On Feeding My Daughter's Chickens

Brave are those who face the Bantam Rooster,
Take life in hand, and pails of feed and water.
Few have the courage. Cheers to those who choose ter.
Heap scorn on cowards who run, or feel they ought ter.

The luxury of solitude, the bliss of holy silence
The drawing inward of the mind away from aural violence
The fruit of contemplation: hearing inner voices speak
Setting free the deeper, rising thoughts suppressed throughout the week
The probing knife of criticism turned upon the self
Like justice the two-edged sword- How we hate to yield it
Hold tightly to the hilt lest others wrest and turn and wield it
We gladly take the love of God, another shining sabre
We want to keep possession of, and not spare for our neighbour
So carve another private dream, an offering on the shelf

HJ May 18, 2009

 

It is good

I saw three things
on a walk in our small town:
A young man bound up backyard steps
to the deck
where a young woman stood at the barbecue
and kiss her;
Three little boys running, laughing, playing hide-and-seek
with the exuberance of puppies
and one tonguing me a grinning sloppy raspberry;
On this cold windy day of spring
gripped in the dying clutches
of a winter that refuses to die,
the lilacs lifting up budded tips
in promise.

HJ May 18, 2009

To An Unknown God

He made us in His image. He is in our very nature.
Something in us seeks Him, though a blind and curious creature.
Yet when our eyes are opened, we see Him in each other:
Beneath our skins we recognize lost sister, lonely brother.
Having glimpsed in misty mirror we must pursue the vision,
Conviction like a nagging doubt driving the decision
To reach beyond the seeing and the touching that we know,
Stepping stones laid long ago lead down the seeking road we go.
So we touch the face of this world to learn about its maker
(Echoes faintly fall, but clearly, of the great good give-and-taker).
We worship as Athenians at a partly-unnamed throne
Until He sends a messenger to proclaim the One Unknown.
The proclamatiion resonates with our deepest, inmost chord,
For He made us in His image and He is our very Lord.

-HJ May 14, 2009

Take Joy

Take joy where you find it; hold on with both hands,
for happiness is fleeting as hourglass sands.
Let the colour of sunset fill you with awe;
take with you toward darkness the splendour you saw.
The flash of a feather, the burst of a bloom
are your soul's sword and shield 'gainst the oncoming gloom.
As rains fall from heaven quenching streams long run dry,
so does beauty refresh us when hope has run dry.
Seek out precious moments with loved ones, and then
your memories may always bring joy once again.
-HJ May 3, 2009

 

Consider the lily and how it grows: it will not weave nor spin,
but only holds its petals out letting sun and rain drop in.

Consider the vine as round it grows in a constant weave and spin,
grasping and leaping for love of light
with tendrils made to hold on tight
with curls and twists of sheer delight,
and the sun and cloud welcome it in.
- HJ May 1, 2009

Arctostaphylos Uva Ursi

Romans 8:26; Eph. 6:18

In the spirit I have prayed. I have prayed the sobbing prayer,
In wordless weakness trusting for the Spirit's groans to bear
Another heavy load of burdens to the Hearer ever there.
And I have not yet been answered, at least not that I'm aware.
(Would I recognize an answer? Could I find it? Seeking where?)
Though it seems I've been transplanted from a country warm and fair
There is something keeps me green through the winter of despair
In the frozen darkness bruised while others pass by unaware.
I don't know if I will blossom; can't say I really care,
But I'm evergreen in faith when mighty trees are cold and bare.

Hermina Janz Apr 15, 2009

 

"Awake, thou wintry earth-- Fling off thy sadness! Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth Your ancient gladness! Christ is risen."
-- Thomas Blackburn

Let me rest here in my armour. Let me lay my weapons down.
I would close my eyes and rest, put off the fight to win the crown.
The voices say, "Why labour? You are weary. It is night.
What's the use of constant vigilance? Why keep on with the fight?
Victory is never certain in this battle you are in.
Are you sure you have good reason? Is there any hope to win?"
I am fully armed and weaponed but I'm losing all my drive,
And I feel a slight confusion as to why I am alive.
But a shield is no soft pillow and my armour presses me,
So I'll stand, appearing ready to engage the enemy,
Hoping I will have the courage to get up each time I'm down,
And find reason to keep swinging in this fight to win the crown.

Hermina Janz, Mar 27, 2009

 

“The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.”
-Henry Van Dyke