Live Write Breathe

Night Raider

2010-06-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

A few bean plants lost their leaves in the night. A trail of dainty hoofprints led across the garden. Who, then, is the thief?

My Mark

2010-05-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've never met them,

These silent strangers.

They are to me but

A name on a stone -

Or no name at all,

Just a depression,

A mound of earth,

Unmarked.

They lived before me

In a younger world -

Real people sighing

Through life

Before I took on

Flesh and breath.

They're gone now -

Unremarked.

It doesn't seem fair.

They might never

Have existed at all -

For good or ill,

They came to rest here,

On this windy hill -

Forlorn,

Forgotten.

I cannot know them,

I who am living.

God alone has

Decided their fate.

I walk from the place

And leave them behind.

I must make a mark

Not written on stone.

The Truth We Told

2010-03-31T10:51:00.000-07:00

Photo credit: gbh from morguefile.com

You were crowned in glory
Though we thought it less.
You were clothed in honor;
We mocked your nakedness.

Blood and tears ran together
Down your battered, gentle face.
We thought of it as defeat --
Your sacrifice and grace.

"Father, forgive them,"
Was your heartfelt plea.
Your love was greater
Than our enmity.

We told the truth
When we called you King,
Though we didn't know
What your death would bring.

We didn't know
When we nailed you up
That you were drinking
Our own death cup.

We didn't know
When we pierced your side
That for three days only
Would you abide

In the darkness of the tomb
To pay our fee.
Now cross, tomb and cup
Stand empty.

© 2009 by Janalyn Voigt

Nowadays

2010-03-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

When I was young,

I sprang from my bed.

Nowadays,

I rise from the dead.

Singing

2010-02-04T22:47:00.000-08:00

I listen to the rhythms of life, for within them I will sing my melody.

The Stuff of Life

2010-01-19T19:02:00.000-08:00

We traveled long miles to see a family member confined to bed, unable to walk. She's lain there for a year now, drifting in and out of sleep, her memories ebbing and flowing. Her days have condensed to a set of DVD's played again and again, to the nurse's visits, meal time, and the view from a window where chickadees gather around a feeder. What I find annoying -- gray rain driving against the windshield and blowing into my face whenever I leave the car at rest stops -- she would probably drink in as the stuff of life.

Journey

2010-01-11T14:10:00.003-08:00

A train passes, ratcheting, whistling in the night to transport me from my bed.

Tango

2010-01-11T14:10:00.001-08:00

Today I’m going to dance with life and see where it leads.

Wonderment

2010-01-11T14:07:00.000-08:00

Children’s eyes

See marvels --

Creation born anew --

Wonderment

In each small

Everything.

Give me, Lord,

A child’s view.

River Voices

2010-01-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

Stones tumble and thump.

A fish jumps and plashes.

Wavelets overlap sucking mud.

A child laughs.

Helpers

2010-01-11T14:04:00.001-08:00

Hands that strengthen mine I cannot despise, for they give more than they take.

Grace

2010-01-11T14:03:00.001-08:00

Harsh words spoken in haste cannot erase themselves without me.

Ghost Train

2010-01-11T14:02:00.001-08:00

I pick up a rusted spike, passed to mine from a hand now dead. A trainless tunnel arches overhead. Rails and ties pass from memory to dust. Faint, a whistle sounds.

© 2009 Janalyn Voigt

Storm Song

2010-01-11T14:01:00.001-08:00

The thrum of rain in the gutters, the swish of tires on the street, the purr of my cat provide music enough.

© Janalyn Voigt

Majesty

2010-01-11T14:00:00.001-08:00

The mountains stand sharp, edged in green. Storm clouds roil in a summer’s sky. An eagle soars. I gaze, but cannot hold them thus.

© 2009 Janalyn Voigt

Focus

2010-01-11T13:59:00.001-08:00

Cracks split the pavement and nurture weeds, but in the garden flowers bloom.

I choose my world.

Poetry

2010-01-11T13:58:00.001-08:00

It comes at odd hours without warning. A word – a sentence – elusive as a butterfly. And I, imperfect net in hand, attempt its capture.

© 2009 Janalyn Voigt

Busy Me

2010-01-11T13:57:00.000-08:00

It seems I need another life just to keep up with this one.

My Strawberries

2010-01-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

Two snails, pulled from a ripe strawberry, earn a gratis trip to the yard waste container. A fat brown slug follows them. A beetle sees me coming and runs.

© 2009 Janalyn Voigt

Garden Logic

2010-01-11T13:54:00.001-08:00

I don’t know why God grew a gardener from one who weeps at a worm’s death.

Life Imitates Art

2010-01-11T13:53:00.000-08:00

After plowing and planting a virtual farm, I looked out the window and saw weeds growing in my real garden. My fingernails are now dirty.

© 2009 Janalyn Voigt

Morning Song

2010-01-11T13:52:00.000-08:00

Renewal

2010-01-11T13:50:00.001-08:00

I love that every day is a new chance at things.

Technology

2010-01-11T13:49:00.001-08:00

Rain

2010-01-11T13:48:00.001-08:00

Sparkling drops caress blossoms and wash clean the street. Seedlings in the garden revive. Tree roots drink deep. How can I complain?

© 2009 Janalyn Voigt

Marking Time

2010-01-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

The clock ticks away in my office, like a measured heartbeat, punctuating each moment, marking every “now.” I must do the same.

© 2009 Janalyn Voigt

Weeds?

2010-01-11T13:46:00.000-08:00

A child’s protests stayed my hand and now the poppies bloom, for good or ill, in my garden.

Arc of Life

2010-01-11T13:45:00.000-08:00

Each moment is born, lives and dies into the next.

Twilight

2010-01-11T13:43:00.000-08:00

The sky glows purple-gray against dark trees.
Twilight carries its own mysteries and passage.

Thirst

2010-01-11T13:42:00.000-08:00

How can plants can survive so long without water?

My To Do List

2010-01-11T13:40:00.000-08:00

Day has died and, with it, all hope of achieving my overblown goals this day.

I look forward to tomorrow’s resurrection.