Photo by Keith R. Good
I see and hear the birds, the deer,
the kids that play across the way.
I feel the breeze, and watch the trees react,
and I make eye contact with Chickadee.
I smile as he rests on my sill.
Then I refill my coffee mug,
sit snug and still and know
the golden glow of morning sun,
and glorious One who made it rise
and harmonize with all I see
outside my window;
inside me.
© Marie Elena Good, 2020
Photo by Keith R. Good
Every crisis in my life
has left expected tinges
I wish were erasable,
but also unforeseen traces
of the embraceable.
© Marie Elena Good, 2020
Imprint in Concrete photo by Keith R. Good
We’re navigating
necessary conversions
to our way of life.
Maybe we’ve traded
trite for substance. And maybe
we can keep the change.
© Marie Elena Good, 2020
Photo credit: Keith R. Good
Wake up beautiful
Cute high heels, good for my feet
Feel pretty daily
No-pain fun workouts
Tasty food without weight gain
Flattering clothes, all
Snow with no slipping
Nightly beach stroll with no bugs
Flowers with no weeds
Warmth with no sweating
Nice chill with no shivering
Charcoal clouds with sun
Endless connections
Continuous potential
World with no borders
Love without judgement
Hard truths spread with soft edges
Loved. No exceptions.
© Marie Elena Good, 2020
This is an age of unbroken connection.
Our fingertips tap into instant links.
We’ve little tolerance for imperfection,
And as our ego grows, our goodwill shrinks.
And in this age of unbroken connection,
Our face-to-face relationships have waned.
Resulting loss of physical affection
May render us emotionally maimed.
Now suddenly a time of social distance
Is thrust upon us necessarily.
Most look for ways to be of some assistance,
And find these ways, extraordinarily.
I’m thankful in this time of social distance
For God, who binds my drifting heart to His.
Our Father God pursues us with persistence.
Be still, and let Him show you who He is.
© Marie Elena Good, 2020
Quick note: My last three lines include words and truths from scripture, and from a long-loved hymn, as follows:
“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” by Robert Robinson includes the phrase of prayer, “Bind my wandering heart to thee.”
The Bible overflows with God’s pursuit of us, including Psalm 139.
Psalm 46:10 tells us, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Photo by Keith R. Good, 2014
“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” From The Go-Between, by L.P. Hartley
Hindsight is a curious thing.
It can swing from delight
to fright, and anything between.
I mean, we’ve seen the ways
the history books make crooks
look chaste. But oh,
the aftertaste.
And who would know
we owe apologies for
theologies twisted,
persisted, and falsely
scripted.
As we become aware
and lay bare the lies,
our own past appears
foreign in our eyes.
Don’t bury the dead.
Look behind; look ahead.
Yearn for better days.
Find better ways.
Learn who we are.
Raise the bar.
© Marie Elena Good, 2020
Photo by Keith R. Good
Pigeons in Ash Cave
Sound more like humans trying
To sound pigeon-like. 😉
(c) Marie Elena Good 2019
#57519
#hockinghills
#ashcave
Conkles Hollow Rim Trail (200 feet above the floor). Photo by Keith R. Good
Some young couples hike
the rim trail with their babies.
I smile, while cringing.
(c) Marie Elena Good, 2019
Photo by Keith R. Good
Sleep came,
but the dreams that accompanied it
were disturbing
and all I could do was pray for peace
as worry for her threatened to devour me.
Disquiet was my life for months
and months
and months.
Then one night I found myself
walking a path of undisturbed snow.
The moon was my only light –
just enough to illumine the path,
glisten against the falling snowflakes,
and reveal the immense evergreen forest.
There was silence,
save the calming crunch
of snow beneath my feet.
I walked the breathtaking beauty all night,
accompanied by One who knows me intimately –
the only One who offers stillness
in the midst of turbulence.
© Marie Elena Good, 2019
“… and he said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still.’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” ~ Mark 4:39
Photo by Keith R. Good
The song of love
when your eyes go soft.
Questions that beg response
in the furrow of your brow.
Curses
in the setting of your jaw.
Sincere contrition
in your entire countenance.
Lines from Moonstruck
in the sudden glint of your eye
and grin of your lips.
“You look good,”
in the slight lift of one brow.
More clearly than your voice,
I hear your face.
© Marie Elena Good, 2019
