Train of Thought

Here comes the engine with a mighty rush of power,
A flash of inspiration in an early morning hour.
After that the box cars, rumbling one by one,
Clanking intersections, keeping on the run,
One thought follows others in rapid succession
Until I am amazed at the newest perception.
My mind’s the engineer to keep me on the track
To keep the signals clear and never looking back.
Sometimes it isn’t easy – I try to jump ahead,
Or find a sudden side-rail, and find myself instead
On some devious distraction and not easy to return
To the principle deduction I was seeking to discern.
But what a satisfaction! I suddenly deduce
The obvious conclusion! That was the caboose!

Jan. 25, 1989

Bye, Bye Sun!

Your work is done,
Another day
Is slipping away
Ending your story
In a blaze of glory.

Bye, bye, Sun!
Well done, well done!
Thus ends the day-
You are going away,
But you leave us a night
With reflected light.

Bye, bye, Sun!
This day is done-
The sky is red,
And all I've said
Is bye, bye, Sun!
                Ho hum.
           Sept. 7, 1993

Monkey Business

They all went down to the banana trees
One by one as free as a breeze-
Five little monkeys, or maybe ten-
Will they eat a little and come back again

I'm still sitting here on top of our hill,
So what will happen if I just sit still?
I'm sitting here, but the birds don't mind,
They mind their business and I mind mine.

I sit and think and watch the scene,
Enjoy the quiet and feel serene,
A rest from doing the same old thing,
And sense the beauty of a Brazilian Spring.

                But they didn't come back,
                And I'm going away,
                Maybe I'll see them
                Some other day.

                        Oh yes?
              Sept. 18, 1993

Fellowship

You and me in the Lord-
Inexplicable love that flows,
Fellowship divine.
Something happens,
Something precious,
Something infinite,
Eternal, ineffable,
Radiant - a touch of glory!

What I have with you - in the Lord,
Brings something to life in me
That I don't have with anyone else-
Not better, but different.
There is something of the vastness of creation
From our magnificent Creator,
The God of the rainbow
With all the colors blending
In glory!

I don't understand it
But I stand in awe
And let love have control,
For this love
Encompasses
Not just you and me,
But with each person
That I have contact with.
I discover something
New in me
That I never knew was there-
Something special between us,
Because, in the Lord
We are something beyond ourselves,
And each so different,
Incomplete,
Needing each other in Him.

June 25, 1993

A Bird, a Bee, and a Brown Nut Tree

This is a song with a play on “B”
About a bird, a bee, and brown nut tree.
The bird sang out from the bough of the tree,
 “Oh, Beetle-bum-bee,
 You want to learn English?
 Come listen to me
 And twist your tongue
 On Beetle-bum-bee!”
The bee buzzed by so busily,
He buzzed and buzzed
But no bloom could he see;
He bumbled about the brown-nut tree,
And grumbled about the “Beetle-bum-bee”,
“This is no place for a bee like me”,
And “Nuts to you, you brown nut tree”.

“I guess”, said the bird, “it’s up to me
To sing again my ‘Beetle-dumb-bee’;
 “Oh, Beetle-dumb-bee,
 I’m tired of this English,
 I’m tired of this tree,
 And I guess you’re tired
 Of this singing by me,
And I’m tired of singing
‘Oh, Beetle-bum-bee’ ”.

So off flew he!
May 28, 1989

Just a Few Little Plays on J

I want a jolly jingle
To teach my English class-
Timely tunes to tingle,
And make my children laugh.

So Johnny in a jungle
Went out to catch a bear,
Instead he made a bungle
And couldn’t catch a hare.

Well, Junior started jumping,
He thought he’d hit the sky-
His heart so hard was pumping
He really wondered why.

And Judy tried to juggle
With Jelly beans for balls,
She had a merry struggle
And ended up with dolls.

Now Jimmy took a journey
To see what he could find,
He thought he’d win a tourney,
But left his sword behind.

So Joey just was joking
For others to admire,
Pretending he was smoking
And caught his pants on fire.

And Joseph was a jockey
Who rode a fiery steed
And tried a game of hockey,
Which was a stunt indeed.

But now my tale is ended,
I’ve no more “j”s to rhyme,
I hope you’re all contented
I’ve wasted all this time.
 

English Hang-ups

We have a little problem
With them and which and where,
And how to think in English,
And why the “h” is there.

There seems no rhyme or reason
For spelling “know” with “k”,
And why the “T” in listen--
And why it’s “e” in they.

They want to know their lessons,
There are too many “twos”,
They have to read the sentence
To know which one to choose.

Then there is the question
Of “on” or “in” or “at”-
And also the confusion
Between the “this” and “that”.

But those with observation
Will note the number “three”,
And never make the error
Of calling it a “tree”.

But when the class is over
What language do we hear?
Who wants to speak in English
When Portuguese is clear?

The Lie

A lie’s a lie the world around
Evading the truth wherever it’s found.
Just like its father, the subtle one
It hides in darkness and hates the sun.
In the tree of knowledge it takes its root,
With all deception it acts astute,
With one small word and an innocent face
It takes possession and damns a race;
Making the world in one big sham,
The wolf of the ego with the face of a lamb--
Pretending to protect the great big “I” --
Whose eternal destiny is doomed to die.

1982

Faces
(on coming to Brazil)

Children’s faces watching me,
Dark brown eyes in scrutiny
Watch this stranger in their town--
Will she smile or will she frown?

Language like a wall between
Bars rapport, presents a screen,
Leaves us only one recourse,
The face alone for intercourse.

Mocking eyes, or simple eyes--
Subtle, wondering, stupid, wise,
All alike with faces set
Watch what signal they can get.

Oh, my Christ, please give to me
A mirror face to shine for thee.

Oct. 1966

The Eagle’s Eye

Hope is like the eagle’s eye
That sees the earth from heaven’s sky;
It takes its food from the living Word,
And from that meat the heart is stirred
To give new strength to soar on high
Beyond the sight of human eye.

Oh, hope, sweet hope, I never knew
What consolation was found in you-
I saw the rainbow in the cloud,
It spoke the word of faith out loud!
And now my heart with rapture sings
For peace and joy that this hope brings,
For the eagle’s eye brings eagle’s wings!

1983

Limitations

I dare not trust to words at my command
The thoughts that in my heart sometimes do swell,
For fear that someone might not understand
And fail to catch the thought I meant to tell.

And every dream that seems to me sublime,
That in my mind lies fine, but unexpressed,
Loses all its loftiness in rhyme.
A noble thought arrayed in peasant dress.

And thus I keep my thoughts for solitude
When heart and mind in loneliness commune,
From which the mind and spirit are renewed,
And life with God and man resumed in tune.

I like to read the thoughts of other men
Who put in words the thoughts I long to pen.

1939

Cross-section of a Tear

Watery substance,
What mixture of self-pity,
Pent-up emotion,
Compassion,
Hurt pride,
Or deep-rooted sorrow
Elicited you from the eye?

One part salt,
One part water,
Or one part dust--
Infinite small chemicals;
Who with microscope
Pries unerringly
And arrives with a
Satisfactory,
Ultimate
Analysis?

This I know--
In God’s bottle
Every tear is stored.
In His book
It is recorded.
Its secret
Source
To Him is an open book.
And in “that” day
It shall be wiped away!

1964

Blank Verse

Did you ever know what it is
To be blank as blank as can be?
As though a great, thick blanket
Were a cloud that is covering me?
My thoughts like the billowing weed seeds
Go scattering over the land;
My heart feels dry and dusty
As dry as the desert sand;
The sun beats down all emotion,
I’m waiting for something I know,
Too deep in my heart for expression,
Just waiting, and living, and so-----

Here I am
Lord,
Just as I am,
Waiting for your rain.

May 27, 1989

Bits of Colored Glass

Shattered ego--
Your little bits I find,
Brightly colored,
Appearing like hidden
Treasures
In my soul--
Deceptive in their beauty;
Gleaming--
Dazzling--
Catching the eye--
Bewitching my fingers,
Beckoning with their rainbow gleams
Until I reach out to touch
Their jagged edges
And draw back,
Bleeding-- from
Pride.

Do you not know
Oh vanity,
Your fair vessel,
Fully shaped
And fair appearing
Was shattered
Upon a tree?

1965?

City Stream

I lie on my bed and listen
To the steady drone of the city stream.
I might imagine a mountain stream,
The rush of water
Constantly cascading over rocks,
Rushing downward -- onward
Seeking outlet to the ocean.

But this is a city stream
Drops of humanity
Rushing onward with a steady hum
Of wheels on pavement
Propelled by motors
Of power and speed.

There they go night and day,
Cars and buses,
Buses and trucks,
Big and little,
New and old,
Makes and models,
Noisy and smooth,
From every place-- to every place,
On business or pleasure;
In each a drop of humanity
Steadily hurtling through space
To a destination
Designated by God.

Oh, my heart cries,
God, how great thou art!
Jesus cares; Jesus know
Each beating heart,
Each little drop!
How can this be?
How great thou art!

1987

The Jumping-Off Place

From its rocky cliff above, the waters rush along,
They speed with heedless force—their course is heard by song--
They know no other way, they have no choice,
Together in their path they speak with chanting voice.
But look! Here comes the place
That empty leap in space,
There is no turning back,
No changing of the track,
No thought for what’s ahead,
No time for fear or dread--
Abandonment with glee,
In faith that’s full and free,
Into the foam below
Another course to flow.
And thus, in new-marked stream again the waters move
With song, with force, with quickened speed they prove
The law of gravity, and round the rocks and reeds,
The banks on either side, the narrow channel leads,
And onward, ever onward until they reach their goal--
So speak of faith-- oh water-fall unto my trembling soul.

For Harold before his marriage – 1979

The Song of the Dove

If you don’t want me
    I’ll fly away,
If you don’t like me
    I won’t stay.

I know when you love me,
    I know when you care;
I know when you give me
    That welcoming air.

I don’t like anger,
    I don’t like pride,
And self-justification
    I can’t abide.

It’s not without reason
    They call me a dove,
For that is my nature,
    The nature of love.

Jan. 29, 1987

The Song of the Teapot

I sat on the stove
    Fat, ugly and cold,
And dreamed of a vessel
    Of shining, pure gold.

The Master cane
    And lit a fire--
And I suddenly lost
    Such a stupid desire.

Because of the heat
    I began to sing--
What glory to be
    A useful thing!

I sing with joy--
    I sing of power,
I sing by the love
    Released this hour.

Feb. 2, 1987

A social call

It seems somehow
A neighborly cow
Pushed through the gate.
I’d hate to state
Just what she te
Suffice to say
It wasn’t hay!

A Canary’s Song

If a little yellow bird sings
    Behind those bars,
Why can’t I
    In this land of cars?

Of what does he sing
    Imprisoned there?
Of sunny skies
    And clear, fresh air?

Beyond these walls,
    These endless streets,
I will sing of green pastures
    And leafy retreats;

Of wandering streams
    And rolling hills,
Or fields of poppies
    Or daffodils.

My little song of Jundiaí,
    My wistful song behind these bars,
I can sing of Rubiataba
    And nights of shining stars.

Dec. 4, 1986

The Song of the Eaglet

High in the cleft of the rock
Far from the dismal earth
Safe in a well-built nest
My mother brought me to birth.

Here with the other eaglets
I received my daily food,
Warmed with love and protection,
Knowing nothing but that which was good.

Then on the back of my mother
I sailed up in the heavenly sky,
The joy of exhilaration,
The vision of how to fly.

Then came that awful moment,
I slipped before I was aware--
Alone in my desperation
And nothing around me but air!

I flapped one wing
Without knowing why--
And then the other--
A miracle -- I could fly!

Vó Maria - Forever Young

God found himself a treasure,
A rough, unpolished stone
Hidden deep in rubbish,
Living all alone.

He picked her up to polish
To show salvation’s grace;
He knew what he was doing
To set her in her place.

We love our Vó Maria
With all her little tricks,
She decorates the bikes
With floppy leaves and sticks.

She loves to creep behind
Some handy post or door
And jump out at her victim
With a sudden raucous roar

She has her little “programas”,
She knows that she is wrong.
She confesses this to someone—
They never last too long.

She makes her little visits—
She likes them when there’s prayer,
And when the young are meeting
You always find her there.

Jan. 29, 1989

Love in the Kitchen

I'll sing a song of the kitchen
Where the nitty-gritty gets hot,
It’s the farthest-out from heaven
Where trials in earnest start.

You say that you love Jesus,
And in Christ you know you love,
But oh! Those provocations
Show what spirit you are of!

Her pans are highly polished,
And every cranny clean;
While I get lost in dreaming
And things go by unseen.

When she is so efficient
And I find my ego pressed,
I’m all for justification
Though I know her way is best.

But this is sanctification-
This is the melting pot-
Love comes into operation
Exactly where the fire is hot.

Shining pots are things of beauty;
Cleanliness can reign supreme-
Love divine is appreciation,
Now, my love is not a dream!

Feb.9, 1989