Monday, February 29, 2016

Gregg Dotoli- A Poem



unto this child love rained

while cold war scientists, outguessed each other
an external ripple of beauty
an Iconic truth fell without call
forging in me a powerful atomic love
strength that dwarfed the black hole smashup 
which ripped space time 

Blessed with love/truth
blessed doubtless
the great smile of life
given, with pure crystal love
radiates  forever 



Ron Riekki- Three Poems


Bio: Ron Riekki's books include Here, U.P., and The Way North.



            I’m Afraid of People

so imagine
my fear
of God.




            God, Poem

I wish I could do this life differently.
I’d have become a priest,
a moonlight priest,
a nobody priest,
a skinny priest,
with an army of prayers,
pipes filled with prayers,
prayers beneath prayers.




            It’s Too Late

It’s too late—
she’s gone,

but He’s
always here.


Richard D. Givens- Three Poems


KILLING SIN 
(Ephesians 2:1–10)

Trying to mature
Sensitive, demure
To sin and its pain
Once in domain
When it welled up,
When it swelled up,
When I wasn't aware
Til  my heart was laid bare
Til I came to repent
Of my sordid descent
To be made alive
Encouraged to strive
By fighting the flesh
With mind made afresh
My soul in His care
With knowledge and prayer.



O GOD

You made the earth
You gave me time
You made the air
You gave me breath
You made my heart
You gave me soul
You made my mind
You gave me knowledge
You made my hand
You gave me skill
You made me emotional
You gave me passion
You made me write
You gave me a pen
You made me see
You gave me the truth
That it is all You,
O God.



ILLUSION  

God's law commands righteousness, but it can't provide the means to achieve it.   Therefore, what the law was unable to do for fallen man, God Himself did.  ~Romans 8:1-3

Illusion, delusion...
What is the conclusion?
Who am I
To you, to me?
Who am I
To God?
I fear to search
The depths of my soul,
The darkest parts
He knows so well.
What am I to you?
Can you be objective?
Can you find my heart
Not so invective
When I know
Deep inside,
When I plunge
Way below
There is every impurity
That's destined for hell?
Don't say I'm good.
You didn't realize
I just killed you
Three different ways
As you spoke to me
Just now.
I even went through
Your pockets,
Stole a locket from a girl
And undressed her
As she passed.
I take a prideful bow.
What can I say?
My face is kind and calm.
I don't sense the gravity.
I leave no body or blood.
No one screams or shouts.
No whistle blows.
No one will arrest me
Since only God knows
The total depravity.
My most interesting thoughts
Are the ones
You don't know about.

Searching my pit of despair,
Knowing there's no security
While dwelling there,
My thorn in the flesh...
Somewhat diminished.
The vile demons dying
In their impurity
No longer assail me,
No more a constant intrusion
Since the charge,
"It is finished."
To be captured and kept
Without any trying..
No condemnation
Is not an illusion.
I am now justified;
That's His conclusion.

~Richard D. Givens


Richard D. Givens, is a resident of the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas and started reading and writing poetry by the 6th grade.  He holds a B.A. degree in English.   He published a small volume in 1975, but continued to get printed in various periodicals, anthologies and contests over the years.  Richard taught "Creative Writing With the Tools of Poetry" at the local community college and has done readings and a workshop in his Valley home.  Now retired, there's more time to write. He can be contacted at:  richardthehammergivens@gmail.com.

Ron L. Hodges- Two Spiritual Sonnets



Sweet Gluttony

Would a man starve when food is before him,
  A dish steaming with morsels both tasty
And pure? Or thirst when his cup to the brim
  Is filled? No, such a fool could never be!
Yet, if I reflect, such a fool is me.
  God’s Word is manna—it sweetens the plate,
Heals like nectar from His life-giving tree;
  It is a feast on which this soul could sate,
But I eat barely enough to placate
  My groanings, drink little more than a sip—
Oh, God! You’re a mere note on my palate,
  A moistening drop on my dry, cracked lip!
      On Your sweet Word, Lord, I would gluttonize—
      Make me gorge! Without food, the spirit dies.


 A Broken Land

I’m a broken land, Lord, but I won’t turn
  Over the reign of my kingdom to You.
  I’ll keep believing that I can subdue
My foes, those rebellious instincts that churn
In secret; yet I know I’ll never learn
  To grasp the scepter of humble virtue.
  The most sensible choice I won’t pursue—
Abdicate my crown, ask You to govern
  My lands. Your stewardship would bring them back.
      So, before my enemies can succeed,
Conquer my state, come, and usurp Your throne.
  All my divided alliances sack,
      And make the rogue forces of my heart bleed—
Only through ruin can goodness be known. 


Bruce Mundhenke- Two Poems


Something Stronger Calls

Sadness brings a tear forth,
Lovely as it falls,
A dewdrop in a field of dew,
Something stronger calls.


After the End of Time

All of us are poets,
Composing our separate lines,
What a day it will be
When they are all edified,
After the end of time.


Ramona Thompson- A Poem


Ramona Thompson has been writing for more then 20 years. Her past credits include How To Trick The Devil, Howl, Inner Fears, Blood Moon Rising, Infernal Ink, Calvary Cross, Dead Snakes and many more.

Readers/fans may stalk her on facebook or her e-mail reddstar111@gmail.com



Thank God For Bedbugs

God made all creatures
Both great and small
Even these blood sucking pests
As a test
To our faith and hope
In him
On the just and unjust
He sends them
Creeping
Annoying and bothering
To see
Who will stand firm
Who will not

Are you strong enough?
Do you have the courage?
To still serve
In the face of these unruly beasts
It is his will
That for a little while
You suffer them
So that in the fire
He may forge you
His new creation
Made greater than before
For all the Hell
You have endured

So not curse him
Do not blame him
For all his within his plan
His grasp
But a mere blink of the eye
And it shall all be over
Your pains at an end
Your understanding
Dawning clearer
He was with you all along
Never putting more upon you
His sweet child
Then you could bear

2016 Ramona Thompson


Friday, February 19, 2016

Archana Kapoor Nagpal- A Poem



Thoughts

God triggers a thought
in and out of my thoughts
i weave another thought

a thought follows a thought
soon I am caught
in my web of thoughts

i lock, and unlock my thoughts
my day starts with a thought
and ends with a thought

negative or positive thoughts
some cynical thoughts
many meaningless thoughts

I wonder if I know
thoughts hold me
or I hold thoughts

my mind whirls around thoughts
yet in my thoughts
 I feel of only God’s presence…
 
 
 
Archana Kapoor Nagpal is an internationally published author of four books – '14 Pearls of Inspiration', 'The Road to a Positive Life', ‘A Haiku Per Day’ and 'The Fragrance of a Beautiful Life'. She often participates in the short story competitions, and her winning stories are now part of international anthologies - 'New Love: Anthology of Short Stories' and the ’12 Facets of a Crystal’. She has seen her short stories, poems and Haiku published in other anthologies as well – ‘A Pinch of Love, Peace and Humanity ’, ‘Atoms of Haiku’, and the ‘Ripples of Love’. She has also been actively involved in the editing, proofreading and book designing of these three anthologies.

She has also seen her poems published in numerous other literary journals, blogs, websites and anthologies including Friday Gurgaon, Whispers, Writers Asylum, VerseWrights, The Bamboo Hut, Frogpond (Issue 37-2) – The Journal of the Haiku Society of America, Under the Basho, Asahi Haikuist Network, HOO-Knows Home & Family Magazine, Harvests of New Millennium (Art & Poetry), Gems (An Anthology of haiku, senryu and sedoka), Taj Mahal Review (An International Literary Journal ), Frameless Sky, Tamarind Magazine, A Hundred Gourds 4.1, DailyHaiga, brass bell: a haiku journal, UHTS (United Haiku and Tanka Society) Cattails, Tulip, Paper Wasp, Prune Juice (Journal of Senryu Kyoka & Haiga), Gnarled Oak, Faces and Places – Haiku Anthology, The Mustard Grain, Ershik #9, Modern Haiku (45:3 Issue), Issa’s Untidy Hut, hedgerow: a journal of small poems, NeverEnding Story (Butterfly Dream Haiku), Chrysanthemum 17 and many others. Her haiku and senryu are translated into Chinese, German and Russian as well. Her two poems – ‘God on Facebook’ and ‘Circle of Life’ are highly acknowledged by other poets, and her readers as well. She has written poems around empowerment of women in India, and eradication of the social evils – dowry, female foeticide, et al.


 

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Bruce Mundhenke- A Poem


Reservation

I walk upon the earth,
But soon I'll go my way,
To join with the forgotten,
Who lived and had their day.
I will fade from memory
As those who came before.
In time, no one will speak of me
When I am no more.
And when I think about it,
It doesn't seem so odd,
That all of us will find our place,
Prepared for us by God.


Monday, February 1, 2016

Barbara King- A Poem


Yesterday’s Lady

Yesterday’s lady was broken and lost
Youth has fled with the years it cost
Pale and unseen she hid in her dreams
A wasted life of tolerance it seems

The girl she once was turned into a shell
From pain and tears she dared not tell
Ripped at the seams her hopes soon dried
As she turned from life and want to die

Then one day she came alive
And found a new strength from the will to thrive
She opened her heart and found Jesus there
He had been with her...her pain he had shared

Today she is filled with a peaceful grace
The pain and hurt has been replaced
The need to be strong and share her love
For the faith she received from God above.


Donal Mahoney- A Poem


Everyone Goes to Heaven

Universal salvation claims
everyone goes to Heaven
and no one goes Hell.
Highly controversial.

The auditorium was packed 
the night three professors 
debated universal salvation.
Questions from the audience
revealed some folks were happy
to hear everyone goes to heaven. 
Others groaned in disbelief.

A man in the back row
asked if universal salvation 
meant some day he might
have to share a schnitzel   
in the clouds with Adolph.
Some folks applauded
that remark and others 
stood up and booed.

A man in a white coat 
and stethoscope necklace 
asked what happens if a 
doctor has a heart attack 
and dies during an abortion. 
Does he go to heaven or 
must he be vetted by Peter. 
More applause and more boos.

A college student stood up
and said he thought people 
should believe in something
then added he meant they 
should believe in someone.
Another young man asked if 
universal salvation means 
murderers and rapists spend 
eternity with the angels.

The gathering finally adjourned
to the cafeteria downstairs as
questions and answers
continued over coffee and rolls.
It was the kind of thing one finds 
after a church service on Sunday
except the fellowship was missing.
People were still arguing as they
drifted out in groups, sparklers
sizzling in the night.


Donal Mahoney

——————————————————————————
The author was surprised to find the article 
in the link below questioning the existence of Hell:
 
 

Ramona Thompson- A Poem


Ramona Thompson has been writing for more then 20 years. Her credits include How To Trick The Devil, Howl, Infernal Ink, Inner Fears, Calvary Cross, Dead Snakes, This Ain't No Rodeo and many more.

Readers/fans may reach her on facebook or her e-mail reddstar111@gmail.com



Once More Upon That Calvary Cross

Lord, take me
Use me as you will
To spread the good word
Both near and far
However you may wish it
To be heard
Allow me
To be for you
That ultimate vessel

Jesus, I want to live
Only for you
In you
Embrace your way
Your light
Yesterday, tomorrow and today
For all eternity
To be one with you
It's the most wonderful thing
I can dream of
In my life

Savior, tear me
From Satan's cruel side
Redeem me and save me
Show me your glory
Guide me
Along your righteous path
Cause I want to sin
No more
I wish only
From this moment
On my knees before you
To give it all
My heart and soul
Yours to do with
As you will
Once more upon that calvary cross

2016 Ramona Thompson

Jim Boggs- Two Poems


Jim Boggs is from Harlan County Kentucky and has spent 49 years working as Broadcaster in Radio and Television.  Having retired in 2015, he is currently working on, “Kentucky Twilight”, a book of regional poetry.  He resides in Hazard Kentucky.    Jim has been published in “Pine Mountain Sand and Gravel”, and “Randomly Accessed Poetics”.



When I was angry with God

Placing a grain of sand in my hand
I thought if I were
this grain of sand
dropped on the beach
I could never be found.
In this universe I am less
than a grain of sand,
I am infinitesimal  
and I have been found
because I Am.


Peace

Remembering you
forgetting me
I take my first step
to being free:
Free of pain,
free of sorrow,
free of fear
about tomorrow.
Jesus the alive
Jesus who died
Jesus with whom
we are crucified
pours on me
sweat, blood, tears-
I’m dripping wet
with love.

Bruce Mundhenke- A Poem


Song of Oneness

In a moment of desperation,
I asked the Lord Jesus for aid,
And He opened my eyes to beauty,
And the oneness of everything.
And in that moment of truth and joy
I watched the Spirit sing.