The Silence of the Night

Oh, the silence of the night,
The stillness of the moon,
The whisper of the starlight in
The corners of my room.

I longed for you all through the day
And you were not around,
Now suddenly you’re all I hear;
The song without a sound,

The verse that won’t run though my head,
The tickle in my ear,
The laughter just outside the room
That I can barely hear.

Beyond the wind, beneath the sea
Within the forest deep
The chaos stills in reverent peace
And I drift off to sleep

Texas Dreams

I dream, sometimes, of going home,
Of living there again,
Among the memories of my youth;
Nearby my dearest friend.
I dream of lightning in the night,
The thunder’s cracking din.
I dream of summer evenings and
A hot, dry dusty wind.
I dream of june bugs on the screen
And laughing with my kin.
I dream of margaritas on
A wicked “girl’s weekend”

Of all the places that I love,
The places that I know,
The one that always calls me home
Is where bluebonnets grow,
It’s Cowboys and it’s Goliad
And it’s the Alamo!
It’s piney woods and windy plains
Beneath the Lone Star’s glow.
Between the old Red River and
The Gulf of Mexico
My heart is down in Texas and
My body wants to go!

An Old Friend Remembered

You know, I thought of you last night,
A friend mentioned your name.
And it had been a while since I
Had felt that sweet, old flame.

I thought to write of sorrow here
Or say that I’d forgot
All of the laughter that we shared,
But, as you see, I’ve not.

I wanted to pretend the hurt
Was one that would not heal.
But that is not the way of love
And that’s not what I feel.

And so tonight I’ll find the book
That holds that memory.
Then flip through all the pages there
And hold you close to me
For one more walk through yesterday
And how it used to be.
Then put the book away again
And have a cup of tea.

How is this right?!!!

Playing hooky from work today
Too much work, not enough play
And yet here I sit at my desk on the phone
Why the heck was it that I stayed home?

Lapses in Memory

How many times must He remind
Me of the simple fact
That I have been forgiven by
That one, unselfish act?

How many times must I be shown
His love is rich and true
Before I get it in my head
That He will see me through?

How many ways, how many times
Must He show me the way
Before I figure out that I
Should walk it every day?

And sitting down beside the path
Or veering left and right
Isn’t going to get me there
Though I may wish it might.

And yet I seem to fall a lot
And miss the path marked clear
And take the shortcuts now and then
From laziness or fear

And when I find that I am lost
And recognize my sin
I’m terrified He won’t forgive
My foolishness again

And then He takes time to remind
Me of the simple fact
That I am still forgiven by
That one, unselfish act?

The Memories that Haunt

This morn I lay, not sleeping, in
my bed from six to eight
My mind traipsed through old memories
that spilled by in full spate.
And suddenly I found myself
Born down beneath their weight
The memories of hurtful thoughts,
Deeds filled with rage or hate,
Or words cast out too casually
And called back much too late.

I nearly broke beneath them all,
The stupid and the vain,
The words designed with hurt in mind,
Intended to cause pain.
And those I spoke indifferently
And those filled with disdain
The words I wish I could erase
And yet they still remain,
A scar upon my callused soul,
A brand, a shame, a stain.

I wept and wallowed in disgrace
Ashamed at all I’d done
And knowing I could never stop
Those hurts that I’d begun,
Nor call back all the bitter thoughts
That through my mind had run.
I know I’m not the only one
Whose sin the world should shun
But I was lost within that sin
And I was nigh undone.

Then on my knees I found myself,
My hands covered my face,
And with my Love I shared it all
My shame and my disgrace,
And all the reasons He should turn
Away His loving face.
Instead He lifted up my soul
Within His warm embrace
He washed away the scars and shame
And gave me in their place
The peace that comes from loving Him
And walking in His Grace.

On Not Sleeping In

I didn’t go to bed early,
I couldn’t sleep in late
My mind kept telling my body
“Get up, Get up, Don’t wait!!!
There’s lots of things to do today
The list has long been made
It’s well past time to get to work
Too long in bed you’ve laid!!”

It’s true, I know, there’s lots to do,
And I hope you won’t scoff
But one thing that my mind forgot….
Is THIS IS MY DAY OFF!!!!!

Silent Sacred Blessing

Silent, silver winter
Silent, sparkling white
Silent, secret birches
Silent, satin light

Silent, single moment
Secured here for all time
Silent, sacred blessing
Simple, serene, sublime.

And In Her Heart the Dryad Wept

The morning dawned in mist and rain
The trees shrugged off the dew
And scattered it in bitter drops
Tinged in sorrow’s hue.

And in her heart the Dryad wept

The winter ducks, for comfort, massed
A silent, dismal strand,
Along the fringe where sorrow met
The water and the land.

And in her heart the Dryad wept

The seagulls cried in bitterness,
No comfort could they find
Upon the barren, winter beach
The tides had left behind.

And in her heart the Dryad wept

And still in faith the eagle soared
Above the inlet grey
But even he found nothing there
Of prayer or of prey.

And in her heart the Dryad wept

The Dryad in Winter

In the breathless white of winter,
Beneath the quilted snows,
Amidst her trees, within the glade
Where frosted sunlight glows,
The winter sap runs deep and thick;
The quiet shadow grows.
There, deep within her winter wood,
The Dryad finds repose.

The quiet sleep of winter trees,
Of roots deep in the earth,
Of boughs that bend beneath the snows
Straddling their girth,
Of pinecones trapped beneath the drifts,
Harbingers of birth.
The winter dreams of far off spring
Of color, warmth and mirth

But spring is still a long way off
The snows lie thick and deep.
The dryad and her snowy wood
Lie wrapped in winter’s sleep.

To Mike and Jeanette in Montana

In the land of ceaseless snowfall
In the dark half of the year
I’ve found a place where I’m at home
And friends I’ve loved so dear.

Too long the world kept us apart
We travelled different ways
We’ve fought and loved and carried on
And dreamed of better days

The paths we chose were often harsh
The way has been too long
But we have weathered every storm
And that has made us strong

And through it all I’ve loved you both
Though we were far apart
And now I sit here by your hearth
And warm my lonely heart.