good will win,
Despite our many, varied sins.
And in every conflict, however grave,
If we want the same, we must forgive.
(Memorial Day, 2016)
Flags on porches,
A warm, lazy day.
A party next door;
I hear music play.
On Facebook the pictures
Of soldiers so brave.
They’re not having picnics —
On duty they stay.
Summer is starting,
Graduations abound.
But will there be freedom
The next time around?
Sometimes I get lazy
On these holidays,
But I look up the history
Of men who were brave.
So many memories
Of summers are found.
The power to do good
Is freedom profound.
People are traveling,
The summer’s the time,
But will there be freedom
The next time around?
MISINTERPRETATION
Misinterpretation
When acted upon
Is flirtation
With misunderstanding,
Grudges, unnecessary conflict
Lack of guidance
Or true teaching
Brings reliance
On distorted facts –
Our mind has a lack
The ache of non-acceptance —
Too young —
Grows seeds of diseases
Of the mind, heart
And soul – perhaps body too
Only God’s light
Can set things right
The heart breaks
And cracked spirit
Takes long to mend
But it’s not the end
The heart grows stronger
And it takes longer
For harsh realities
To do their damage
Somehow flowers
Bloom again —
A seed is planted
Through tears and pain
Amen
Come home;
I miss you so.
You’ve wandered long,
You’ve wandered far.
You’re weary now.
Your fevered brow
Has far too long
The sorrow born.
You need to rest,
To find your best.
To find your peace,
To end your quest.
Lay weary head
Upon My breast.
All things must pass;
Come home at last.
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
(Luke 13:5-9)
In 2006, my family moved to a single-family house from a townhouse. One of our reasons for moving was to have a bigger garden (the townhouse garden was very small).
The new garden included a fig tree. That first summer, there was no fruit on it. I would prune it from time to time (perhaps improperly), but year after year, there was no fruit.
Last year, there were a few fruits on the tree. I was amazed! I had decided, over the years, that we had an ornamental fig (those do not bear fruit).
This year, perhaps with a warmer winter and abundant rain, it is producing many fruits! Now I want to learn the proper way of pruning and fertilizing it. There are ways to prune the tree to select the best branches for bearing fruit.
There are many lessons to learn from this:
1) Proper pruning is important: Could this mean that sometimes the discipline or correction we receive from others could be misdirected or misapplied. I don’t question that we need discipline, but it’s something to ponder. We can pray that damage done to us will be healed. Or, we may have not received much pruning/discipline in life. That usually results in a much-reduced amount of fruit.
2) Patience is important: Like the fig tree in Scripture, we may need to wait a long time for something to bear fruit.
3) Given all else, perhaps the conditions or timing are just not right: “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8). Do we need to put ourselves (or allow God to put us) in conditions where we can blossom and bear fruit? In the natural world, some seeds grow only if they are first burned, frozen, or scarified (cut). Do we allow our sufferings to bring forth new life in us?
clarakatalin 
The California Primary Election
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