Here on My Knees

I know it's been a long time since I've posted here, but there's been a lot going on, not the least of which is putting together my seventh book of poetry "Here on My Knees."

Contained within the pages of "Here on My Knees" you will find poems of faith and inspiration in Section 1 - A Growing Faith, and Section 2 - This Man Called Jesus. Poems based on family, love, everyday happenings and humorous verses are included to lighten your spirits in Section 3 - Penny Poetry.

The poems in "Here on My Knees" reflect my faith and realization that God is worthy of praise and faithful to hear our prayers, a sensitivity to everyday events, a love of family, and the knowledge that happiness and laughter contribute greatly to everyone's well-being.

I hope you will check it out and thank you for your interest.

Amazon paperback

Amazon Kindle e-book

Author's web site

Ruth

Age

Age

They say maturity
Comes with time
And experience,
But age comes like
A thief in the night
Or an uninvited guest,
Unwelcome and unwanted,
Using up your resources,
And stealing your most
Precious possessions.

Of all the things age
Has stolen from me,
I miss desire the most.
I miss the longing
In a lover’s eyes
And the gentle caress
Of his touch.
I miss feeling his
Urgent need
And watching his
Patient control
As he brings my need
In sync with his own.

Age then lingers on
Turning life into
Long, sleepless nights
And lonely unending days
When your only companions
Are nostalgia and regret,
Bringing painful memories
Tumbling unbidden down
The broken staircase
Of your life—
A squatter on what little
Land you have left,
Unwilling to leave until
It is dispossessed
By death.

Gentle Spirit

Gentle spirit
spread your wings.
Your home awaits
in eternal spring.
Do not look back
or to life cling.
What I have promised
you will receive.
Some tears will flow
and some will grieve;
but have no fear
for those you leave.
I will lift them up,
make right the wrongs;
for your loving heart
has made them strong.
So come my child,
the way’s not long.
I’ll walk beside you.
My peace I’ll bring.
So, take my hand
as the angels sing…
Gentle spirit,
spread your wings!

What Happened?

What Happened?

What really happened in Orlando?
Did they get it wrong or right?
Does Casey have any regrets?
Do her tears really flow in the night?

Was Kaylee looking down
Wondering what went on,
Wondering “Why Mama, why?
Are you happy now that I’m gone?”

What really happened in Orlando?
How was justice served?
Was the verdict just or jaded?
Or was Casey judged on a curve?

No One Wants to Hear Me Sing

No One Wants to Hear Me Sing

No one wants to hear me sing
for my voice is so unreliable.
No one wants to hear me sing
My lack of talent – undeniable!
No one wants to hear me sing
yet the birds in the trees grow still
and join right in to sing along
when I begin my howling trill.
I sing for the joy of singing
on any day cloudy or fair
and if no one wants to hear me sing,
well you know… I don’t really care!

God Can!

God Can!

What do you have in your hands?
Has it cost you heartache and pain?
Has it robbed your life of joy?
Has it made you a tormented man?

What do you have in your hands?
Do you need to just let it go?
Has it filled your nights with tears?
Let it go, for God understands.

What do you have in your hands?
Is your burden too heavy to bear?
Think you just can’t take anymore?
When you think you can’t, God can!

What do you have in your hands?
Does it look like it’s not enough?
What may seem so little to you
May be great in God’s holy plan.

So take what you have in your hands
And offer it up to the Lord.
He will turn it from bad to good
And he’ll love you as only God can!

Awaiting the Sign

Awaiting the Sign

Noah made one Ark to carry the righteous
with a blueprint from God’s own hands.
It had just one door to enter in
and only one window looked out.
Only one wood could build it
for only one family worth saving
who awaited one sign of forgiveness,
a covenant rainbow of promise
over a world wiped clean
and renewed.

Our Ark today is the same,
a blueprint from God’s own hands.
It has just one door to enter in,
only through Jesus Christ.
There is only one window, the Word,
with sixty-six books of instructions.
From only one wood is it built,
wood hewn from Calvary’s cross.
Christians of faith and courage
must come and knock at the door,
and await God’s sign of forgiveness,
a few life saving words of promise,
“Come in my child.
Welcome home!”

Here on My Knees

Lord, I have so many prayers to send –
wishes, needs, cares without end.
How does one know where to begin?

There are folks in disasters everywhere,
disease and illness too much to share.
How do I know you even care?

But then I’ve been told you know it all
and all I have to do is kneel and call
if upon your strength and love I’d draw.

So take a good look Lord. Here I am.
I opened my heart and got with the program
Hold out your crook Lord and pull in your lamb.

For if you can save a sinner like me,
I’ll spend lots of time down here on my knees
and all of my prayers will flow up to Thee!

Writing...

Write a leader or a follower poem
Or a follow the leader poem
Take the lead or walk behind
It doesn’t matter to me.

Just put your pen to paper
Or click about on the keyboard
Spell it out in Scrabble letters
Your choice is totally free.

We’ve spent so many days in thought
We’ve delved below the surface
We’ve chased our muse around the block
And filled so many pages

And yet we find ourselves bereft
Of just one more poetic idea
Don’t guess I’ll ever follow the masters
With the next great poem of the ages!

Home

Home

A home is not made of a nice big house
with four fancy wheels on the ground.
Home is a place of the heart,
a refuge for the troubled soul
where love can grow unbounded.
Home is a place you want to return
again, and again, and again.
It’s a place of ease and comfort
where life’s music and dance can blend.
Home is where memories linger
in the darkest night’s unrest.
Home is a place where the sun still shines
and welcoming arms hold your tight,
and you know that you will still be loved
when you wake to the new day’s light.

Some Days

Some Days

Some days are better than others.
You arise with a smile on your face.
You hug the dog and kiss your mate
and walk out into the sunshine.
You raise your hands to God above
and thank him for his care and love.
You see the flowers on the vine
and the weeds peeking out of the soil.
You hear the melody of the birds
and swat at the pesky gnats.
For along with the beautiful things in life
also comes the stress and strife.
We must realize as we grow older
that it's enough to just be here,
breathing in and breathing out,
alive for one more day,
blessed to have family and friends
who supply love and hugs without end!

Bitter

Bitter

He speaks again of his childhood.
The stories I’ve heard so often
come pouring forth like vinegar
from a bottle, his words sour,
briny memories… bitter.

Resentful towards his father,
an indignant recounting of
pain and punishment,
unjust demands on his time,
unpalatable thoughts… bitter.

Remorse that he left his mother
behind to live and cope with
what he could no longer bear.
Dreaming now of the great farmer
he could have been… bitter.

Hatred, simmering, growing,
boiling over year after year
within his mind and heart,
hatred for the abusive father
who controls him still… bitter.

Confused

Not paying attention
My thoughts wander
Unable to focus
Confused

What did you say?
Repeat it again.

My senior moments
Come way too often
Now where was I?
Confused.

Which Is Better?

tell it like it is
open mouth, insert your foot –
or remain silent

Jesus Christ the Servant

I came to be a servant – to teach you how to live.
– to give all I had to give.
– to show you right from wrong.
– to fill your mind with glory
and fill your heart with song

I came to be a servant – to promise you a home.
– so you’d never be alone.
– to pass along God’s grace.
– to show how much God loves you
— any time — any place.

I came to be a servant – to change the ways of man
– all according to God’s plan.
– to be sacrificed, misunderstood.
– to bleed and die at Calvary
upon a cross of wood.

I came to be a servant – to live within your heart.
– to set my own apart.
– to offer hope and conquer sin
– to give you everlasting life
– if you will just invite me in!

Room for Rent

a bird house hangs there
robins flitting in and out
hungry "peeps" within

a bird house hangs there
fluffy chick in the doorway
mother on the ground

a bird house hangs there
silent, motionless, empty
vacant until spring

***


No Vacancy

bluebird at the door
mama is checking it out
papa waits nearby

wrens flit in and out
today a flycatcher too!
same house, same springtime

I think they've joined up
to form a birdie commune -
chillin' at the pad!

Americans

Americans


A nation under God
M oving always toward peace
E nriching the lives of others
R aising awareness
I nviting confidence
C aring for others
A nnouncing our faith
N eighbors worth having
S trong and courageous

A Different Love

Our love began to fade
the moment we said “I do.”
And I never found again
the passion we once knew.
And yet there grew a different love
eventually, over the years,
as passion became unimportant
and togetherness allayed the tears.

Be A Star!

Be a Star!


Nothing is ever perfect,
for perfection just doesn’t stay.
As soon as we think a thing’s perfect,
new upgrades are underway.

And when we acquire
the next perfect thing,
We’ll find it is really
not good enough bling!

Maybe Susie has better
or Joey has more.
If we try to keep up,
we soon may be poor.

Jane and John may be skinny or tall
or athletic or incredibly smart.
But, that doesn’t make them better
than you with your loving heart!

Everybody is different.
Over time we all will change.
So why should we even join in
this silly look-alike game?

Happiness doesn’t come
from everyone being the same
For in time even Jane and John will age
and their bodies continue to change.

Just be happy with what you have
or happy with what you are.
Be the best you can be today —
Be yourself, be unique, be a star!

Do You Ever Wonder?

Do You Ever Wonder?

After leaving here
just where will I go?
The answer to that question
we all would like to know.
But God, in his infinite wisdom
will send us up or down
according to how we’ve lived
and if we’ve turned our life around.
He’ll look for Jesus in our hearts
and count our every good deed.
And if he finds us lacking
we might as well concede
the route that we’ll be taking
though it be lined with fire
will be the only route we’ve earned
when against him we’ve conspired.
But if he finds within our hearts
his own son shining through
he’ll take us by the hand
and give us life anew.
There’ll be no need to wonder then
just where we’ll be going,
for his paths are lined with gold,
shining bright and glowing.
We’ll have no need for GPS,
no need for Google maps.
for God will have taken full control
with his “Angelic Apps!”

Ode to Nowhere

Ode to Nowhere

You’ve kept me awake and guessing
many a long, long night
just where I would be going
when I saw the next dawn’s light.

When my eyes refuse to close
and sleep has taken flight
I’m on the road to nowhere
and anywhere’s out of sight.

Nowhere beckons righteously
as though it thinks I might
really want to go there
when the moon hangs low and bright.

Nowhere occupies my mind
like a deer caught in the headlights
It’s all I see ahead of me
as the clock ticks on past midnight.

But if by chance the slumber train
the tedious hours expedite
and dawn comes sooner than I thought
would it be impolite

To wave bye-bye to nowhere
when I’ve gained a sudden insight
that I’m really headed somewhere
or should I feel contrite?

For nowhere now sits all alone
pondering his pitiful plight
of what to do ‘til I return
on another sleepless night!

What Would It Hurt To Be Ignorant?

What Would It Hurt To Be Ignorant?

I wonder what it would be like
Without a TV or newspaper?
How did the pioneers ever manage
Without instant news
At their fingertips?

I’ve often wondered if we really need
To know all the bad news daily,
Hourly, or minute to minute.
What would it hurt to be
Ignorant of world affairs?

Could we live longer lives
Without the stress of seeing
The world in carnage and sin?
Could we cope with
Peace and serenity?

Could we go about from day to day
Smiling at our fellow man
Knowing that today was ours
And how it turned out would
Not make tomorrow’s headlines?

I kind of doubt that it’s possible,
Not for the youth of today
But there are those among us
Who might find the life of a hermit
To be quite a newsworthy change!

In The Back of My Mind


In the back of my mind
Turmoil reigns.
Thoughts are jumbled
And easily lost.

Electrical circuits
Crackle and pop
And something is
Terribly wrong.

Where once my mind raced
To accurate answers,
It now jumps to
Faulty conclusions.

In the back of my mind
I tremble and quiver
Huddled alone
Afraid to speak out.

Afraid that my thoughts
Will materialize;
Yet unable to stop
The force of their flow.

Can you see me in here?
Can you pull me out
Of this raging storm
In the back of my mind?

I Wish....

I Wish…

I wish that I could quit eating
but it seems vital to staying alive.
God gave me a food loving body
but it all goes straight to my thighs.
I’ve been dieting all of my life…
So many veggies I think I’m a rabbit
but just put me in range of a doughnut
and I can do nothing but grab it!
I wish that I could quit eating
and wither away ‘til I’m skinny.
I’d buy lots and lots of new clothes
and dream that I’d always stay mini.
But a dream is all it would be
as a dream it has always been;
so pass me the cake and ice cream
‘cause I ain’t never gonna be thin!

Ruby roses
prolific this year
covering the bush
in red velvet.
Colorful flags
point the way to
hummingbird heaven

Rebuttal

Rebuttal

Why do I always contradict you?
I don’t do it to put you down.
It just seems that whatever you say
my mind can turn it around.

My mind must be a mediator
for it sees both sides of your words
You may state your honest opinion
and that’s what my mind heard;

But then it flips to the other side
and voices the opposite view.
Don’t take what I say the wrong way
Don’t do what you always do.

I’m not out to get you my dear.
I’m not attacking in any way.
I’m really not trying to pick on you.
I’m just replying to what you say.

Why can’t you just take my rebuttal
as a way of showing both sides
instead of becoming incensed
and saying I thought you lied.

These days I have to be careful
of every reply that I make
trying hard not to hurt your feelings
and make another thoughtless mistake!

Run Alice Run!

Run Alice Run, The Rabbit Hole is Open!

I opened the door and stepped
oh so quietly outside
to watch the hummingbirds
in their evening glide.

I started to sit down and found
a lizard watching me!

I looked around and saw
a second curious gecko
rolling his eyes toward mine
and raising his hand to beckon.

“Aye, mate!” the gecko heckled,
“What are you doin’ ‘ere?”

And then a third slithered over,
hopping from a nearby ledge,
landing on the conference table
right at the very edge.

Somehow I’d sort of teleported
to another place and time!

Colored charts and graphs
hung upon the papered walls
and a meeting was in progress…
“Listen up now! Listen all!”

“Our sales are off the scales,”
a bespectacled gecko said.

“Car insurance profits
have never been so high!”
he laughed, waving his GEICO badge,
“And blokes, that ain’t no lie!”

“Oh pardon me. You’re busy I see
so I’ll just close the door.”

And as I turned away
I heard a buzzing by my ear
and felt a breeze from tiny wings
My hummingbirds were here!

“What a team! They really seem
to believe their very own hype!”

Said my ruby-throated rescuer
as he guided me back home.
“I’m gonna stop watching TV
if that’s all that’s being shown!”

Rescue Me!

Rescue Me!


Need
help
Stranded
on island,
lost, alone. Send food,
money, plane ticket, or Brad Pitt.

Close Your Eyes!

Close Your Eyes!

Ain’t none of our business what the neighbor’s do
so put those binoculars away.
Ain’t none of my business and ain’t none of yours
I don’t care what you say.
Ain’t none of my business how they come and go
or whether they’ve been in jail.
Ain’t no one’s business but their own
if they succeed, or if they fail.
Ain’t none of our business if they plant a hedge
to block your prying eyes.
Ain’t none of your business so let it go
and stop with the “maybes…” and “whys?”!

Advice for Newlyweds

Advice for Newlyweds


How long can love last?
When is the honeymoon over?
When does love change and mature?
When does the landscape change
to gravel from fields of clover?

Will you know how to handle
that first heated argument?
Will harsh words or silence rule?
Or will you kneel down and ask our Lord
for help that is heaven sent?

When illness and financial worries
make life too hard to endure,
where will you turn for help?
You won’t want to ask your parents,
too embarrassing, that’s for sure!

When someone outside of your marriage
catches your wandering eye
whose advice can you trust?
Will you strongly resist temptation,
or cover your tracks and lie?

Love is as fragile as butterfly wings
but can also be strong like steel
forged in the hottest fire.
If you always remember our Father
knows exactly how you feel.

And if you want your marriage to last
through the good and the bad as it falls,
it’s on Him you must rely.
He is counselor, friend, and confessor
therapist, healer, et al!

Snapshot of a Hug

Snapshot of A Hug

It seems lost among many
in the collage on the wall.
The strength in his arms
is reflected in sinewy tan
against a shirt of sky blue.
She, in pale yellow
has a gentle spirit
glowing in her eyes.
He just a bit taller,
his cheek to her forehead;
she a bit shorter,
her eyes near his chin.
His hair is black
contrasting to her
strawberry blond,
Sunset nears and
shadows play across
their image
foretelling the
coming
darkness.

Like a Rocket

Like a Rocket

Cody seems to limp a little today,
seems stiff when he rises to walk,
has not brought me a toy to play.
But just let a bicycle ride on by
and he’s off like a rocket on the fly!

Barreling out the doggie door,
he’s away in a flash of black,
rocket powered to the core
as along the fence he runs,
in agony, or having fun?

He’s not limping when he returns
He seems to be walking fine.
Should I really be concerned?
Should I take him to the vet
Or refuel his rocket’s jets?