Sunlight and Shadows

Finding poetry in star dust, sunbeams, and passing clouds

  • Faith

    Tell me, is there something out there

    I can find if I keep on?

    Tell me, is all that I worked for

    Still inside or is it gone?

    Tell me, where are all the people

    That I thought were friends of mine?

    Tell me, whether this direction

    Levels out on down the line?

    I can tell you, it’s not easy

    To have faith when you can’t see

    I can tell you all the times we

    Acted on uncertainty

    I can tell you, you may never

    Know why things were like they were

    I can tell you every detour

    Made us press on even more

    Faith is acting, not just hoping

    Things will work out down the road

    Live today with trust and courage

    Worry just weighs down your load

    ,

  • Whimsical Weather

    Raindrops splash in purple puddles

    Wind in pointed pinwheels rattles

    Thunder speaks in rumbling riddles

    Sky is cracked where lightning whittles

    Frosty dirt and dry leaves crackle

    Windblown cattails’ seedpods tickle

    Woodpeckers on bare trees chuckle

    Burrowed critters wait the sequel

    Snowflakes craft a crystal cover

    Icicles on tree limbs shiver

    Drifts of snow pile up and over

    Blinding white goes on forever

    Butterflies on flowers flutter

    Squirrels crack nuts with a clatter

    Wings of bees and insects glitter

    Birds trill out their tunes by letter

    Every season, every day

    What a bountiful bouquet

    ,

  • Some Day

    Chasing after something with every breath I spend

    A great, elusive something up there just ahead

    If I can only make it around the nearest bend

    I’ll catch up to this phantom, escape all that I dread

    Chasing after somewhere that everything is good

    And in this perfect somewhere my life falls into place

    My role, my world, my plan for life is clearly understood

    And every puzzle piece is fit so neatly in its space

    Chasing after someday when all these things are found

    I’ll finally stop searching and enjoy life all the way

    Complete with love, success, and health – perfection all around

    I’ll have no fear, regret, or doubt to darken any day

    Chasing after something, somewhere, somehow, some day

    When all along, it’s been right here, if I will only stay

    ,

  • Countryside Autumn

    Vivid crimson, golden fall leaves

    Crisp and wrinkled, large and small leaves

    Fields of corn turn sun-dried saffron

    Last truck filled with harvest’s haul leaves

    Critters dig in winter burrows

    Each geese flock with farewell call leaves

    Hay in bales and grain in silos

    Sinking sun in shadows tall leaves

    Cold wind carries winter’s first snow

    Bare trees wait return of all leaves

    ,

  • Valleys

    Confusion is a smoky haze

    That settles on a town for days

    Disappointment is a fall

    From a push off of a wall

    Regret is a relentless flame

    That burns within with deadly aim

    Anticipation is a cloud

    That either sun or rain does shroud

    Exhaustion is a heavy weight

    That slows you down til it’s too late

    Failure is a zero score

    On tests you never saw before

    Criticism is a knife

    You chip away on your own life

    Disapproval is a blind

    To block out others from your mind

    Courage is the faithful trust

    To step out, keep on when you must

    Victory is the summit view

    Of all the valleys you walked through

    ,

  • Struggle

    Give us hope in this dark hour

    Give us unity and power

    Give us wisdom day by day

    Give us truth in what we say

    Show us the right way to go

    Show us answers we don’t know

    Show us how to work as one

    Show us peace where there is none

    Lead us toward our earnest goals

    Lead us each to fill our roles

    Lead us in the way to talk

    Lead our ships safely to dock

    Save us from the storms outside

    Save us from our pasts, our pride

    Save us when we trip and fall

    Save us when we hit the wall

    ,