An Angel, a Deacon, and a Eunuch

What was it that the daily reflection asked?
Oh yeah, it was, “If you were set down beside
the carriage of the Ethiopian, what would you ask?”
His response was priceless,
“Hey buddy, could you stop that chariot,
my feet are killing me!”

Okay, so not the mental picture
the writer of Acts had in mind
with the strange story of Philip
and the Ethiopian eunuch.

A funny scene, a scholar
without a clue,
reading the prophets
of a people not his own
Needing an interpreter
finding an agile deacon instead
sent by an angel on a different path

A vision, a sprint, a chat,
a dunking, and poof,
He’s gone
teleported away,
snatched up;
an imponderable moment
like so many in Acts
spreading the word
as the Spirit MOVES you…

May 22, 2006 10:20pm

An Angel, a Deacon, and a Eunuch

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2006/05/angel-deacon-and-eunuch.html

Based on Acts 8:26-40 and my conversation with the Reverend Joel B. Guillemette on the questions in the Daily Reflections section on Alive Now for May 8, 2006 – “Read the account of Philip and the Ethiopian in Acts 8:26-40. What do you find most amazing about this story? If you were set down beside the carriage of the Ethiopian, what would you say?” He was the only other human in the bible besides Elijah to be moved by God directly as far as we knew.

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 39,310+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Must Consider

What does it mean when we say that
they shall consider or must consider X or Y or Z?
Does it mean that they will use
this information, finding, or recommendation
By no means.
It is our canard,
our obsequiousness,
the hopes of the common folk
hoodwinked by seemingly powerful language
humbled by weasel words
words of choice, by the powers that be
the experts courts and we defer to

They “must consider”
oh, if only they must do more than consider
Because considering can be only
bearing in mind, ponder, think about,
mull over, contemplate
We need to make consider be its other
synonyms – believe, take into account,
judge, respect;
or it will be as its antonym – disregard
An opportunity lost
and a fools errand

May 23, 2006 1:22pm


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.

Balkans

I often pause to wonder
of the two sides of the
man from the Balkans
who graced my life
with his friendship
and this time
Hours over a glass or
a bowl of salad,
weighed and paid for,
in smoky haze or deep thought
masks worn and parts played
words shared and questions unasked
of unhealed scar tissue,
a life in the jungle,
the struggles of ethnic strife
and the INS.

May 18, 2006 7:40pm


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.

Between

Between melancholy and disquiet
a brooding cloud
of the restless soul
pacing the floor,
wondering the next steps,
on a road less traveled by
when words do not come
‘tween the good and night
a gap to mend
a breach to heal
on the other side
of restful sleep
for miles to keep
and inner peace

May 18, 2006 7:29pm


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.

Iris

What is it about irises
in the garden
whether blue flag or yellow,
deep purple, white with red
why do they catch the attention, the imagination
more than lesser blooms?
A certain allure
that Georgia O’Keeffe didn’t taint
a beauty that draws you in
to ponder and marvel on
a delicacy that is real
but a perennial that wears well
the seasons in New England too
bitter cold and short summers
a herald for the Spring
whether in bog or flower bed


May 18, 2006 6:51pm

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 37,940+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

A Beat in Concord

I was sitting there in the traffic, waiting for the light
the heat and humidity building in the van,
one window open to the moist air after the flooding

I saw a character, a caricature, a man out of time
on the sidewalk, under the underpass, half in shadow
He was a beat,
not a Ginsberg, no he wouldn’t Howl,
a modern day Kerouac, or someone who aspired to be

It was his walk, his gait, his hair, his clothes
a slouched walk, bath sandals that had been worn outside too long
hunched shoulders, time spent in dim lit libraries,
before glowing computer screens, shaded lamps
an oversized blazer from the thrift store
over a frock prom shirt, frilled and with cranberry edging

I could sense the latte on his breath
smell of clove cigarettes in the wool of the coat
too warm for the day around him
a mop of coarse black hair
that hadn’t seen a brush or comb in days
sunken eyes, and a certainty
he’d written lines far darker than these
words that would confuse and provoke
the unfairness of the mundane, the bleakness of his bourgeois existence
unaware of his place, his role in the intelligentsia

A yawn at the coffee house, or maybe a demigod
hard to say across the street, as I was
driving by his path for those few moments
before my light went green and I went on down the road
away from the college-aged, but no longer in college beat
on the street in Concord


further edits June 30, 2012
further edited June 6, 2012 (with edited by Elisha and Marshall Burns)
http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2012/06/beat-in-concord-v2-2.html
edited June 6, 2012
http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2012/06/beat-in-concord-v2.html
written May 18, 2006 5:59pm
http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2006/05/beat-in-concord.html
written about someone I saw under the Exit 14 underpass, Concord, NH

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 21,710+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Butter Melting

She marched into the kitchen
all purposeful and proud
stepstool from the bathroom
in her four-year old arms

“I’m going to watch the butter melt!”
she proclaimed to all the world,
or at least to me at the sink.
Two sticks of butter in the clear glass bowl,
not yet ready for their joining with the other ingredients
for a planned batch of cookies
sitting on the counter defiantly not melting,
since she made that statement, I’m sure

What a wonderfully exciting life you have…
I laughed to myself to her left
watching butter melt…
and then she said, “I can see it melting!”

I wonder if she really did,
if something in the child’s mind
could grasp the infinitesimal movement of the cells, the molecules
of the butter
in the bowl, on the counter
waiting, maybe wanting,
to be something bigger than itself
to meld with the rest

To tickle her tongue,
once the frosting, the sprinkles,
and the special “wham” from her older sister
sealed in the goodness

===============

edited March 8, 2018

Butter Melting – v2

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2018/03/butter-melting-v2.html

May 17, 2006 6:47am

Butter Melting

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.jp/2006/05/butter-melting.html

All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com)  for usage. See all 46,460 of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

butter, melting, baking, anticipation, waiting, childhood, innocence, purpose, Shanequa, Shyanne, wonder, physics, heat, molecules, science, cooking, child, God, poem, poetry,

#butter #melting #baking #anticipation #waiting #childhood #innocence #purpose #Shanequa #Shyanne #wonder #memory #physics #heat #molecules #science #cooking #child #creator #faithpoetry #frost #God #laugh #life #poem #poetry #PoetryWhereYouLive #praisepoems #praisepoetry #RaymondAFoss

Tulips in the rain

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 21,710+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

A Neoprene Monk

Not a Gorton’s Fisherman,
no he doesn’t have the hands,
the weathered brow,
the smell of fish,
or the sound of the rocky Maine coast

Mustard yellow hooded,
bearded and bespectacled,
a neoprene monk
looked back from the wet car window
mirrored in the rain in the church lot

A bumblebee, a lady bug, and a yellow princess
in tow, coursing across the puddles,
‘round the courtyard,
burst through the door,
ready for the moist greetings of pastors and friend
commotion in the narthex
before the race to the coat rack
the clamor to the classroom
Sanctuary and refuge
on a rain soaked morning
in May

May 15, 2006 11:49am

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 21,910+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Capturing the Sound of Rain

Listening to the timpani
the rhythm of the rain
the rap, the tap,
the ratta-tat-tat,
the staccato of the drumming
on the roof of the van

The storm raging ‘round us
in the stillness of the parking lot
trying to drum to the beat
on laps and the steering wheel
keeping time with the chaos
the randomness of the clatter

Too few drummers for the task
capturing the sound of rain

May 15, 2006 9:58am

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 21,910+ of my poems at http://www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

A Lilac’s Breath

Drink in the cool, smooth,
the sweet scent of Spring
Fleeting aroma of purple
of plum, or white, of
dusty lilac
hanging in the air,
filling the yard by the bush
the rooms where the vases land
a fragrant gift of grace
mellowing time and space
Breathing out and taking in
the sweet lilac’s breath.


May 10, 2006 1:15pm
This poem was waiting to come of for a few days. I didn’t start right off as a few titles were running through my head – A Breath of Lilac, Lilac Breath, Breathing Lilac, and A Lilac’s Breath.


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.

Words of Power

Vision, mission, goals, and tasks
action words, of power
of purpose
defining who we aspire to be
what we must do
how we will carry it out over time
in this place now
A pyramid of thought
putting feet to His promise
Christ’s work
in love
spreading the seed, the message
with the blessings of the Holy Spirit

In the vineyard, in the field
the troubled world,
hard soil, granite ledge,
and good rich soil
the soil of a young heart
an open heart
old members and new-born hope
white and black, yellow and brown
together striving
to do His will
in this place
held in our care
for this season

==================

edited March 8, 2018

Words of Power – v2

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2018/03/words-of-power-v2.html

after finding this poem in a list of my popular poems

on Literary Devices site about my poetry

https://literarydevices.net/raymond-a-foss/

May 5, 2006 11:43

Words of Power

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2006/05/words-of-power.html

All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 48,000 of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Christ, Faith, God, Spirit, good soil, heart, Holy Spirit, hope, love, grace, Messiah, Methodist, Mission, sacrifice, seasons, shepherd, vine, winter, work, world,

#Christ #Faith #God #goodsoil #heart #HolySpirit #hope #love #Messiah #Methodist #Mission #sacrifice #seasons #shepherd #vine #white #winter #work #world #yellow

My Desire

She is my wife
the mother of the little people
in the room across the hall,
singing in the dark
long after their bedtimes
the one next to me as I sleep
and in my dreams
who shares my ring and my name
the one who I promised all
before God and man
She is
the one who
is my desire, my fantasy
the spark in my life
the smile in my eye
the murmur in my step
spice in my day
sensuous and subtle
strong, clear

5/4/06 9:13pm

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 24,260+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

Frozen Image - version 3

Down the path
Away from the road,
Bustle of the highway
In the inner quiet
Cold of winter
Emptiness, sadness,
Turn inside

Catch of air – shortness of breath
Loss of warmth
Crunch of snow
Snap of branch
Startled revelation

A burst of downy wings
Shards, detritus, clutter
Festooned the ground
A vole track
Ended abruptly

Cardboard boxes,
Phone calls
Left belongings
Of rapid parting
And decisions made
Death frozen in place
Serenely, as it should be

Impressions
Catches of light and shadow
The beat of predator feathers
Pressed
Thrust into the crust
Preserved, as in paraffin

Cataloged and filed away
Without emotion
Words and unfilled promises,
Archived, haunting
Mocking

Arc of
Feathers
Captured in the coating –
Fingers,
Hands scooping
A pile of leaves
For bagging

Holding themselves
In the hug of the
Invisible wings
Alone

Frozen image
Fleeting, under melting
Life and death
Lost in time
Transformed by internalizing

Brooding
Ponderous steps, footprints
Of the road
Down the path
I must take

====================

edited November 4, 2018

Frozen Image – v5

(editing version 1)

Edited June 24, 2004 19:13, adding a 4^th stanza.

Frozen Image – v4

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2004/07/frozen-image_12.html

May 4, 2006

Edited June 24, 2004 22:02, with more of me.

Frozen Image – version 3

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2006/05/frozen-image-version-3.html

May 4, 2006

Edited June 30, 2004 22:41-22:52

Frozen Image – version 2

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2006/05/frozen-image-version-2.html

July 12, 2004

Frozen Image – v1

https://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2004/07/frozen-image.html

June 24, 2004 15:26, about a walk on the http://hikenh.netfirms.com/TDNinete.htm

Nineteen Mile Brook Trail

http://www.hike-nh.com/trips/carter/index.shtml

Alternate site, off Router 16 just up from the Mt. Washington Auto Road,

one January morning 5 years ago.

All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 48,000 of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

branches, Concord NH, creator, death, feather, forest, God, January, June, life, light, New Hampshire, path, poetry, Poetry Where You Live, Raymond A. Foss, snow, walking, wings, winter,

#branches #creator #death #feather #forest #God #January #June #life #light #NewHampshire #path #poetry #snow #walking #wings #winter #hawk #photograph