Poems, Personal Stories, and Observations

Posts tagged ‘light’

Changing Lightbulbs

I’m changing lightbulbs

Instead of cursing the darkness

Instead of cursing the lightbulb company

Instead of cursing someone who might have broken them

I’m changing lightbulbs

And thanking God that I could afford new ones

And thanking God that there will be more light

And thanking God for my husband who helped me

I’m changing lightbulbs

And hoping I can give some to those who don’t have any

And hoping there will be more light than darkness

And hoping that we can work together

I’m changing lightbulbs

Instead of sitting around

Instead of having a frown

Instead of getting down

Let there be light!

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If Not for the Bird Songs

If not for the bird songs

My mind would be lost

With all the changes

With all the strangeness 

If not for the fairy fireflies

I would have lost the wonder

My mind torn asunder

I would have gone under

If not for the thunder

I would make the blunder 

Of sinking in sadness

Being blind to the gladness 

If not for your smile

I would have dwelt a long while

In a pit of despair

Might have torn out my hair 

If not for your kindness

I’d live only in blindness

A desert of dryness

So listless and lifeless

If not for God’s comfort

My life would be forfeit

My joy would be dormant

My thoughts tending morbid 

O, the greatness of God,

Who lifts up the lowly, 

Who brightens our story;

Let us give Him the glory!

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Pandemic

When all the darkness fades away
And light begins to dawn,
Will we remember all the pain
Ourselves and others bore?

Will we remember kindnesses
Both given and received?
Will we remember comfort found
From those who saw us grieve?

Will we remember others’ pain,
Or only just our own?
Just time will tell, remember well,
How much through this we’ve grown.

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Winter Walk

Whipped-cream waves
Of frosty foam
And winter white.

Wind whips at your face;
Pull your hat on tight.

Weak heat of the sun,
But still so bright.

Something suddenly moves;
Now seagulls take flight.

The world is alive;
Let us walk in the light.

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All the Difference

One life, Jesus’ life … has made all the difference.  Because of Him, we can have light instead of darkness, hope instead of despair, forgiveness instead of condemnation.

He was born in poverty, not riches. He was born without fame or popularity.  He was born to teach us how to give, not grab.

You, too, can make a difference by loving your neighbor and forgiving your enemies.

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Before I Knew

Before I knew You loved me
Life was a desperate chore
A crashing bore
A quest for more

Before I knew You cared
Life was painful torture
A dissonant overture
A misplaced embouchure

Before I knew Your plan for me
(Or at least that there was one)
Life was confusion
A strong delusion
An ugly contusion

And then I knew —
And all was bright
And all was light
If only for a while

Now I go about in the dark
Working out Your plan
As best I can

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Hope

The winter bleak,
The branches bare,
And yet …
A freshness in the air.
The darkest night,
A baby’s cry —
The mother sings
Soft lullabies.
The concrete thick,
A barren waste.
And yet a flower
Grows up in haste.
The window cracked,
A heart in pain,
And yet love’s light
Will still sustain.
So weak, so lost,
By life so pained.
But hope, now dim,
Still grows again.

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America’s Greatness

What made America great?
People with a faith, lived well —
Not those who merely said the words,
But from their lives, their faith would tell.

What made America great?
People who did persevere —
Through sickness, famine, poverty;
Through trials, hardships, deadly fear.

Have we lost the vision now?
Too cynical, too rich, somehow?
Too comfortable and too well-fed;
Too easy life, our sin to dread?

Then faithful voices, being quenched;
The kind, the gentle, with poison drenched.
Poison of criticism, poison of hate —
The voices of reason, many berate.

But lest we despair, let’s now give pause.
For all of this, there is a cause.
The devil knows his time is short;
All reason, love, he will abort.

When times are dark,
When love’s light dims,
Look for the light
You’ll find in Him.

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Light so Bright that It’s Dark

(I believe the phrase
“Light so bright that it’s dark”
is an idea from St. John of the Cross.
We must have faith that all will be well.) 

Don’t know why I continue existing –
So much is so incomprehensible.
Can’t seem to see my purpose –

Nothing I see ever sensible.

 Perhaps I’ll only learn
My reason for being on earth
If I should enter heaven –

Then light will shine on my birth.

My childhood seems so alien —
Can’t really believe that was me.
Why was I born in that time, that place?

Where was the shining sunbeam?

Why have I floundered through densest fog?
Why merely muddled along?
Why did I amble so aimlessly?

That solitary sojourn so long?

So much is so incomprehensible —
No clarity of sight.
But maybe,
God wants me to trust Him –
Through light so bright that it’s dark.

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Incarnation

God in a body –
How can it be?
The Star-Shaper, Light-Maker
Dwelling with me?

How can the Great One
As infant come down?
How was Man’s Molder
In poverty found?

What kind of love
Does startle, astound?
Incomprehensibly,
My soul He has found.

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