THE BEST BIRD IN THE FOREST

                        "Use what talents you have,"
                        Wrote Henry Van Dyke.
                        "The woods would be very silent, 
                        If no birds sang there."              

                        Maybe you aren't the best bird in the forest right now
                        Maybe your warble is a little weak
                        Maybe you are a little too long or too short in the beak
                        Maybe your fine feathered friends call you a freak
                        Maybe, just maybe, they don’t understand
                        The heights that you seek
                    
                        Fly higher, sing better, go on, go on
                        Give it your best
                        Develop your talents
                        Lead all the rest
                        Don’t settle for worms
                        Or corn on the ground
                        But soar to the top
                        Where the eagles are found

                        

                                                                             

  
                                     WINTERTIME  (2012)
 
​                                      Winter is a  time...                                       
                                      Of homecomings and parades
                                      Of gentle embraces and tender caresses
                                      Of sugar cookies and candy canes
                                      Of silver 'cycles frost-pasted on pastel skies
                                      Of pleasant fires, hot chocolate and
                                      buttered pop-corn
                                      Of soft sentiment and serenity sublime
                                      Of bounteous harvests from prior plantings
                                      Of walking softly as in shoes of snow
                                      Of cold noses and warm hearts

                                      Winter is a time...for pondering the past in
                                      preparation for the future
       
                                      (First written on 11.15.2012 with revisions
                                      on 1.28.2018)

                                                                                

                                                        ISAIAH 49:8,9,10

                           Thus saith the Lord,
                           In an acceptable time 
                           have I heard thee
                          
                           And in a day of salvation
                           have I helped thee
                           I will preserve thee 
                           and give thee for a covenant
                           of the people, to establish the earth
                           to cause to inherit 
                           the desolate heritages

                           That thou mayest say to the prisoners
                           Go forth
                           To them that are in darkness
                           Shew yourselves
 
                           They shall feed in the ways
                           and their pastures shall be
                           in all high places

                           They shall not hunger or thirst
                           Neither shall the heat nor sun
                           smite them
                           for he that hath mercy on them
                           shall lead them 
                           Even by the springs of water
                           shall he guide them
                                                            ​

                                                                      
                                                         NOW WE SIT QUIETLY

                             Now we sit quietly 
                             around the dining table
                             and around the countertop
                             remembering an amalgamation
                             of family and friends conversing
                             one with another, each enjoying
                             all
                 
                             Putting aside all barriers
                             we enjoyed the Christmas
                             day enabling one another
                             to commune as best we
                             could while welcoming
                             the stranger home
   
                             Jesus sat with the worst
                             of the worst and also
                             the best of the best
                             He sat with the uncommitted
                             too
                           
                             He drew them in toward holiness
                             alone while grouped together
                             Hoping to see them all in his home
                             Eventually, where they belong

                             (Written December 25, 2018)



                               
 
​                                    

                                                     
                                                                       
​                                    

                                                     
                                                                       

                                               THE COMING NEW YEAR (2013)
                                  
                                 In the coming new year, I wish you...
                                    
                                            Freedom from want
                                            Freedom to struggle
                                            Freedom to prosper
                                            Freedom to think
                                            Freedom to ponder
                                            Freedom from fear
                                            Freedom to worship
                                            Freedom to care
                                            Freedom to experience
                                            Freedom to dream
                                            Freedom to share
                                            Freedom to enjoy
                                            Freedom of leisure
                                            Freedom to dare
                                            Freedom to achieve
                                            Freedom to live
                                            Freedom to laugh
                                            Freedom to love
                                     
                                                  (WRITTEN ON DECEMBER 31, 2012) 

                                                        TIME FLIES  188

                                     On a sundial at the University
                                     of Virginia, Charlottesville,
                                     There is an inscription that 
                                     reads as follows...
                                     
​                                     "Time is...
                                     Too slow for those who wait
                                     Too swift for those who fear
                                     Too long for those who grieve
                                     Too short for those who rejoice
                                     But for those who love
                                     Time is eternity
                                     Hours fly, Flowers die
                                     New days, New ways pass by
                                     Love stays
                                     Time counts the minutes
                                     Love makes the days.
                                     Time rushes boldly on 
                                     Love has its gentle ways"

                                     (First published on July 6,1978)