30/16

Day 16- Respond to the poem you posted yesterday with a poem of your own.

He hasn't stopped turning water to wine
Since that beginning, that marriage, that joy -
He still hides it in jars filled with water,
And servants witness the miracle - 
It appears in the pouring forth.

So He hides it in my day,
In the ordinary tasks, the tiresome and mundane -
He hides it in me, and suddenly His joy,
When I stoop again to care for you -
Comes pouring forth, excellent and sweet.

30/15

Day 15 - Post a poem (written by someone else) that you love (for any reason).

Measure thy life by loss instead of gain;
Not by the wine drunk, but the wine poured forth; 
For love’s strength standeth in love’s sacrifice;
And whoso suffers most hath most to give….
-Ugo Bassi

30/14

Day 14 - Write a bad poem, make it as lousy as you can, do everything wrong, let yourself be awful.

I'm cranky.
:P

30/13

Day 13- Write a short poem that a child would like.

I'm a hungry dinosaur 

    Roar! Roar!

Going to the dino-store

    Store! Store!

Already had supper

Already had snacks

Already ready for more!

      More!

30/12

Day 12- Tell your life story in 6 words.

Loved.
Loved.
Loved.
Loved.
Loved.
Loved.

30/11

Day 11- Write a list poem.

One question,
Two lips,
Three rings,
Four ever.

30/10

Day 10- Pick a one line song lyric to serve as an epigraph to your poem. Then, write the poem to accompany it.

I hold no small hope

Though I am small

I hold no perishing hope 

Though I am perishing

I hope in Thee.

Heaven and earth shall pass away

Thy word shall not pass away

They will wear out like a garment

Thou art everlasting.

I am safe in Thee.

Though all collapse

Thy promises shall not give way

Though all shall shudder at Thy glory

Thou shalt extend Thy shelter

Over Me.

I hope in Thee.

I will rise on eagles' wings 

Before my God 

Fall on my knees 

And rise 

I will rise.

30/9

Day 9- Quickly jot down four verbs, four adjectives, and four nouns. Write a poem using all 12 words.

run walk sing call red purple brisk dim sky tree star wind



the sky throbs with red and purple 
clouds heavy like
my heart.

i walk until the glory grows dim
and the clouds rush on overhead, 
unseen.

the wind pushes at my back until
my moody pace grows brisk, my
blood sings.

your presence calls to me, I run
from tree to tree, you are my
north star.

the wildness, sweetness, of the
night has spilled into
my heart.

i come home
to you.

30/8

Day 8 - Write a cinquain on a topic of your choice.

Daily
We meet
You and I
Weighing each other down.

Standoff.

30/7

Day 7- Take a walk until you find a tree you identify with, then write a poem using the tree as a metaphor for yourself or your life.

Buried under a few feet of snow
Yes, still, in April -
And yet you'll be lush with leaves,
In hot July.

I was supposed to be snow-bound forever
But some kind sun
Melted away that barren cold
And I bloom wildly.

30/6

Day 6- Write a poem of any length incorporating every word from your latest Facebook status.  "Thanks, friends, for coming to my pampered chef party!"

The servant metaphors come easy -
Your full belly and pampered bottom declare
You have a chef, a scullery maid, a valet -
These metaphors are trite and true, kind of,
But it's the other metaphor that interests me most.

The reverse one, where I am the you,
My friends and I squalling toddlers who must be monitored and placed in timeout,
And coached and coaxed to say sorry.
Where all my needs are met without my help,
Where I occasionally say thanks, but usually take it all for granted -
Yes this:

The metaphor where I am unaware and needy and selfish,
Where my good and faithful Father orders my days and nights,
Nourishes me and carries me ...

This is the metaphor that enables me to extend grace
Patience with (y)our tantrums,
Love when (y)our reasonable side is held captive by (y)our emotions.
Hope for the coming promise of (y)our future.

I am the you, and
You teach me so much about
Us.

30/5

Tangy little sunburst;
You greet me with a backwards kiss,
A taste, a pucker.

30/4

My eyelids hang low
And eyes that must wake too soon
Stare red at the screen.

30/3

Let's read before bed.
Back snuggled up against back,
Lamps glowing on nightstand,
Pages rustling.
Let's get dressed in soft pyjamas.
For nighttime, story time, together time;
A sleepy-head, drift-away, nodding-off sort of date.
Let's read before bed.

30/2

I only know four lines of you;

Hi, hi, it's mom, sorry.

I see you are persistent, and you love your son
Even if you don't exactly know
His telephone number.

30 Day Poetry Challenge

I'm doing a 30-day poetry challenge this month!  I'll be posting a new poem from a prompt every day :).  Check out the prompts here :).

30/1

Just twelve weeks, but
Already you have
Nails and the beautiful beginnings of
Eyes;
Lips to smile and
Legs to run and
Ears to hear me whisper your name.

7

Mercy Seat

Your Mercy Seat is broad and wide
With room for me, for me.
Your Mercy Seat is sprinkled with blood
You won't require from me.

Songs and incense always rise
Light and glory dazzle the eyes
Beauty and costly sacrifice
That I may seek mercy from Thee.

A God who offers a place to meet
Holy of Holies - and me!-
Who pays with His blood for the Mercy Seat
And rescues sinners like me.

6

It stopped my heart a bit
With the elusive longing that flows throughout a life
Suddenly realizing
Desire fulfilled.

I read that verse
I must've read a hundred times.

And thought a moment
Of the infinite ways you know me -
My past, my fingerprints, what smells call up what memories -
And sought it out,
Twice, just to be sure:

I will know You.

As I am known.

My mind shivered
Into a thousand shards of wonder.
How can this be?
As I am known
I will know

You.

5

With your astonishing eyes
And bright smiles
And kissable skin, o children,
You are breathtakingly lovely.
But I want you to know
That there is another layer of loveliness
Which lies just below the skin
And its beauty
Is subtler
Hardier
Slower to alter
And much more permanent.
It's the kind of loveliness
That cameras can't capture.
It speaks a different language than Got2b
It echoes along your bones
And radiates gladness, comfort, kinship.
And once you encounter that layer
You'll see past the inconsequential wrapping
Of hair and skin and Colgate.
O my beautiful children,
I pray for the grace
To cultivate compassion
And thoughtfulness
And hope
And generosity
That your souls may be strong and lovely
Bright and irresistible mirrors
Of eternal gorgeousness.
I want to raise you
On a healthy diet of selflessness
Daily exercising joy and gratitude, flexing and stretching as you grow.
I want to be satisfied
As your love grows sturdy
For each other, your friends, all neighbours,
Knowing that I did not neglect to nourish your character
In the busy rush of tending to
Your needy bodies.
O my beautiful children.
My beautiful children.

4

My husband is a writer.

He shakes his head no, and says not lately.

I just get up, work, come home, play with the kids, and sleep.

I haven't written for months.

But there's writing, and then there's

Inking love into the schedule and skin with

The tireless unglamorous shift

After shift.

There's writing, and then there's

Getting through the brain-blank fog bank

Making mistakes and (FILL IN LATER)s

And coffee and coffee and one more cup of coffee.

There's writing, and there's

Family jokes and recipe-book food splatters;

Toddlers, gaggingly real and unbearably precious;

Dog-eared moments, underlined and pressed into skin.

Crafted with every shift, the turn of every key,

Printed every day without a backspace or edit.

My husband is a writer.

3

every day

i am more convinced

that God gave you to me

so i can see Him

better.

small son

you point me to

our Great Father

like a compass, a weathervane,

a cross.

2

the way you lean forward

puppy-eager

to talk and kiss and wave your hands about

squeezes something in my heart

and reminds me

that you are breathtakingly important

a world of wonder

dead-true feelings and thoughts

now, just as you are.

1

you precious amalgamation

precariously knit

shreds of skin and bone

you hum with life

shot-through with veins of red and blue

how vibrant and vivid and impossible you are.

i want to wrap you up inside my jacket

and keep you there, a joey.

instead, i let the long string unfurl

you tug and arc and pull

higher in the wind 

and the beckoning blue sky

i can't

i must

you grow

i cry

good

bye

my

d

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