The Lake

Beaver Lake, Arkansas

 

Cold water flows

Around her little feet

Kicking and laughing,

Gurgling, splashing.

 

A gentle breeze blows

Through her long curls

Pointing and asking,

Drifting, whispering.

 

One hand steers

Across the valley of water

Turning and correcting,

Meandering, unfolding.

 

Life-long friends

The wonder of nature

Together today

And every ‘morrow.

 

Picture of Beaver Lake

Music by Sleepy Fish

Binary Nature

I’ve got bugs to fix, programs to compile, and users clamoring for features, but this morning, it’s just me and you.  Digital paper painted by the hammer of the invisible typewriter, keys clacking silently beneath my fingers.  This is what it means to be alive.

In the darkness of the morning, before the rhythm of the day sets in, I establish my own rhythm.  One character at a time, converting analog to digital, the innards of my soul to ones and zeroes.  And these are my binary patterns, not the ones that the world demands when it awakes from its slumber.

Right now, the world is asleep, and I am alive with creative electricity, pulsing through every nerve, every neuron.  Poems come alive, painted in impossible hues against the pitch black that surrounds me this morning.  The lights of the city cannot reach me in my forest home, nestled in the hills of the Ozarks.  They are my firewall, my analog to the digital firewall that protects my art.

The city, always moving, always consuming, always boppin’ to a never-ending beat – it gives inspiration, but it doesn’t give rest or solace.  You don’t feel the breeze, you don’t smell the earth with every breath, feel it under your feet, clench it with your hands – in the city everything is always moving, but everything is always concrete.

Out here, there is stillness in the ever-changing nature of the flora and fauna.  You learn to move without moving, freeze while walking.  It’s an art of its own, a life of its own, a blessing of its own.  In the city, everyone sees you and you see everyone – but does anyone ever notice one another?

Out here you may not see another soul, but you’ll always see yourself for who you are.

A wonderful, beautiful, fearfully made being, the image of God, surrounded by His masterful artistry.  Free to create as you were created, free to be as you were intended – fully human, fully aware, fully connected, fully free.

 

Photo by Kat Jayne from Pexels

 

 

I (sort of) Don’t Get Poetry (and that’s okay)

poetry

When I say I don’t get poetry, I don’t mean I don’t enjoy it.  I like it a lot.  I just don’t really know the difference between good and great poetry.  What I do get is feels from some poetry, and I tend to like that poetry.  My aunt Joanie writes what I define as good poetry.  When I read it, I can imagine things – a walk through nature, time spent with someone I love. Continue reading “I (sort of) Don’t Get Poetry (and that’s okay)”