Category: Poetry


MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Filed Under: Poetry, Writings by Cara — Comments Off on MERRY CHRISTMAS!
December 13, 2005
It seems there is some reason
Why we celebrate this season
But from all the lights and jingles
Frequent mentions of Kris Kringle
Seems that most folks now just don’t remember
There are other holidays now
That are mentioned (don’t offend now)
But I’m standing on my tiptoes
Shouting truth that everyone knows
If it weren’t for Christ it’d just be plain December

Every special day has place
But not one should be effaced
In the interests of “politically correct�
I’m just stating facts so I can stand erect
I’m proclaiming Christmas’ value in its roots
It’s enough to make us proud
In the holidaying crowd
I reserve the right to not offend
And you can “not offend� me, friend
If it’s Happy Hanukah, or Kwanzaa, too.

I will still say Merry Christmas
Whether you believe or not, that’s
Not a thing I’d know in passing,
Just a wish for all, a blessing.
Tell me what you wish and we will both rejoice
It’s a joy that comes each year
Through the trials and the tears
I’ll not stop telling those I see
That the Christ child set me free
And He offers every person that same choice.

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Crucible Dance

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December 4, 2005
The crucible of Christ—
The flames of circumstance—
Come daily shape my life
Just like a holy dance.
The music stirs my feet
And I cannot be still.
It is through the fire’s heat
That His Spirit works His will.

Sometimes I want to fight.
I cannot understand,
But I must give up my right
Each time He calls again.
The Everlasting One
Knows best the path I tread.
I dance in faith alone
As His mercy lifts my head.

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In The Autumn

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November 7, 2005
As the barely stirring breeze
Moves the gently swirling leaves,
I will be silent.
In the chill, gray air of fall
I hear children’s voices call.
I will be silent.

In the stillness of my soul
I am willing now to hold
A sweet contentment.
With my hands around my knees
I can close my eyes and breathe
A sweet contentment.

Though the minutes slip away,
My heart moves in me to pray
In wordless silence.
Quiet waters, deep within
Quench my thirsty soul again
In wordless silence.

As the fashion trees parade
Raining all the colors made
So rich and full.
I rejoice with fresh new eyes
Under multi-gray-white skies
So rich and full.

In the autumn months I seek
For Creator’s voice so meek.
I hear Him speaking.
Then He whispers of His love
Pouring richly from above.
I hear Him speaking.

—Cara Colleen

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DELIGHT IN THE NOW

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October 21, 2005
The deep white fluff of easily sculpted snow
Lies on the ground with all the temptation
Its unspoiled surface can throw at me
“Play with me!� it beckons silently, persistently
Like a page waiting to be written on.
I stare at it blankly in uncertainty
Absorbing the unblemished beauty, yet
Contemplating all the possibilities—
Snowmen, snow angels, paths of children
Chasing each other round and round, and
Snow battles of the fiercest kind, waiting to be waged.
The wonder of it grips me now,
Inviting me to throw off the shackles of
Staid adulthood for a few brief minutes of
Childlike delight in the now—
What is and what I make it to be.
The seasons may change and the winds blow warmer
Melting the magic powder that turns
Grown-ups into small children,
Still, the magnificent simplicity of plain white
Is pure infusion of a glad light—
Plain in its appearance,
Complex in its effects on the soul.
Maybe this other simple unblemished white
Can re-infect me with the awe I once felt,
Inspiration untainted by cynicism,
So I may trace letters of playful intent and
Throw off the shackles of sad experience
For a few brief moments of
Childlike delight in the now—
What is and what I make it to be.
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‘Neath All The Layers

Filed Under: Poetry, Random Thoughts by Cara — Comments Off on ‘Neath All The Layers
August 23, 2005
More is there, beneath the obvious,
Beneath the outside sheen of smooth sailing.
‘Neath all the layers of protection
Lies a real, yes-I-have-feelings human being.
It’s just a matter of getting past
All the bluff, all the pomp and circumstance.
Sometimes, if you’re careful and quiet,
You might actually see
The barricades come down voluntarily.
In that moment of vulnerability,
Speak softly, speak slowly, speak soothingly
To the soul exposed. It is the only way…
Otherwise the walls will slam into place
Faster than you can blink.

Everyone has armor—some more, some less.
Few walk this world without wearing some.
But be aware, be open, be sensitive
Because ‘neath all the layers of protection
Lies a real, yes-I-have-feelings human being.
Gentle communication heart to heart
Is the way friendships are founded.
Families are strengthened.
Donne said it best, “No man is an island.”
Under the appearance that all is always well,
We cannot stand alone and live with gusto.

Let down your defenses sometimes.
Maybe someone else will let down theirs and
The two of you can be real for a little while.
You may even find you like realness
Better than these perpetual, tiresome masks…

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LESSON 8,637… OR SO

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August 19, 2005
It is true. With all the hurry
I allow myself to worry
When I really should just leave it in God’s hands.
But I am so used to fretting
Even though I am not letting
God take care of things the way I know He can.

He’s still faithful in my weakness
As He teaches me more meekness.
Painful as the lessons are, they’re worth the price.
For each time that I go through them
I learn how to trust anew, then
Strive again to let His promises suffice.

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DETERMINATION

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August 11, 2005
My creative side’s been squelched again
Soooo frustrating
Seems like every time I turn around,
Something’s come up,
Something’s happened,
Feels like a conspiracy sometimes…
My head keeps spinning with the pace of life:
No time to be still,
No time to play my flute,
No time to write,
No time to “be�,
Always something to do!
The struggle feels monumental.
Still, if there is one thing I am,
It’s persevering… persistent…
Downright stubborn about not giving up
My creative needs
Wedge in a moment here,
A moment there,
A word edgewise every now and then
Until satisfaction tells me I’m finished.
Like I said, squelched or not,
I refuse to give up, dang it!
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FIGHTING BACK

Filed Under: Poetry by Cara — Comments Off on FIGHTING BACK
August 5, 2005
This oppressive heaviness weighs me down,
Pressing me into silence again and again.
Words fail me—mind, tongue, and pen—
Until I feel like a bird whose wings
Are bound tightly against its body,
Unable even to struggle for flight,
Much less fly.
Somehow I must… must… MUST…
Force myself to words again—
Say what I feel, when I let myself feel;
Let myself feel, when I acknowledge the hurt;
Acknowledge the hurt, the sadness, the anger…
No longer can I accept this mental solitude.
It is killing me in a different way
Than I have ever experienced before, and
I refuse to be killed
Or to let myself go softly into night!
I will live loudly, freely, even joyfully!

Be reminded, O my soul:
The Most High God is my secret shelter,
Surrounding me at all times, in all places.
He is my strength to fight depression
When I have none.
He is my willingness to fight the silent emptiness
When silence is all I know.
He is my life when death and dumbness
Try to crowd me into a corner of despair.
HE IS MY GOD!
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Night On The Lake

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July 22, 2005
Moon glows over dark waters while
Wisps of clouds wander by like pale ghosts.
The light shines through them, between them,
Giving glimmers of a night rainbow.
The occasional boat lights
Flash on the water, then speed off
Leaving the broad swath of moonlight
Undisturbed again.
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After The Storm

Filed Under: Poetry by Cara — 1 Comment
July 19, 2005

All the furor surrounding me dies down after…
Crisis over. Problem solved.
Life resumes its “normalcy�
While I sit back and try to breathe,
But air seems, well,
Hard to find these days.

My mind whirls at hectic pace.
Now that outward calm is restored,
Internal control slips askew.
All the things I didn’t let myself
Think or feel or do under pressure
Explode out like heated popcorn
When the cover comes off.

I was fine then—in storm’s eye.
Now the devastation wreaked in my heart
Trips me, tumbles me, confuses me.
I look around and recognize
Nothing of myself in this
Except maybe some of the
Broken debris strewn here and there.
debris

During the storm, I was fine.
I knew what to do, how and why,
Keeping all of my “self�
Tucked away in a hidden place.
After the storm,
Recovery sent me into shadows—
Swirling grays and blues and purples
Until my emotions were
Spinning beyond comprehension.

Finally I sit,
Still as a stone,
Clamping down on everything,
So I can have a moment of numb peace.
The aftermath of everything
Played more havoc with my soul
Than all the crises put together.

Right now I just want
Stillness of soul, silence of mind…
Then perhaps I can begin to
Sort it all out,
One bleep at a time.

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