I tend to write more poetry in the spring and fall than during any other time of the year. Here are some of the songs and poems that I came up with these past couple of months.
Dancing
Let go
Spin away from the others
Let them follow
Together twirling
To the rhythm of the wind.
Pirouette with me
A whirling cyclone
Faster
Faster
Sail along the ground
Never touching it
Until...
The wind slows
and drifts away
My friends whisper farewell
and settle down to sleep
Only I remain
carried by the echoes
Far from the tree
from which I fell.
Untitled
Jumbled thoughts
can steal the day
When your mind is lost
Imagination will play
But it won't get you anywhere
Until you let go
Of the thought of controlling air
And follow the flow...
chorus:
Soar with the butterflies
Through the ever-changing skies
Drop down sparks of inspiration
The world needs to catch some imagination.
A bit of fun
can banish the pain
When your heart is broken
See the sun through the rain
You can get about anywhere
If you let go
Of the thought of controlling air
And follow the flow...
When one spark finds a home
in an open hand
When a free and roaming
wandering band
With a shout the rising sound
will command
A movement beyond that which you
can imagine...
(chorus)
Follow the flow
Let the air currents hold you
The stars all aglow
Let the melody mold you
Soar with the butterflies
Through the ever-changing skies
Drop down sparks of inspiration
And the whole world will catch some
Imagination.
I wrote this last one while we were driving through Illinois farmland, and thinking about our own family's farm back home, as the soybeans were getting harvested. (I'll put some pictures of the harvest on my photo blog as soon as I get a chance)
Harvest Song
Flat, flat farmland
Stretchin' to tomorrow
The beans are gettin' combined
I know that this land is mine
The dirt is turned
The sky is clear
No rain until next week I hear
Gotta get the crops in store
I only got one field more
And I'll be ready for winter's roar.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Psalm 139
Psalm 139 has been on my heart and mind a lot lately, so I thought I’d share it with all of you.
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain!
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain!
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
Friday, September 10, 2010
A Compass to Point the Way
These words were in the card they gave me:
"You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13
May this gift always remind you of your true compass, the Word of God.
It's a good reminder.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Turning Twenty
Today is my last day as a teenager.
It's hard to believe, even for me. I certainly don't feel like a twenty-year-old. I've often felt that I don't fit my age, starting way back when I was eleven years old. I realized then that in many ways, I was both older and younger than other kids I knew. Here's why:
I felt older because I read so much and was well-informed about a wide variety of subjects (I think a lot of it came from being home-schooled, but that's another topic altogether). Also, I wasn't swayed by most of the fickle notions of my generation.
But at the same time, I felt younger. I didn't feel the need to grow up fast and be burdened with the cares of adulthood. I spent hours climbing trees and exploring in the woods with my siblings and the neighbor kids. My brother and I played with our Beanie Babies and created a world for them to inhabit in our imaginations (we continued to do this even through most of our teenage years). I was content to be a kid and let the adults deal with logistics and issues that came up. Many of my friends were eager to grow up, find new acquaintances, get a job, start a family, etc, but for me, it was enough to read and play.
It was a precious time for me, and I'm glad that I had such a great family who encouraged me and loved me all through my childhood.
It's weird to think that I'm leaving that era behind me now, as I make the transition into adulthood at last. I still don't feel ready to step out on my own, but I need to trust Jesus to guide and protect me as I follow his call for my life.
God willing, I'll find a college that feels right to me and I'll start the next stage of my education surrounded by Christian peers and mentors. I'll always love my family --they're my best friends-- but I know that I'm destined to eventually follow a new path, perhaps I'll start my own family someday (although that's really hard to imagine right now!)
So, as I take a deep breath and step into another year of life and growth, I'm turning my thoughts to the future and how I can use these next years to glorify God with my life as an adult.
Soli Deo Gloria!
It's hard to believe, even for me. I certainly don't feel like a twenty-year-old. I've often felt that I don't fit my age, starting way back when I was eleven years old. I realized then that in many ways, I was both older and younger than other kids I knew. Here's why:
I felt older because I read so much and was well-informed about a wide variety of subjects (I think a lot of it came from being home-schooled, but that's another topic altogether). Also, I wasn't swayed by most of the fickle notions of my generation.
But at the same time, I felt younger. I didn't feel the need to grow up fast and be burdened with the cares of adulthood. I spent hours climbing trees and exploring in the woods with my siblings and the neighbor kids. My brother and I played with our Beanie Babies and created a world for them to inhabit in our imaginations (we continued to do this even through most of our teenage years). I was content to be a kid and let the adults deal with logistics and issues that came up. Many of my friends were eager to grow up, find new acquaintances, get a job, start a family, etc, but for me, it was enough to read and play.
It was a precious time for me, and I'm glad that I had such a great family who encouraged me and loved me all through my childhood.
It's weird to think that I'm leaving that era behind me now, as I make the transition into adulthood at last. I still don't feel ready to step out on my own, but I need to trust Jesus to guide and protect me as I follow his call for my life.
God willing, I'll find a college that feels right to me and I'll start the next stage of my education surrounded by Christian peers and mentors. I'll always love my family --they're my best friends-- but I know that I'm destined to eventually follow a new path, perhaps I'll start my own family someday (although that's really hard to imagine right now!)
So, as I take a deep breath and step into another year of life and growth, I'm turning my thoughts to the future and how I can use these next years to glorify God with my life as an adult.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Celebrate!
This is a brief message to say...
Thanks to my newest follower, Lizzy, I now have 50 followers on this blog! A great big THANK YOU to all of you!
And this is my 80th post.
When I reach my 100th post, I'll do a giveaway. Just to get some ideas, what kinds of things do you like in a giveaway? (Please, nothing too elaborate here-- I'm not going to buy something like a horse or a submarine and pay to ship it across the country!)
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Good News
My computer is fixed! Yay! Hopefully I can do some more blogging now that I have it back.
Other news:
- I finally bought myself a recurve bow, and I'll be competing in the Renaissance Festival as well as the 4-H State Shoot in September! It's much harder to pull back than the 4-H bows I used, but I love it.
- We brought my younger brother to college about a week ago. It's weird to have him gone, but it sounds like he's having a great time.
- I've been starting to apply to colleges. Yes, me. I've been realizing lately that I do indeed want to go to college, especially now that my brother is away at college. :) More on this in the coming weeks...
- Next Sunday is my Mom & Dad's 25th wedding anniversary party, and right afterwards we have to race to the State Fairgrounds for our 4-H judging. (I'm going to be performing my piano solo, and I'm rather nervous)
- Finally, I'm thinking about revamping my blog(s). This will probably take some time for me to get straightened out, but I'm brainstorming for a better title (Evergreena's Journal just doesn't cut it anymore), and I'm thinking about making the focus more clear. I'm also thinking about combining my photography blog with this one. These are all just random thoughts for now, but keep an eye out for changes in the future.
Other news:
- I finally bought myself a recurve bow, and I'll be competing in the Renaissance Festival as well as the 4-H State Shoot in September! It's much harder to pull back than the 4-H bows I used, but I love it.
- We brought my younger brother to college about a week ago. It's weird to have him gone, but it sounds like he's having a great time.
- I've been starting to apply to colleges. Yes, me. I've been realizing lately that I do indeed want to go to college, especially now that my brother is away at college. :) More on this in the coming weeks...
- Next Sunday is my Mom & Dad's 25th wedding anniversary party, and right afterwards we have to race to the State Fairgrounds for our 4-H judging. (I'm going to be performing my piano solo, and I'm rather nervous)
- Finally, I'm thinking about revamping my blog(s). This will probably take some time for me to get straightened out, but I'm brainstorming for a better title (Evergreena's Journal just doesn't cut it anymore), and I'm thinking about making the focus more clear. I'm also thinking about combining my photography blog with this one. These are all just random thoughts for now, but keep an eye out for changes in the future.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Bits 'n' Pieces of Random Poetry
My computer is sick.
*sob*
I'm taking it in to the Apple Store this evening. Hopefully they can fix it (cheaply and quickly!)
Anyway...
I thought I'd share some of the poetry and song lyrics I've been writing lately. A lot of it is about strange topics, like Antarctica and flipping pencils. Some of these are incomplete. Some of them have tunes that I'm in the process of composing. All of them are random.
First of all, a rumination on poetry itself:
Poetry is what pours forth from your head, your heart, your hand as you sprawl on a window-seat and watch the world change colors and live, live like a sunflower and age as a stone and laugh like a toddler who has found a Daddy Longlegs in a crack in the wall, flow like clouds in a sunset or maybe it's a sunrise but it doesn't really matter, who cares, because your poetry belongs to you, not the library, not uncle, not the public unless you shout it from the rooftops in bold letters earning the right to call yourself
poet.
The Dancer
I lift my hands to the sky
Around and around I fly
My bare feet in the flowers
As my shadow cowers
But I am free,
Free, free.
My eyes are raised to the sun
As I twirl around and run
My heart soars as I leap
Though my shadow fear will keep
But I am alive
Alive, alive.
Kicking up Dust
On a summer Sunday -afternoon-
When I was only six years old
My mother sent me out to play
I went peacefully
But when I got outside
-and this was a sunny day-
I went out to the driveway...
Chorus:
Kicking up dust
Shuffling my bare feet
Kicking up dust
as I danced in the heat
Kicking up dust
I played and had lots of fun
Kicking up dust
and dirt and sand in the sun.
I was very dusty -it covered me-
Of course I had to have a bath
My mother sent me to the tub
I went peacefully
But when I got all dry
I dashed right back out the door
To the driveway for some more...
(Chorus)
Now that I am older -all grown up-
I know that I should not kick dust
My mother will not clean me up
I walk peacefully
But when I see a dirt road
'specially when it's sunny
I suddenly get all funny...
Final chorus:
Kicking up dust
Shuffling my shod feet
Kicking up dust
as I dance in the heat
Kicking up dust
I play and have lots of fun
Kicking up dust
and dirt and sand in the sun.
South Pole Dreaming
Waiting for the sun to go to sleep
As I watch with bleary eyes
I think I'll be counting sheep
For a really long time, I realize
'Cause this night
is a really long night
It'll last for months, it seems
How I love Antarctic dreams
Stars above in the velvet sky
Time to sit and wonder why?
The sun has gone on his vacation
And I'm here at the South Pole Station
Dreaming of you...
In my everlasting Antarctic dreams.
It'll be a long, cold summer without you
Cooped up in this building with no room to run
I really don't know what I'll do
I really need to see the sun
'Cause this night
is a really long night
It's lasting for centuries, it seems
How I loathe Antarctic dreams.
Pencil
I walk into the classroom
Take a seat in the back
Wish I could hide in the bathroom
But then I see the guy in a black
t-shirt in the front row
Showing off how his pencil can fly
Around his fingers
And then I really have to try...
Flippin' it around
It hits the ground
again and again
What's the use of being prehensile
if I can't flip a pencil?
Stickers
When you're having a bad day
and the world gets you down
I take a smiley-face sticker
And turn that frown around
Stickers, stickers everywhere
On my wall and in my hair
I gotta have those tacky little pictures
I live in a world of stickers
It's just a small piece of life
To brighten the day and cheer the night
Stickers wait in my drawer
And whenever you're feeling poor
I break out my stickers
I've got 'em for every personality
They come from every nationality
To bring some whimsicality...
*sob*
I'm taking it in to the Apple Store this evening. Hopefully they can fix it (cheaply and quickly!)
Anyway...
I thought I'd share some of the poetry and song lyrics I've been writing lately. A lot of it is about strange topics, like Antarctica and flipping pencils. Some of these are incomplete. Some of them have tunes that I'm in the process of composing. All of them are random.
First of all, a rumination on poetry itself:
Poetry is what pours forth from your head, your heart, your hand as you sprawl on a window-seat and watch the world change colors and live, live like a sunflower and age as a stone and laugh like a toddler who has found a Daddy Longlegs in a crack in the wall, flow like clouds in a sunset or maybe it's a sunrise but it doesn't really matter, who cares, because your poetry belongs to you, not the library, not uncle, not the public unless you shout it from the rooftops in bold letters earning the right to call yourself
poet.
The Dancer
I lift my hands to the sky
Around and around I fly
My bare feet in the flowers
As my shadow cowers
But I am free,
Free, free.
My eyes are raised to the sun
As I twirl around and run
My heart soars as I leap
Though my shadow fear will keep
But I am alive
Alive, alive.
Kicking up Dust
On a summer Sunday -afternoon-
When I was only six years old
My mother sent me out to play
I went peacefully
But when I got outside
-and this was a sunny day-
I went out to the driveway...
Chorus:
Kicking up dust
Shuffling my bare feet
Kicking up dust
as I danced in the heat
Kicking up dust
I played and had lots of fun
Kicking up dust
and dirt and sand in the sun.
I was very dusty -it covered me-
Of course I had to have a bath
My mother sent me to the tub
I went peacefully
But when I got all dry
I dashed right back out the door
To the driveway for some more...
(Chorus)
Now that I am older -all grown up-
I know that I should not kick dust
My mother will not clean me up
I walk peacefully
But when I see a dirt road
'specially when it's sunny
I suddenly get all funny...
Final chorus:
Kicking up dust
Shuffling my shod feet
Kicking up dust
as I dance in the heat
Kicking up dust
I play and have lots of fun
Kicking up dust
and dirt and sand in the sun.
South Pole Dreaming
Waiting for the sun to go to sleep
As I watch with bleary eyes
I think I'll be counting sheep
For a really long time, I realize
'Cause this night
is a really long night
It'll last for months, it seems
How I love Antarctic dreams
Stars above in the velvet sky
Time to sit and wonder why?
The sun has gone on his vacation
And I'm here at the South Pole Station
Dreaming of you...
In my everlasting Antarctic dreams.
It'll be a long, cold summer without you
Cooped up in this building with no room to run
I really don't know what I'll do
I really need to see the sun
'Cause this night
is a really long night
It's lasting for centuries, it seems
How I loathe Antarctic dreams.
Pencil
I walk into the classroom
Take a seat in the back
Wish I could hide in the bathroom
But then I see the guy in a black
t-shirt in the front row
Showing off how his pencil can fly
Around his fingers
And then I really have to try...
Flippin' it around
It hits the ground
again and again
What's the use of being prehensile
if I can't flip a pencil?
Stickers
When you're having a bad day
and the world gets you down
I take a smiley-face sticker
And turn that frown around
Stickers, stickers everywhere
On my wall and in my hair
I gotta have those tacky little pictures
I live in a world of stickers
It's just a small piece of life
To brighten the day and cheer the night
Stickers wait in my drawer
And whenever you're feeling poor
I break out my stickers
I've got 'em for every personality
They come from every nationality
To bring some whimsicality...
Stickers, stickers everywhere
On my wall and in my hair
I gotta have those tacky little pictures
I live in a world of stickers.
Midnight
Writing songs at midnight
You prob'ly think I'm crazy, right?
But when inspiration blows in
On the evening wind
And I hear the inklings of a song
I know, here I belong.
Whispers of lyrics chime in my head
How could I think of going to bed?
Now is the time for my ink to run
And my eyes both glint with imagination
As I feel the rumblings of a song
I know, here I belong.
This is the time when the world is alive
When the bullfrogs thrum
and the junebugs hum
and the sound of the wind on
the flagpole clanking
And a lonely dog across the lake
I know I was meant to make
music tonight...
At midnight.
All poems © 2010 Rachel H. Please don't copy or re-post without permission.
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