New Year's Eve - farewell 2007

The old year passes in the night,
Already rockets fly,
And colorful, exploding light
Fills up the nighttime sky.

Though ten o’clock is not yet here
It’s as if midnight’s nigh.
Blossoms of noise and of delight
Streak through the starless sky

There will be no sleep for a while,
Though I might seek to try,
The celebrations have begun
Beneath the cloudy sky.

And those who stand to buy us peace,
And those who fell to die,
And those who cannot be with us
As we light up the sky,

They are the ones who face the doom,
In whom our trust must lie.
And they’re the ones we miss so much
Beneath this New Year’s sky!

We miss you Bernie, Brian, Kevin, Brandon, Jason, Gabrial, Tyler, Shaunette, Bill and all those whose names I don't know. Thank you for another year of peace at home.

A Windy, Stormy night

The wind chimes play a jig tonight,
A lively dancing tune.
The branches bob and twirl and bow
Beneath a cloud draped moon.
With all that pollen tossed around,
My nose will drip real soon.

The rain falls now, sporadically,
Like diamonds in the night,
Reflecting back the colors of
The last few Christmas lights.
And as the molds and mildew grow
I wheeze with all my might.

I love the windy, stormy nights,
I love the winter rain,
But all these allergies are just
A big annoying pain!

Merry Christmas

As morning's sun begins to rise
behind the hovering mist
the songs of Christmas fill the air
and you are dearly missed.

There is a peace within the dawn
while carols softly play,
though all the noise and laughter now
is not so far away.
I take a moment while its still
to bow my head and pray

That God will bless you where you are
and fill this day with joy.
For on this day we celebrate
His precious baby boy.

He Finds Us Where We Are

He finds us where we go to hide
He finds us in our pain
He finds us in our sorrow and
He brings us home again.

So like the Wise men years ago
Pursued a distant star
He hears the crying of our soul,
He finds us where we are.

And though the way is perilous
And though it’s wrought with fears
Still He will find us where we are
And love us through our tears.

He will not notice our disgrace,
The dark and bitter scar,
He only sees the soul He loves.
He loves us where we are.


When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew 2:9-11

The Nativity

The lights that sparkle on the tree
Reflect themselves in bows and balls,
The bluster of a winter night
Whistles around my sturdy walls
And stirs an ancient memory;
The greatest love my heart recalls

The lights that sparkled on that night
Were not adorning winter trees
And no mere whistle on the wind
Rejoicing song filled up the breeze
And all who heard those songs of joy
Fell to worship upon their knees

A barren little cattle shed
A journey long and fraught with fears
A mother close to giving birth
Fought to hold back pain and tears
And bear a precious, sacred child;
A gift of life throughout the years.

But it was not an easy thing
For them to carry out God’s will;
The path was long and arduous
And Mary nine months pregnant still.
She must have ached with sheer fatigue
How many tears did she let spill

And when they reached God’s chosen place
No feather bed, no show of worth,
but in a cattle croft she crouched
To bring the holy child to birth.
She laid him where the cattle fed
And knelt, still sore, on cold, hard earth

And Joseph must have felt great shame
That this was all he could provide
To house his precious, newborn child
And his beloved and loving bride
And yet he never let despair
Drive him far from her weary side.

There was much glory in that night;
Angels and Kings and stars so bright,
Yet the child Mary held so tight,
That Joseph loved with all his might,
Was more than just the Son of Light;
He was their child, their sweet delight.

A Moment of Crystalline Peace

This morning there was snow.
It was short lived down here by the water.
It fell in white flurries against the gray of the sky and the darker gray of the inlet.
The wind was still and the morning was hushed.
Nothing moved but the silent drift of soft frozen light and the hot white dance of smoke that rose from the chimney to meet it.
But now it has passed.
It's just a memory in the soft corners of my mind; a quiet moment to treasure.
A moment filled with cinnamon and peace in a world made of chaos and swirling noise.

Tonight, it's cold and dark.
The cinnamon rolls are gone, the fire is gone, the snow is gone.
And tomorrow; tomorrow the world will be back to normal.

But I will cup that memory in my hand and hold it close to my heart as I head back out into a world that is not made up of peace and silence and cinnamon and snow.

The Storm

I wrote this poem last year before our BIG storm. The one that put power out for 1.5 million people just as a two week cold front with snow and ice came through. The press on this storm made me remember that one... and this poem.

There’s peace tonight that won’t last long,
The storm builds all around.
But it’s not showing yet.

The wind begins its dancing song,
Soon trees will whip and crack.
But it’s not blowing yet.

The air is cold and cuts the lung,
Soon it will fill with snow.
But it’s not snowing yet.

This storm could last for much too long,
As winter has now done.
But it’s not over yet.

01/09/07