Unseen

image

Unseen

There are clues to the things unseen
They peek and poke and barely
Raise up
A sign that they exist.

The heart can see what the eyes cannot
As readily
As earnestly
It seeks the hiden things
Just below the surface
Hidden from full view.

There is a story brewing
Warm
Simmering and incubating
Safe under the sand,
Tucked away and  buried.
Joys lay waiting
They lie in wait
Hoping to tell the truth
For their day
Of celebration and exhilaration
And a bursting forth
Is yet to come.
Waiting for the ripening
The just right time
To move from place of hiding
Into the land of seen.

You don’t hear what I don’t say
But you can know
If you but lean into my whispers
Quiet, steady bend your ear,
Your heart.
You may hear me say
The quiet things, unspoken words of
Story hidden from the world
Not ready to be told.

We watched the dolphin in the creek
Dip and dive, then hide
A wet and glassy eye peeking up at  us
Playing around
Their slippery  game of hide and seek
Each click of camera missed the mark
Their story is safe will me
I have so little to show
For  all the beauty swimming round
My little boat that day.

Up and down
I know this game
Below the surface they are still there
I believe the hidden things
Though I cannot see.

He sits, braced and glaring
Cold look, staring
In the chapel
Facing toward the cross
Facing toward the creek
And I can’t judge what penetrated
His heart that day
All those words packed in an hour or so
Every parent wants every child to know
And tuck down in a heart
Trust believes he heard more than a blank stare
Would belie
I believe
In things unseen.

We combed that beach
Zig zagged back and forth
Stepping here and there
Our years total more than a century
Marrieds walk in tandem on the shore
Then separate
Choose different paths of searching.

But in those moments on warm sand
We are children once again
Searching
Among moments  stretched out into a sun drenched
Day
Of discovery
Playing
As a child, on the hunt for sandy glory
We know the beauty lies beneath
A tip or piece gives clues
Miniscule
Of whole wonderfuls
Buried in the underneath.

We keep on searching
For the  hidden things
Impossible to see
Unless you look
And until you decide
To believe in things
Unseen.

+++++++++++++++++++

Joining Laura at Laura Boggess dot com and Jennifer for SDG and Heather for Just Write.

Peace

blue lelandHoist your sail
Raise your white flag
Launch your boat, your small craft
Warning, the seas are rough
And sail away
Into a sea of deep
Blue deep
Breathe
In the air of healing grace
And drift away from the land of the raging wars

Drop anchor
Land on an island
Of He is Peace
Inhabited by the olive-branched dove
Sleep by the light of the waning moon
Wax not poetic
Let go of
Words laced with sarcasm,
Speak not biting bits of sharp edged words
And bury your hatchet deep in the sand
Pick up your brother’s hand
And walk to the edge of the salty
Shore, step into the
Sea of healing
Water, wash
Mercy
Over us
All
Lord have mercy
God reign mercy.

And sleep in heavenly peace
Dream long of a place where the banner over all
Flies high, Love
Lives strong
The greatest of these
Grabs hold of tongues and hearts

And wake in a world of
Living in His love
By the light of new dawn, new day
Pale, twinkling stars set high
Set in the heavens by Him
God and Father of all

And wake to a symphony blowing
Waving notes of peace
Gently, washing onto
The sands of time
It is
For
Us to live a life of peace
No banging, blaring, discourse or hate

But Mankind
Men and Women
Who know His love
To love and live
In

Peace
May it reign.
joy boat leland
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Heading off for a brief writing sabbatical. Very brief.
Enjoy this one day. It is a gift.

Held

 

mom holding rose FAVE

Held

the night you wept
the day you ran
the time you fell
the forenoon you loved
the moment you bled
the morning you curled
the twilight you danced
the dawn you dripped
the evening you twinkled
the hour you trembled
the sun-up you questioned
the mid-day you doubted
the second you shook
the afternoon you belly-laughed
the late-night you broke
the instant you sparkled
the split-second you were placed in my womb
the occasion you knew you were loved by Him

and all the times in the in-between,

I held you.

If You Will Walk Beside Me

Image

Will you walk beside me

On the level ground

Of the holy cross

Not out front, ahead, so slight

My view is of an eyeless back

Forging fast ahead

And I can see your imprint

Leaving me behind

When I see your back

I see no face at all

Just someone rushing fast ahead

Fixed on a mission of their own

There are no portals of your soul

Gazing back at me

The words are lost

And I am deafened

By the silence

On the path of one who walks

WIth single-mindedness

And do not walk behind me

I cannot see your face

Or heart, your voice, your soul, your cries

Or wipe your salty tears

There is no sister to my left nor

Even to my right

When I am weary and  alone

Grab my hand and hold it tight

And walk beside me to the cross

To grounds of level fields of grace

Where dark rich soil of mercy waits

To hold or bear a million strong

Or even maybe more

Sojourners on the journey

Who walk not proud

Nor out in front

There’s power in a strong wide berth

That presses forward facing storms

That choose to stand on ground en masse

Encouraging and holding hands

So grab your life, your gift, your pen

You writers of the words

And walk with and beside me

As we cross the ground

Headed toward the sacred place, the cross of common ground

And with our words

We’ll all be heard

We ‘ll walk and stumble, not alone

March or crawl

Together, shoulders side by side

If you’ll but walk with me

My aging hands are reaching out to link

With sisters on the road

Would you  humbly go with me

Sojourners on a common road.

++++++

Joining Jennifer Dukes Lee