pictured words

a simple pairing of pictures and poetry
March 16, 2019

THIS IS WHAT VALOR LOOKS LIKE

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What do I know of my mother falling
dead at my teenage feet.

What do I know of being
blown apart in body
and spirit
at the hands of an enemy I didn’t choose.

What do I know of channeling
raging pain
into charity for my fellow man.

What do I know of love
born of anguish.
This, benevolent and boundless.

What do I know of smiling
eyes, lips, heart
for every being in my path.

What do I know of heroism
but for you?

 

© Marie Elena Good, edited 2019

(original penned 2013)

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March 13, 2019

BY NO MEANS

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By no means do I like to travel
On water, air, pavement, or gravel.
So by all means, go.
I’ll stay put. (You know,
Ain’t pretty to see me unravel).

© Marie Elena Good, 2019

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March 3, 2019

TRI-ANGLES

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Photo by Deanna Marie Metts

I.

They say we shouldn’t talk politics or religion
so, religiously,
we blind our eyes,
plug our ears,
close our minds,
and open our mouths.

II.

They say we shouldn’t talk politics or religion
so, religiously,
we shun politics
while we de-bate what hooked us
and dragged us to our knees.

III.

They say we shouldn’t talk politics or religion
so, religiously,
we set our jaws, and type
with furious fingers –
too often the same fingers that have
never cast a ballot,
raised themselves to seek answers to questions,
nor folded themselves to silently seek the
One
we religiously shun.

 

© Marie Elena Good, 2019

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February 24, 2019

ENDOWED, ALL

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When I consider He who made all things,
In awe, I bow before this King of kings –
This One whose creativity’s arrayed,
And in whose image, we have all been made.

Creator, He, and so creators, we.
He gifted us with this ability.
So all creative ways point to our God.
Let us then recognize, give thanks, and laud.

 

© Marie Elena Good, 2019

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February 18, 2019

ALL IN THE SAME BOAT (Or, “Idyllic,” a Sonnet for Political Sanity)

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Photo by Keith R. Good

When I consider all, from left to right,
I find myself smack dab in center’s eye.
But I am now okay with that, despite
The pressures of a partisan outcry.

Those right of me say I should think as they,
And fault me for the way I lean more left.
While to my left are those who stand dismayed
That I am not (in their minds) more “progressed.”

Yet are we not one vessel, stern to bow?
We need to row as one, or we will sink!
And so let’s work together to learn how
Our center, left, and right can interlink.

Let’s turn off the contemptuous hate speech,
And focus on the positives of each.

 
© Marie Elena Good, 2019

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February 13, 2019

UNSPOKEN

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PHOTO BY KEITH R. GOOD

She fights to connect.
Even her thoughts are wordless,
she says.  And I nod

as if I can grasp
telepathically , and
put music to it –

noting nuances
in tune with fluent fretting –
non-verbal vetting

of elusive words
she only needs for we who
don’t speak her spirit.

 

© Marie Elena Good

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February 10, 2019

THE VALUE OF FAMILY AND THIRTY FIVE DAYS

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One year ago, today,
we unexpectedly secured
a one-bedroom apartment for Dad,
and moved him into it.
It was just down the hall from Mom and Dad’s place,
where Mom had passed in the wee hours prior.

A back-and-forth blur
of family
furniture
clothes
drums
wood carvings and wood-carving tools
kitchen supplies
medications
wheelchairs
walkers
jazz,
and love,

until one space was empty,
and the other, full
of sunlight and life
that dared each other
shine.

Food followed.
A feast, really,
provided by cousins.
All of us squeezed
‘round a long table
with Dad at one end,
and Mom’s brother and her identical twin
at the other,
between which
more conversation and laughter managed to flow
than tears.

Who could have known
a mere thirty five days later,
the one-bedroom’s sunlight would be called to shine
alone.

© Marie Elena Good, 2019

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February 10, 2019

BRIGHT AS DAY

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It’s the meaning of her name,
and I claim there is something to it,
as in days of old testament.

But multiple impediments seized her

mind

energy

sight

voice.

Her very soul.

The whole of her,
splintered.

The light of her,
wintered.

But her God is not flawed,
nor silenced.
As her spirit returns
and yearns to be,
I see her flame ignite,
and hope shines
Bright as Day.

© Marie Elena Good, 2019

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January 31, 2019

MY INTERVIEW WITH POET CANDACE KUBINEC (“RHYMES WITH BUG”)

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CANDACE KUBINEC

 

COME READ THE INTERVIEW, HERE.

 

 

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January 27, 2019

MY STRENGTH AND MY SONG

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“The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him —  my father’s God, and I will exalt him!”  (Exodus 15:2)

My Strength and My Song

When weakness takes me to my knees,
My Father’s arms will lift me.
When terror causes me to freeze,
His truths set all my fears free.

My Father’s Son became my Lord
When I was just a child.
To Trinity’s melodious chord,
My soul was reconciled.

I feel His might.  I hear His voice –
Astounding grace extended
From One whose love compelled His choice:
From Heav’n above, descended.

He is my strength.  He is my song.
I hear His vict’ry ringing!
He’s held my heart my whole life long –
How can I keep from singing?

© Marie Elena Good, 2019

Cadence and final line are both from the Christian hymn “My Life Flows On,” often attributed to Robert Lowry (1826-1899)

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