Wind blowing hard.
Sun shining hot.
But this girl, is
Loving it not.

She’s not outside,
She’s stuck at work,
Exhausted, and
Wanting to shirk.

Clock on the wall.
Please faster spin.
Spring my cage, please,
Or I will bawl!

Landscape cleaned to perfection,
Sparkling in pristine white,
Studded with sparkling crystals,
All this, without a moment’s work from me!

Wind whistling gleefully,
Sleet pelting rhythmically,
Fire crackling sporadically, and
Friends sharing excitedly.

Warming hands around hot chocolate,
Toasting toes before the fire,
Burning marshmallows on skewers, and
Snuggling under comforters.

What a terrible world it would be,
Without winter!

Taking the first step on a journey,
Turning away from innumerable directions.

Choosing to face forward,
Leaving all other options behind.

Eagerly hoping for the best,
Slowly letting go of the past.

Grasping hold of tomorrow,
Feeling yesterday slip thru clenched fist.

Listening intently for His direction,
Wanting to hear, “This is the path.”

Knowing that His path is life,
Following Him will lead to fullness of joy.

Undetermined,
Neither
Kept
Nor
Opined
Without
Nerve.

Beginning from a speck,
Based on promises kept,

Growing slowly through risks taken,
Fed by secrets shared, but not abroad,

Budding gradually into solidity,
Fertilized with love for one another,

Blooming incandescently,
Outshined by nought, not e’en the sun,

Producing fruit which blesses all,
Admired even from afar,

Sending its seeds abroad,
Landed in distant fields they may,
one day,
bloom as well.

When I see pride in others,
Open my eyes to my own pride.

When I hear of injustice,
Open my ears to the cries of those I have wounded.

When I feel neglected,
Make me sensitive to those I have ignored.

In short,
When I am upset by other’s wrongs,
Show me how I am guilty of the same.

When my internal voice rejects who I am,
Open my ears to hear the affirmations of others.

When I feel unlovable,
Enable me to receive the love of others.

When I am in need of a hug,
Point me toward someone who could use one too.

In sum,
When I am believing lies,
Open my ears to the truth shared by others.

She meanders through life,
Seemingly undisturbed by other’s anger.
To rouse her,
One must be lazy or disrupt her plans.

She’s incessantly crafting improvements,
To reduce waste and chances for error,
But she overlooks the human element,
Forgets people need to interact, like machines need oil, for optimal functioning.

She enjoys helping others out,
Explains things in novel ways, which
Those who listen seem to enjoy,
But if you pester her too frequently she just might snap!

Snap with the pressure,
For no matter the interruption,
She rarely gives herself permission,
To fail to meet that day’s deadlines.

Perhaps some day she’ll learn,
The perfect amount of leeway to incorporate,
So she can patiently help everyone,
Without putting her own goals in jeopardy.

Or, perhaps,
She’ll learn that people are always more important than things,
For things can’t hold a grudge or learn much,
While happy people, once trained, are more productive!

Questions rattle round,
Amplified inside my head.
Pacify me, please?

May nature always remind me of You, O God, whether it’s

Ants scurrying industriously,
Bees pollinating flowers indiscriminately,
Cats luxuriating in the sun lazily,

Dogs romping together enthusiastically,
Elephants trumpeting triumphantly,
Foxes slinking sneakily,

Grapes in my mouth, bursting deliciously,
Hay drying aromatically,
Icicles sparkling brilliantly,

Jaguars pouncing energetically,
Kangaroos carrying young tenderly,
Llamas wearing dinner ties sportingly,

Monkeys screeching gleefully,
Nuts roasting over a fire temptingly,
Opossums pretending death silently,
Pandas chomping on bamboo incessantly,

Quail bursting from cover explosively,
Rabbits multiplying rapidly,
Snakes eating prey irreversibly,
Tigers snarling viciously,

Underwater springs burbling unceasingly,
Vultures circling patiently,
Wasps defending hive notoriously,

X-rays enabling bones to be seen easily,
Yaks chewing placidly, or
Zebras running wild and free, beautifully.

specters of my past rise up en masse
sweeping my feet and hard-won ground
out from under me

is the battle worth refighting?
dare I rally instead of running?

I cannot live with defeat
I must hang on to hope

muscles trembling, I rise again:
some say I tilt at windmills
others liken it to Sisyphus

it matters not
I cannot let myself give up

Silence once again
I guess my questions needed
Some extra thinking?

Like a moth to flame,
Lured by the unknown,
Will it brighten my way?
Or singe my wings?

Avoid potential loss by never seeking,
thereby ensuring never to gain?
Accept the risk,
in the hope of finding and being found?
Or forever dither upon the precipice of longing and loss?

Will my choice fill me with ecstasy?
Or burden me with regret?
Lead to a fulfilling relationship?
Or an early grave?

I guess I’ll never know,
Unless I try.
But then it might be
Too late.