Layer upon layer, each layer
of my unending horizons
washes over me
teaching me that I am more,
so much more
than my struggles
clarity, corrected vision
encouragement even
that yes
I can embrace a sense of hope,
and I have
a future.
By God I do.
Poetry and Image © Copyright, 2022 rivers renewed
I wondered, in this tinge of pink, in this hue of purple
what the poetess would contemplate
in the ocean
seeing, more with the heart
could she hear the music
in the waves?
would whale bones speak to her?
no God would condemn
such a soul that loved the mysteries
the vastness of everything
whose being
was awakened
by the sun.
Note: Dedicated to the memory of the wonderful poetess Mary Oliver.
Mary lived for a time in Massachusetts with her partner Molly Malone Cook. Molly was a photographer and at times took pictures of famous people.
Mary’s poetry speaks to me due to her observations of life and nature, and how she feels about being alive. Currently I’m reading her book Why I Wake Early. It is filled with light, and I always feel lifted when I read her work. I highly recommend it.
Peace.
Poetry, Narrative and Image © Copyright, 2022 rivers renewed
As I write my heart I find,
some poetry still living
as if from a cave, no longer dormant
a summer flower,
never fading, longing
for the sun.
Poetry and Image © Copyright, 2022 rivers renewed
P.S. I will share some poetry for the next couple of weeks.
From the depths of our hearts we seek the love,
to know and to be known, to surrender
to a higher truth, a stronger poem
written within us
with wordflow
unlimited.
Poetry and Image Copyright © 2022 rivers renewed
Within the history of this great world, this has never
happened before,
not ever,
no one
has ever
been you,
or even
written your story.
Live your truth today,
simply be,
you.
Poetry and Image Copyright © 2022 rivers renewed
Did I move to another site?! No. Did I migrate to Twitter? Nah! Not interested.
However I wanted to share where my poetry and other writings come from. In my heart I do seek renewal, wholeness, and the beautiful healing of nature simply because…..I know what broken is.
We all have tragedies that take place in our lives and Rumi wrote about brokenness being where the light comes in. I know what this is like for sure!
My wife almost died from cancer years ago, and she has had cancer several times since then but a different type. Or rather what she had morphed into tumors. She still receives treatments today.
I remember her being in ICU the first time around, her kidneys were shutting down, and she had several heart attacks. It was not looking good. Pain and grief almost took me down completely. I was terrified for years.
It was a blood cancer, in other words the cancer was in her blood. She did recover from that and she’s a walking miracle. Thank God! Now though she deals with tumors.
Yet I want that light that comes through brokenness. I embrace it. Even through other tragedies I seek light that comes through, bringing healing.
The other area my writing comes from is love. The love I have for my wife is incredibly and wonderfully powerful. Love also motivates me in my faith towards God.
I want you to know I am a person of faith, but we are not a part of the far-right weaponized mentality that is destructive. You will never get a Christmas card from us holding assault rifles or shotguns. We would never do that.
Our faith is one of peace, love and tolerance.
So to summarize: my writing comes from embracing the light that comes through brokenness, great love, and faith.
This is where I live now.
Wishing you peace.
Writing and Image Copyright © 2022 rivers renewed
There is a warm breeze now, slowly pushing its way over the lake,
holding a scent of water and trees, coming to rest
on my face. I look up seeking the revelation of sky in my life
never ending yet within my soul, I reach
for the pen that’s filling itself once again.
I marvel at words, trying not to gasp
holding the photograph
in my mind, I begin again
to write.
Poetry and Image Copyright © 2017 2021 rivers renewed
As spring meanders into summer with a slow drifting, so our wordflow shapes the words
moving into phrases, shaping then into poems and the winding river of poetry begins
flowing onto our pages, we bring
the uplifting of our spirits.
Poetry and Image Copyright © 2021 rivers renewed
Like many other writers, he refused to see winter as an old grey barn,
or a frozen field abandoned,
and in his walks he really did get infused,
his spirit was lifted.
And he used his wings
to write it all down.
Poetry and Image Copyright © 2020 rivers renewed, ice sculpture by unknown artist
When we lift our heartsong in these times
of uncertainty and strife,
even our wings
will be restored
our voices strengthened,
through shaping our poems
and prayers.
Have you encouraged someone today?
Poetry, and Image © Copyright 2020, ancient skies
Rivers Renewed 