Valentine’s Day 2006

To my beautiful wife,


When I read 1 Cor. 13:1-7, I think of you.
I alternate “you” for “love” and feel the same.
You are patient, you are kind; you
believe all things, hope all things.
If I have faith, so as to move mountains,
but have not you, I am nothing.

Your love, you, mean so much to me,
so much more to me than anyone else of earth.
I cherish the minutes we have together
and the life we share.
May God grant us a long life as husband and wife
and His peace, through whatever trials we face,
because He has plans for us before we sleep.
He has given us many gifts already,
but the greatest is love.


Love,
Ray


All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,760+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Bark

A living Ansel Adams tableau
white birches stretching heavenward
over a winter scene of white on white
A monochromatic world too bright
for my eyes behind the photogray lenses
the black of the bark outlines edges
differences in the still wood
curls and sheets on the ground too
give depth and form, to add dimension
planes of space
preserved in my memory

2/25/06 21:13

Bark

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2006/02/bark.html

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 37,500+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Curled

A bit of nature’s sculpture
out in the northern woods
a solitary beech leaf
brown and curled around the stem
defying the winter cold and ice
on display against a field of white
and a sky of blue
in the clear crisp air


2/25/06 20:45
North Conway, NH, January, 1999

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,760+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Fan Brush

A bright clear blue day in January
after a cold snowfall overnight
off the road, only glimpsed momentarily
as I drove by,
a Currier and Ives drawing,
a snapshot in my mind

A river, a brook really,
black water and snow covered stones
framed by pines
heavy with light snow
painted on the scene,
acrylic and oil paints
spread with spatula, knife
and fan brush


2/25/06 20:30

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 20,830+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Snapped

Among the pens and pencils
in my desk drawer
a piece of eternity fractured and frozen
brings me to that second,
that instant of force,
when motion ceased
an actor in the drama
of that time and place
sheared off
as surely as his life
was cut short


2/25/06 20:20
The top half of the key to my father’s Honda Accord snapped off, the rest still in the useless ignition, after the fatal crash 2/14/1991 19:02. Like his watch and glasses, it ended up in the rear of the car.

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,760+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Chatter

A long time ago, when I was young,
Back before I learned to respect
the realities of heat exchange
and the temperature of the Atlantic
in Northern New England, on the coast of Maine
my brother and I went swimming at Wells Beach

The day was in August,
sand burnt my feet,
the water was “refreshing”
until my feet went numb

Minutes later my lips were blue, my skin was white
before I turned red as feeling returned
to my extremities

We shook and chattered
giggling under the blankets
happy as only kids are
but not yet ready
for another dip


2/25/06 20:15


All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,760+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Walking

We are all called
to step out of the boat
walk on the tightrope without a net
risk all by faith.
More than the call to “follow me”.
This is the singular call heard
by Peter alone of the twelve
the ultimate test
to focus on the master
amidst the noise of the winds
our own storms around us
that make us sink
without His father’s grace

2/25/06 19:55
Matthew 14:22-33


All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,760+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Crab

How fast can your move backward
while in a crouched position
with your eye in the viewfinder
of a manual camera?
Faster than you would think,
when you realize an alligator,
who was your intended subject,
charges our of the water
up the bank at you,
at full speed.


2/25/06 19:30
Hilton Head Island, August 1988.

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,760+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Urquhart

The ruins of red brick and stone
just above the surface of the loch
walk down to the shore, by the edge
I stared out into the mist
hanging over the water

She was out there, but invisible to me
I sensed her presence
hidden in the fog, of time,
the peated deep,
the enlightened “reality” of science.
How sad for us

2/25/06 19:05

Urughart

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2006/02/urquhart.html

Standing on the edge of Loch Ness, 1999

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2005/08/loch-ness.html

Meeting Grounds

Reverend Brown told me some of the stories
the history of these hallowed grounds
Where generations pitched their tents
around the steel and glass tabernacle
at the camp meeting grounds

Small cottages followed, on the same plots
drawn year after year
to hear our faith, the transformation
the power of grace to save
saints and sinners alike

December 19, 2021

Small, by design

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2021/12/small-by-design.html

&

2/25/06 19:00

Meeting Grounds

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2006/02/meeting-grounds.html

Camp Meeting Grounds, Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard

Note added - 6/15/06 -
"Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Area - MVCMA, well known for the 315 Gingerbread cottages and the historic Tabernacle that comprise the campground, grew out of the religious camp meeting movement of the 19th century. The first camp meeting in Oak Bluffs was held in 1835. The camp meeting movement and the camp meetings on Martha’s Vineyard grew substantially through the years, with many thousands in attendance for the religious services.
The MVCMA has held religious services and a wide variety of special programs on a continuous basis every summer since 1835. The unique character of the Campground, a heritage from a different era, has been preserved and treasured by generations of tent-dwellers and cottage owners for over 170 years. On April 5, 2005, The MVCMA was officially designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior."

&

edited April 14, 2015

Cottages – v2

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2015/04/cottages-v2.html

9/3/04 22:45

Cottages

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2004/09/cottages.html

summer of 1995

 

 

All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com)  for usage. See all 53,000+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

 

America, beach, creator, Faith, Family, God, home, hope, joy, July, Martha's Vineyard, Menemsha, Nature, New Hampshire, poem, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, sky, sun,

 

#America #beach #Family #God #home #MarthasVineyard #Menemsha #Nature #poem #poetry #sky #sun

 

poetry, Family, ferry, Martha's Vineyard, Poetry Where You Live, summer, Vineyard, Oak Bluffs, Kevin Bacon, movies,

 

#poetry #summer #ferry #Vineyard #Family #hope #MarthasVineyard #KevinBacon #movies

 

bread of life, brown, creator, Faith, Family, God, history, hope, Martha's Vineyard, Methodist, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, sermon, summer, United Methodist, vine, worship, yard, UMC, Oak Bluffs,

 

#breadoflife #creator #Faith #Family #God #history #hope #MarthasVineyard #Methodist #poetry #senses #Sermon #sound #summer #vine #worship #UMC

 

 

A Mere Breath

Surely we are a mere breath,
we are dust,
forgettable blades of grass
Our lives whispers, moments of time
in the mind of God
Grains in the continuum
of eternity
Our daily struggles
Meaningless, nothing
alongside infinity


2/25/06 18:45
Psalm 39:11c & Psalm 103:14-16

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 25,930+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Chill

I still can remember
it was like night and day
an instant of madness
changed the lives of thousands
the millions of our country
who lost a piece of freedom
a bit of innocence

Bags searched, cameras checked
eyes watching for more,
who is friend and who is foe.
A chill fell over the place
security more than sport
the sudden, urgent focus
so wrong but so true –
terror changed us all.


2/25/06 18:38
About what it was like in Atlanta at the Olympics in 1996 on the morning after the Olympic Park Bombing All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 18,740+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Dunes

An old weathered section of snow fencing

half buried in the lee of the dune

gray skin gnarled by wind and water

saw grass and beach plum bloom

intertwined with the rusted wire

holding the slats of the fence

flip flops and sandals

lined up along the path

leading to the Atlantic

warm white sand drifted

mirroring the swells and troughs

undulating offshore

under la luna’s spell

2/25/06 18:00

Dunes

Martha’s Vineyard, ca 1995

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 37,080+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.