Saturday, December 08, 2007

Advent

A season of waiting, of preparation for the baby boy
Deity brought to a manger bed
Voices of angels filled the heavens
Every room was taken, no place for a bed
Nativity of the king of kings
Three wise men would come, at Epiphany

December 8, 2007

In the Northern Wood

Camera and snowshoes,
head down, focused on the little things,
the tracks in the layered crust of snow,
ice and snow really
the tunnels of the voles,
the turned shape of the dead leaves,
clinging still to the branches, the twigs
The subtle sound of the trees
caressing each other, high in the canopy
a dance called by the wind
A distinctive crack of gunfire,
echoing in the still cold forest
And me, out in the northern wood
without any blaze orange

December 7, 2007

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 23,810+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Changing the Wind

A groundswell of justice, of caring
comes from changing the winds
giving new direction for the weathervanes
politicians with their wet fingers up in the air
catching the wind and where it points
altering the compass heading, the pole, the goal
by changing the wind

-----  
edited August 29, 2019
Changing the Wind – v8

edited January 16, 2017
Changing the Wind – v6
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2017
(editing original)
&
edited October 15, 2015
changing the wind – v5
(editing version 2)
edited January 23, 2015
Changing the Wind – v4
(editing original again)
edited January 19, 2015
Changing the Wind – v3
(merging edits to original and version 2)
Edited July 22, 2013
“changing the wind – v2”
December 7, 2007
“changing the wind”
Based on the comments of Jim Wallis on
Speaking of Faith, November 29, 2007
He was talking about whether to change politicians
or change the wind, to change the public opinion
which guides politics. He used the example
of President Johnson’s statement to the
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that it would
take 5 years for a voting rights bill but
it actually took 5 months to pass the Voting Rights Act,
after the March in Selma.
&
edited January 14, 2017
Changing the World – v6
(editing version 3)
two days before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and
six days before the end of the Obama Presidency
edited October 31, 2015
Changing the World – v5
(editing original)
edited February 2, 2015
Changing the World – v4
(merging edits to version 3 and version 2)
edited January 20, 2015
Changing the World – v3
(editing original again)
edited January 21, 2013
Changing the World – v2
January 18, 2009
Changing the World
edited December 3, 2015
Words in Quotes – v5
(merging edits to version 2 and version 4)
edited December 1, 2015
Words in Quotes – v4
(editing version 2)
edited October 31, 2015
Changing the World – v5
(editing original)
edited February 2, 2015
Changing the World – v4
(merging edits to version 3 and version 2)
edited January 20, 2015
Changing the World – v3
(editing original again)
edited January 21, 2013
Changing the World – v2
January 18, 2009
Changing the World
edited January 20, 2015
Power in His Words – v3
(editing original again)
edited January 20, 2015
Fighting Evil – v3
(editing original again)
edited January 20, 2015
Love Liberates – v3
(editing original again)
edited January 20, 2015
The Power of His Words – v3
edited January 20, 2015
Living Christ’s Words – v3
edited January 20, 2015
Not Words of Weakness – v3
(editing original again)
edited January 20, 2015
Hatred – v3
(editing original again)
edited January 20, 2015
Radical Words – v3
(editing original again)
edited January 20, 2015
Understanding this moment – v3
edited January 20, 2015
Forty Years – v3
(editing original again)
edited January 20, 2015
Seeing Joshua – v3
(editing original again)
edited January 20, 2015
Choosing the Cross – v3
(editing original again)
 edited January 20, 2015
Before Martin – v3
edited January 20, 2015
Echoes of the Desert – v4
(editing version 1 again)
edited April 8, 2014
Echoes of the Desert – v3
(editing original again)
edited January 20, 2015
In His Ministry – v3
(editing version 1 again)
edited January 20, 2015
The Question – v3
(editing original again)
edited January 20, 2015
Always Torture – v3
(editing original again)
edited January 20, 2015
The Hills of Zion – v3
(editing version 1 again)
edited January 20, 2015
Is He Joshua – v3
(edited version 1 again)
edited January 20, 2015
Lofty Words – v3
(editing original again)
edited January 20, 2015
understanding a moment – v3
(editing version 1 again)
edited January 20, 2015
Words in Quotes – v3
(editing version 1 again)
edited January 20, 2015
Words that Bind – v3
(editing version 1 again)
edited January 20, 2015
Words chosen for a nation – v3
(editing version 1 again)
&
edited January 21, 2013
Power in His Words – v2
edited January 21, 2013
Fighting Evil – v2
edited January 21, 2013
Love Liberates – v2
edited January 21, 2013
The Power of His Words – v2
edited January 21, 2013
Living Christ’s Words – v2
edited January 21, 2013
Not Words of Weakness – v2
January 21, 2013
Hatred – v2
January 21, 2013
Radical Words – v2
edited January 21, 2013
Understanding this moment – v2
January 21, 2013
Forty Years – v2
January 21, 2013
Seeing Joshua – v2
January 21, 2013
Choosing the Cross – v2
January 21, 2013
Before Martin – v2
January 21, 2013
Echoes of the Desert – v2
January 21, 2013
In His Ministry – v2
January 21, 2013
The Question – v2
January 21, 2013
Always Torture – v2
January 21, 2013
The Hills of Zion – v2
January 21, 2013
Is He Joshua – v2
January 21, 2013
Lofty Words – v2
January 21, 2013
understanding a moment – v2
January 21, 2013
Words in Quotes – v2
January 21, 2013
Words that Bind – v2
January 21, 2013
Words chosen for a nation – v2
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
and his final speech before his assassination
and Inauguration of the President
Barack Hussein Obama
Invocation
by Myrlie Evers-Williams
Inaugural Address
&
several poems written in 2009
on the juxtaposition of the
80th birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
and the inauguration of Barack Obama
as President of the United States of America
January 17, 2009
understanding a moment
January 17, 2009
Words in Quotes
January 17, 2009
Words chosen for a nation
January 17, 2009
Words that Bind
and the Presidential Oath, from the
US Constitution, Article I, Section 1, Clause 8,
repeated verbatim by the presidents. The only language in quotes
in the Constitution, unlike the general principles elsewhere.
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully
execute the office of President of the United States,
and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend
the Constitution of the United States."
January 18, 2009
Lofty Words
January 18, 2009
Is He Joshua
January 18, 2009
The Hills of Zion
January 18, 2009
Always Torture
January 18, 2009
The Question
January 18, 2009
In His Ministry
January 18, 2009
Echoes of the Desert
January 18, 2009
Before Martin
January 18, 2009
Choosing the Cross
January 18, 2009
Seeing Joshua
January 18, 2009
Forty Years
January 18, 2009
Understanding this moment
January 18, 2009
Radical Words
January 18, 2009
Hatred
January 18, 2009
Not Words of Weakness
January 18, 2009
Living Christ’s Words
January 18, 2009
The Power of His Words
January 18, 2009
Love Liberates
January 18, 2009
Fighting Evil
January 18, 2009
Power in His Words
&
the message, “It’s not just a dream but a reality”
on the sign in front of church,
the story of Moses and Joshua,
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Joshua 1:1-9
along with
Micah 4:1-4
Matthew 5:43-48
the sermon, “Love Your Who???”,
by Reverend Huntley Halvorson,
Suncook United Methodist Church, Suncook, NH,
and the hypothetical put to Eric Holder, nominee for Attorney General,
by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) on the use of waterboarding,
January 15, 2009, during his Senate Confirmation Hearings,

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, and 2019. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com)  for usage. See all 51,700+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

America, Barack Obama, dream, Faith, Christ, God, hope, Inauguration, justice, love, Martin Luther King, MLK, Obama, prayer, President Obama, savior,


#America #BarackObama #dream #faith #Christ #God #hope #joy #Joshua #justice #love #MLKDay #PresidentObama #Moses #Inauguration  #calling #witness #purpose

Out Burns’ Window

Back in Jessie’s forefather’s land
in the cottage where Burns was born
the places where Tam lived
where his words were conjured
and the yarns were spun
looking out Burns’ window
onto his world, preserved

December 7, 2007

Irregular Glass

Staring at the glass
the panes in the frame
bubbles and waves
thinning viscous skin
of irregular glass
beautiful in its imperfection

December 7, 2007

Tallows of Ice

layer on layer
the branches lapped
in the slack water
dipped by the wind’s hand
by the bank
tallows of ice
hanging in the stream
framed by the snow
all around

December 7, 2007

Our Cup

“Take this cup, Oh Father”
were the words of the son,
the beloved, the holy child
grown to be the sacrifice, the firstborn son,
unspared, unlike Isaac
to be the sacrificial lamb

Choosing to drink of the cup
to take on the blood, the sin of the world
To love his enemies, even on the cross

We share the cup,
when we accept his salvation
and put on his yoke,
pair with him, to do the Father’s will

December 7, 2007

Peripheral Poetry

Out the side, the edge of my vision
so are many of the sources of my poetry
the images out my window
hurtling by for an instant, maybe
seeing them, clearly, etched
knowing now how
seeing the texture, the purpose,
purity, crystallized moments
images frozen in my words

December 7, 2007

Snow

Layered frosting
thick heavy butter cream
hanging heavy on the needles
the limbs coated in white
a mix of marshmallow
and plaster of paris
texture applied thickly
to the pines, the oaks
the wood, the fields

December 7, 2007

The Image of the Invisible

Seeing Christ is seeing God,
wherever we encounter him
in the words of the holy scriptures
in the lessons of his life
His teachings to the disciples
His life as an example, as model,
as witness to righteousness
loving relationships in our life’s journey
a way of seeing the intangible, the infinite
in terms we can comprehend
And when even that seems too far off
Christ himself made it clear,
as we do it to the least,
we do it to him, so we do to God
seeing God in all in need

December 7, 2007
Based on Colossians 1:11-20 and the sermon,
“Imaging Jesus”, by the Reverend Lori Eldredge,
Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord, NH
November 25, 2007

So Much Like Me

In love and at logger heads
so we seem to be, at the poles
So much like me is she
first born, cluttered, intense,
wanting my love, my acceptance,
to feel my hug, my praise,
my encouragement.
Just as I wanted his.
How my heart melts in her arms,
smiles when she waves from the school bus window
when she gets a good grade on her spelling
the words we struggled over
Slow to rise in the morning, just like me
passionate about that which interests her
Wanting the very best for her,
that her way could be a bit easier,
even when it cannot be.

December 7, 2007

A Simple Thanksgiving

His turn around the table
to share what he is thankful for
this Thanksgiving season, this year
A simple thanksgiving
so like the first Thanksgiving
in Plimouth, so long ago
thankful for God, for this place
This land of ours, our home
our ability to believe, to worship
as our conscience, our faith guides
In a time of war, his words
a poignant reminder
of how much we truly have
to be thankful for,
each and every day

December 7, 2007
http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2007/12/simple-thanksgiving.html
about the sharing of things we were thankful for
at the start of Church Council, 11/19/07,
Wesley United Methodist Church,
Concord, NH
This poem is based on Dan Haines,
Chair of the Evangelism Commission



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. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 33,930+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Putting on His Yoke

Choosing to be paired,
yoked to the Christ,
following the command
the instruction of the Father
serving in the field, the vineyard
working as one, joined
for God’s purposes
subjugating our wills,
the Son’s and our own,
beside him

December 7, 2007
Matthew 11:28-30

A Reflection in the Chrome

The blues, purples, yellow, gold
baked into the chrome pipes
of the classic Harley
draw me to you, my camera, to capture
the beauty of the shape,
the colors of your metal
In the captured image I see a distorted,
skewed image of me, frozen
a reflection in the chrome

December 7, 2007

December Sunlight

Cool bright light
streaming in my window
making it a bit hard to see the screen
typing these lines; but well worth
the challenge they make
Like feeling your presence
with me this morning Lord
the light you give the world
to guide and direct our path
to make the way in the dark clear
to lead us back to you

December 8, 2007 8:55am

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Seeing the Words

Writing is so much about
seeing the words, the constellations,
points of light against the black sky,
the mind’s eye of unconsciousness
knitting the words into the tapestry,
the fabric they were meant to be
gossamer wings and steely gravitas
blended or plucked from the ether
such is the process of inspiration
finding the words, already stitched together
woven tight with strong bonds
phrases and thoughts tied together
already formed, ready to be discovered
seen and printed onto the page

-----
merged / edited January 9, 2016
Seeing the Words – v29
(merging edits to version 28, version 15, version 16, version 17,
version 18, version 19, version 20, version 21 version 22, version 23,
version 24, version 25, version 26, and version 27)
==============
edits of individual poems
edited January 9, 2016
Seeing the Words – v28
(editing version 14)
edited January 9, 2016
Seeing the Words – v27
(editing version 13)
edited January 9, 2016
Seeing the Words – v26
(editing version 12)
edited January 9, 2016
Seeing the Words – v25
(editing version 10)
edited January 9, 2016
Seeing the Words – v24
(editing version 9)
edited January 9, 2016
Seeing the Words – v23
(editing version 8)
edited January 9, 2016
Seeing the Words – v22
(editing version 7)
edited January 9, 2016
Seeing the Words – v21
(editing version 6)
edited January 9, 2016
Seeing the Words – v20
(editing version 5)
edited January 9, 2016
Seeing the Words – v19
(editing version 4)
edited January 9, 2016
Seeing the Words – v18
(editing version 3)
edited January 9, 2016
seeing the words – v17
(editing version 2)
edited January 9, 2016
Seeing the Words – v16
(editing original)
edited January 9, 2016
Seeing the Words – v15
(editing version 11)
edited April 10, 2015
seeing the words – v14
(editing version 10)
edited January 31, 2015
seeing the words – v13
(editing original)
edited January 31, 2015
Seeing the Words – v12
(editing original and version 11)
edited May 28, 2014
“Seeing the Words – v11
edited February 15, 2014
“seeing the words – v10”
(editing version 4)
Edited October 26, 2013
“seeing the words – v9”
(editing version 7)
Edited October 25, 2013
“seeing the words – v8”
(editing version 3 again)
Edited October 23, 2013
“seeing the words – v7”
(editing version 3)
Edited October 19, 2013
“seeing the words – v6”
(editing version 3)
Edited October 12, 2013
“seeing the words – v5”
(editing version 4)
Edited October 11, 2013
“seeing the words – v4”
(editing version 3)
Edited October 5, 2013
“seeing the words – v3”
(editing the original again)
Edited July 22, 2013
“seeing the words – v2”
December 4, 2007 12:25pm
“seeing the words”
about writing poetry, when it is a gift of God,
transcribing the words God already wrote


All of my poems and photographs 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 (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 40,600+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.