Blips

Wind blows in
Open window
Brushes across my face
Sun in squinting eyes
Smile creeping at the edge
Hair whipping across cheek
Music fills empty space
Open highway
87 degrees in March

Glass

A heavy rain
and the concrete
becomes a mirror
reflecting ominous sky
and building tops
as the sun sets
and the clouds roll
away

Puddles

Today I am reminded
that the clouds move fast

More often than not
when one cloud comes
there are more close behind

And they cover the sky
quickly, sometimes
stay for awhile

There are moments,
when the sun shines through
and you think the clouds
have moved on,

But they are always close by

And you can choose to hide
from the storm
or you can learn to dance
in the rain.

This Moment

A line of planets
lead up to our moon
seemingly tethering it
in place like an
illuminated balloon
high above this town

A sign of hope
on a clear night
leading this child
who follows
with no sense of past
or present
but only right
now.

Mother

Today I think

of all the things

that remind me of

you:

A carnation bloom

of perfection,

laced around edges 

with bright colors 

on so many petals

Iced tea on a 

summer day

condensation rolling

down the glass

dripping from 

holes in an outdoor

table, onto the deck

Stitches placed carefully

upon a quilt,

where colorful blocks 

of color have been placed

so gently,

by your hands

Laughter ringing

at a table, in your

favorite restaurant

where waiters know

you by name

I love you, Mom! Happy Birthday!

Tempter

Sun hangs high
in the bright
and open sky

Beckoning me from
my studies
and the stifling
air of indoors

Eclipse

A red sliver moon
hangs just above the trees
on my drive home

Barely visible
it floats beneath
the bright pinprick
of Jupiter

And I follow it
until it disappears
into the darkness

Big Sky

Where in the world
could I ever find
a bigger sky
than in these great
plains?

Where a sunny day
filled with billowing
white clouds
can turn into the
clearest navy night
dotted with brilliant stars

That twinkle and glisten
above empty fields
and vacant highways
where a girl with a
renewed hope and
an energized spirit
makes her way
to a temporary
home.

New Spring

Flowers are blooming
sprouting up from
a ground that is warm
and thawed before it's
time

And they remind
passersby that new life
is on the horizon
waiting with the sun
for a summer soon
to come

As buds become blossoms
on flowering trees
and shower to the ground
white petals in the wind
I take a breath and am
reminded

That just like these petals
and birds on wings
I too can fly

Renewed Heart

A heart that once 

shattered

at the drop of a pin

holds strong beneath

bone hiding under

thickened skin

And from a world 

that once beat it,

leaving it cracked and 

bruised,

this heart remains 

victorious

Standing tall against

trials

and inclement weather

this heart remains

Yes

This heart remains.

Let it Out

I take a breath
opening up
like this world
on a new spring day.

And even though
the clouds continue to roll
I stand strong,
because new life
accompanies the rain.

Rainy Day

Raindrops plink
in shallow puddles
on an old brick road
in this small town

They drop quickly
and twinkle for
barely a second
shining and glinting
like stardust

Creating beauty
in the darkness
of a cloudy day

Sunshine

Behind a wall of grey
that sits above the trees
there is a big blue sky
and a bright, shining sun
just waiting to break through.

Forever Fly

Blushing cheeks reveal
hidden feelings
suppressed for just the right time

When the butterflies calm
and the words won't get caught in
my throat, and my feet
no longer stick to the ground
as if my nerves have poured
from my body and are
drying like cement
holding me in place

But forever butterflies never calm
fluttering in my stomach
every time I see your face

And I hope they never do.

Renewed

What was lost
has now been found
It was buried beneath
all this time

Hiding amongst the
hurt and pain
built up for years
in a bruised heart

Beauty was found
in the brokenness
Happiness grows
after rain

Escape

It was stifling
Detaining
...but I never knew

Four walls pressing in
closer
And closer
And I couldn't breathe.

It was comfortable
The known in my life
and it felt so free

But I'd never truly met
Free

And now that I have...
I fly.

Unknown

Humidity hangs in the air
like a question mark
heavy with anticipation
of a summer waiting
impatient.

March Fourteenth

Clouds of dusty pink
hang fragile in the
warm evening sky
reflecting a sunset
from the west.

Gratitude, I

Thank you Lord
for good friends
both Old and New

For family
blood and otherwise

And for beautiful words
from beautiful people

For warm summer days
in the middle of March

For Happiness and Beauty
and Hope

Always for Hope

Summer Longing

A translucent moon
hangs in the bright
morning sky
dripping with the hope
of a summer soon to come

When the stars shine
brighter on a hot
Nebraska night

And the clouds sit
just right after a
quick summer rain
creating a chalky white
ribbon that separates
earth from sky
blue from green
as in a child's drawing

Lightning Bugs

Lightning bugs in a dark blue sky,
kiss the night with beads of light;
laying out a scene for the characters to play,
waving away the bright light of day.

Crickets chirp and cicadas buzz,
a night of song with lights above;
the grasses sway to a dusk melody,
enjoying the night in the cool shade of trees.

Stars twinkle softly in the full moon’s bright,
not a cloud in the sky to harness the night.

Love Like Summer

Love Like Summer

If I could catch this feeling in a jar,

like a child catching lightening bugs at dusk,

I would.

I would close the lid tight,

holding it inside,

and hug it to my chest.

Laying down in the grass,

staring at it with wonder,

I would hide it from all the other kids.

Because this feeling is mine,

like the hours in summertime.

No one else needs to know;

no one except us.

Because you’ve filled a jar too;

don’t worry, I won’t tell.

And you look at it with awe,

perched high up on your bookshelf.

Every once in awhile you take it down,

I hope you think of me.

Someday we’ll let it fly free,

I’ll open my jar,

and you’ll open yours;

and the contents will find each other,

fluttering about above the grass,

connecting the layers of our lives,

like stars in a summer sky.

Pray-ers Needed

Please read this post written by my friend Grace, who's adoption journey I have been sharing with you for awhile now. She's getting very close to flying to Bulgaria to meet Samantha. Only one step remains in the way, but we have a big God who answers prayers, and that precious little girl needs to come home. If you read a few of the other posts Grace has written recently, you'll understand why:

http://lovesransom.blogspot.com/2012/03/one-step-away-from-airplane.html

Thank you so much! I love you all, and I can't wait to see most of you during spring break (which starts in approximately 4.5 hours!!)

Bible verse of the day:
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Hide and Seek

Moods change
with cloud coverage,
when there are no stars
in the sky.

The moon is hiding
behind a veil
causing anger to stir
as it puts everyone
slightly on edge.

Playground

Clouds move quickly across a bright blue sky
casting shadows on pavement in the March sunlight
floating over playgrounds
where kids swing fiercely
trying to hold onto the sun while they can

And maybe it was easier then
when i myself kicked at open air
trying to touch the sky as i paddled
back         and          forth

But the clouds keep moving
and so do i

Annelyn

A Birthday girl,
nine years old and thriving.
She dances with a smile
plastered across her
porcelain face.

So Be It.

I'm happy,
so be it.

I'm at peace with my world.

Yes, there are questions
that remain unanswered.

Yes, there are so many things
that could change.

But I'm happy,
so be it.

I'm not going to fight a smile,
as it creeps across my face.

I will not mess with the status quo,
that I recently found,
an equilibrium of emotion.

Because I'm happy,
so be it.

Samantha Love

Pink balloons and smiles
Happiness mingled with heartbreak tears
A story that so fiercely needs to be shared
Of a little girl, God's child
and her mother so far away
Of love and hope in the midst of pain,
the power of prayer and faith.

Train Tracks [Draft]

Thoughts run through my head so quickly, 

as if life is stuck on fast forward and my mind is racing to keep up.

I hear a whistle in the distance 

and realize that there are 

freight train tears running down salty tracks on my face,

moving so fast I can't catch them.

But I chase after them anyway,

open arms in an open field

under a bright blue sky 

punctuated with white clouds that float away

with the wind.

Of Kavalier and Sufjan

(This is the beginning/an excerpt of a story that has yet to be written. I started writing it based on a receipt I found in a book I ordered from Amazon last year. The receipt was for cranberry juice and said book. Still playing with the title.)

"To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain.  To try is to risk failure. But risk must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing at all." -Anonymous

****

He arrived at the airport early, long before the plane would take off. He proceeded through security, removing his chucks and his glasses, emptying his pockets of the various items he had stuffed into them before leaving. He walked through the checkpoint, and the alarm sounded.

“Your belt, sir,” said the woman in the blue button up.

“Right,” he said, undoing the buckle and pulling it from the loops on his jeans. He set it on the conveyor and stepped through again, more beeping.

“Are you sure your pockets are empty?” asked the woman in blue.

He checked again, turned out his pockets and looked at her, as if to ask, ‘what next?’

“Maybe it’s my jacket?” he asked, slipping his arms out of the sleeves. He walked through again, relieved to hear silence from the machine.

The woman pushed the dog bowl with his contents in it down the conveyor toward him, “thank you.”

He put himself back together, grabbed his bag and headed for the gate. A bright red board announced that his flight had been delayed; he would have to wait two hours to board.

‘Now what,’ he thought, sitting down on an empty bench. He sat a few minutes before standing again to explore the corridor.  After walking down the hall awhile he stopped in an airport shop to figure something out.  He settled on a Michael Chabon book and a bottle of cranberry juice, then stood in line to pay.

****

She was behind him in line, and she couldn’t help but look him over as she waited to pay for her bottle of tea.  He wore a grey hat, the kind that barely covered his brown, shaggy hair, and hung casually from the back of his head.  It matched his grey jeans almost perfectly. His jacket was a faded black, as if he’d had it for years, and it matched his worn black Converse.  She couldn’t help but imagine what his story was.  He carried a small messenger bag, a book and a bottle of cranberry juice.

She longed to know more; his name, what his face looked like, where he was going. She wanted to know everything.

She suddenly felt subconscious in her old Levi’s and plain black t-shirt. She wanted to reach into her bag and pull out her jacket, fix her hair, dab on some lip balm... anything to appear more put together.  But she feared the smallest movement might cause him to turn around, and that thought, for some unknown reason, made her stomach lurch.

The Sufjan Stevens song blaring in her ears from her iPod fit him perfectly, a strong beat with an overlay of interest.  As he finished paying for his items, she reached into her bag for her wallet, afraid to make eye contact.  As she did so, her iPod slipped out of her hand and crashed to floor as the headphones unplugged themselves from her ears.  Before she could do anything, he bent down to pick it up, surveying the lit up screen as he handed it back to her.

“His ‘Michigan’ album is my favorite,” he said, a slight smile as he stared her straight in the eyes.
She was at a loss for words. She barely managed to say ‘thanks’ before he had turned around and walked away. With a sideways smile, he looked over his shoulder as he made his way back to his gate.

****

“Next,” he heard the woman at the counter say, slight annoyance dripping from the word.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the girl responded. She started to speak again, but he was too far away to hear her.
Something about her made him wonder. She was intriguing, that was the word for it. Her auburn hair was perfectly falling across her eyes, while simultaneously appearing as if it hadn’t met a brush in days.

She’d been listening to one of his favorite artists, Sufjan’s newest album at what sounded like full blast.  He sat down on a bench by the window, in the perfect spot for people and plane watching, and then opened up his cranberry juice, took a sip, and began to read about the adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

Wishful Reality

Star light
Star bright
I wish I could see the stars tonight
But the clouds hang low
And the winds continue to blow

Over rustling trees
And open fields
Full of possibilities
And hope
And I find myself wondering
If I need to wish at all.