Joy — The Beauty Of Surprise

October 3, 2014October 3, 2014 ~ Elizabeth W. Marshall ~ 1 Comment

Your visit breathes joy into this series. Such a pleasure to have you here. To read this series in its entirety click on the page tab on the home page entitled #Write31days2014-Postcards From Me – Elizabeth W. Marshall

Thank you for choosing to spend a moment here.

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

Joy – The Beauty of Surprise

Joy, multiplier of Surprise
I cup my hands and close my eyes
For when my soul has written every
Line and verse
And ended stories,
Blinded, my own way
You step out
From behind
A dark and shadowed
Hiding place
Hidden under beds of dormant bulbs
Blanket mulch, a cover for
Your loveliness
Quilted warmth, a shield
Made of
Fallen parchment maple
Royal veiny oak

Leaves,

From gradient golden guilted shades
Paprika, hydrant red, yellow of
A yielding sign
Pantone’s infinite color wheel

The ending is no longer mine
Joy is colored
By Surprise

Wave on wave of Joy
Crashes like a tidal wave

Carves out the old
The former things
With steady surgeon’s hand

You parse and peel
Remove the dead

Redemption’s steady hand
The tool with which you operate

Mercy, signs the Artist’s work

The Beauty of Surprise

Dear Ones, Chiaroscuro

October 2, 2014October 2, 2014 ~ Elizabeth W. Marshall ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to Day Two.

Dear Ones, Chiaroscuro

Outside
Heel, then toe
Slow
As you begin, again
The bend
will widen,open
as you go

Step, as a child
Eyes wide with wonder
Framers of the outside
Art
Chiaroscurro

Then dance among the shadows
In the road
The first step, forward
Is now well behind
Walk, steady, brave one
Regard the spectrum
Shading, bright
To light, then dim to effervescent shades of
Gold
Yesterday’s darkness is well behind
Look under every leaf and twig and vine
Smell the cedar and the pine
Encouragement, these whispering scents, to carry on
Aromatic shades of forest green
Tilt your foggy lens
Wipe it clean, until the faded yellow
Dull and pale
Returns to shades of smoky amber glass, shades of autumn
There
Right around the crooked bend

Wrapped in barely hidden places
Creation
Waits

What glory
Chiaroscuro
See the beauty in the shadows
Lying there, in quiet
Wait
Fear has faded
Now, dim and faint

I will walk with you
Be your sojourner
Friend
There is beauty, still
In every shade of dark
And light
Woven

Tapestry of life

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

To read the series in its entirety, click here. #write31days2014 – Postcards From Me – Elizabeth W. Marshall

Dear Ones, I Came To The Mountains

October 1, 2014October 1, 2014 ~ Elizabeth W. Marshall ~ 4 Comments

Welcome to Day One. You are here. What a joy to have you along on this October journey. I am joining hundreds of other bloggers/writers as we write for 31 days in October with The Nester.

In case you want to catch up on what you may have missed, which isn’t much, click the link to go to yesterday’s introductory post. (Yesterdays post is here). All posts will be gathered in one place on the page at the top of my blog entitled #write31days2014. Here you can follow the series or catch up on any posts you may have missed.

Dear Ones, I Came To The Mountains

To
look dementia in her steely eyes
Surprise
And be surprised
Remind this disease, I am watching you

And
I went up into the hills
To see
The thief it thought it was

Gave
Restored
In the taking, joy’s rebirth

The veil is thinner here

They say
Divine, I am glad I am not

For I could never dreamed
Of this

Dear Ones, I Came To The Mountains

It is lovely, filled with runcible clouds
Spiral fluted mounds of
Earth
Blazing foliage bursts forth
Searing every other limb
Beauty shadows slate grey clouds

We will roll the thunder, darkness
Back, unfurl the flag of grace

Or
Celebrate, it’s already
Done
The thief
He has not won

Wish you were here
To rejoice with me

And watch me stare down
This disease
It may come to me one day

Here I practice
Tucked inside
The cover of the forests’

Trees

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

From Roots To Fruit

September 29, 2014September 29, 2014 ~ Elizabeth W. Marshall ~ 1 Comment

From Root To Fruit

I do not recall your Genesis
Your deeply rooted symbolism
In this family
No, only that you matter, greatly

Great big
From stem to stern
Every piece of you
From purple bursts of bulbous fruit
To elephant ears in forest green
To your strength
Dug deep
Held tight
An anchor
Buried well below the nutrient-rich surface soil
Your roots
Arms, limbs long and strong and lean
Bent, contorted
We demand you bend and serve

Oh how you nourish us
We wait on you
Ever hungry for what you give
Season in and season out
Counting on you to bear more
Fruit, sea of reds and pinks
Skin of royal plum
You erupt with life-giving
Sweetness, dripping, seeded honey
Tethered between you and us

We long for you to ripen
Faster, faster
Impatience will not
Spur you on

I do not recall your Genesis
Perhaps because I was too young
A child
And you were there
Before my birth
In the beginning

Dreaming of how you would provide
Different, for each one of us

Releasing ripened fruit
Born while hiding

Behind those elephant ears
Big enough to cover the sins of man

We shall never forget
What you mean

A family deeply in love, are we
With you, we adore you

Beautiful Fig Tree

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

Joining Laura Boggess for #playdateswithGod

This poem is written for and dedicated to my father on the ocassion of his 77th Birthday. Happy Birthday Daddy.
Thank you for always encouraging me and my poetry.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: