Pretty Good Match

I have been writing poetry lately– actually quite a bit. But it's all in the form of song lyrics and the songs are still being formed. I finished this one within a day so that I could publish it on Valentine's Day:



Thanks for watching– there are more songs to come!

December Rhymes With Remember, songified

Here's the last poem I wrote, "December Rhymes With Remember," turned into a song.

December Rhymes with Remember

December rhymes with remember.
I remember liking the snow
and loving the feeling of sugar highs reeling
and dancing to Mannheim on the stereo.

Christmas pretty much rhymes with wish lists
for new stuff and happy days of yore.
But I'm sure my first year I just wanted mom near.
My wish list was love and not much more.

I can't make Christmas feel like Christmas.
I might have to feel like a child.
But I'm all grown up and sometimes I feel down.
Like when all of the carols rhyme child with mild.

Maybe Mary felt down sometimes,
whether or not she was mild.
She had some stress and some things on her chest
that she'd have to ponder awhile.

The wise men who brought Jesus three gifts
weren't wishing to go back in time.
Nostalgia lay dead when they turned their heads,
a new life, a new king to find.

And Jesus, he was just a baby.
He didn't look back, just above.
If we look back far enough, to what's newer than stuff,
like that baby, our list will be love.

Fragile

You had fallen down the stairs before,
my rough and tumble child.
And you got up to play some more.
You only had a little while.
I have brushed tears off your cheeks
and gravel from your knees.
But all our strength is still too weak
for this day's injury.

Aren't we all so fragile?
How fast we fall,
how carefully we must be handled.
How much we can take,
how suddenly we break…
Oh, how it aches to be this fragile.

You had fallen out of bounds before
with your rough and tumble heart.
But it wouldn't happen again, you swore.
When you felt that burning spark,
you brushed it off as quick as tears
so that you would be fine.
But all our strength is still too weak
to keep our strength in line.

Aren't we all so fragile?
How fast we fall,
how carefully we must be handled.
How much we can take,
how suddenly we break…
Oh, how it aches to be this fragile.

Oh God, take the pressure inside.
I am made of glass. I have no place to hide.
Can I ask, why did you make me so fragile?
Is that something you can handle?

Aren't we all so fragile?
How fast we fall,
how carefully we must be handled.
How much we can take,
how suddenly we break…
Oh, how it aches to be this fragile.

Creative

I tell my husband my ideas; some are smart, some just wild.
He says "Don't quit your day job!" as he smiles at our child,
and "Go for it! You're home, so what are you afraid of?"
I get to be a mom and I get to be a creative.

Caught Up

If you never know what it's like

to be caught up,

to cross off your whole list,

to have nothing left to do,

then at least

let yourself by caught up in love.

What About Ourselves

We make our homes beautiful
to sell them.
And what about ourselves?

Surprise

When you wake up in the morning with a list of things to do,
and a sleepy-headed husband says that there's a gift for you,
and that it's bigger than a breadbox and that it is upstairs,
and you look but cannot find an item waiting anywhere,
but you go outside to check if he forgot it in the car,
and you find a different car where you thought that you had parked…
well then jump up and down and turn around and quick run back inside
and run to the guest room and find your sleeping sister! That's a great surprise!

Hollow

I'll hide you in my bosom

like an owl in a hollow,

and you will find it full and warm

with sustenance to swallow.

Wasted

A husband buys his wife a gift,
something that she doesn't need,
something kind of frivolous.
The wife puts it in a good place
so when she needs it, it'll be safe.
So now it's lost. What a waste.
And who's the one who wasted?

Miserable

Child of mine, some days you'll think
I made your life miserable so you wouldn't get hurt.
But I want you to know that as you grow
that's not always going to work.
Some days I'll protect you despite your best efforts
but you'll get hurt anyway.
And someday you'll do it to your very own heart.
Maybe you'll play it too safe.

Heaven Forbid

Heaven forbid we share and feed.
People will think we're a charity.
Heaven forbid that word get out.
People will think that's what we're about.

Heaven forbid we give food away.
People might come, and then they might stay.
And helping them out would be really tough.
Even if they did tithe, it wouldn't be much.

Heaven forbid we go too far
If we open our hearts, while the door's ajar
a hundred people could walk in,
each with their issues, their needs and their sin.

Heaven forbid we give too much.
People would take advantage of us.
They'd always keep asking for more, more, more.
We might not have that much love in store.


When God lived as a human being,
word got out that he made the lame walk,
he fed the hungry, gave sight to the blind,
and people came to hear him talk.
But he didn't want people to say who he was
until he was just about ready to die.
You and I, at this church, are we ready to die?
If not, maybe we should go take down our sign.

Monogamously

To have and to hold,
which means just for me!
I love being married
monogamously.

For What It's Worth

"For what it's worth." What is it worth?
Think of today like a baby's birth
and when your baby marriage screams
when it should be cute and have sweet dreams,
just hold it like a tiny child
and don't let go. The ride is wild,
your fists will clench around your pride,
but let it go. Be groom and bride.
Your marriage will become your life
since that's how long you're man and wife.
This marriage will have a life of it's own,
as it comes to your lives as a babe to a home.
So care for it, swaddle it, teach it, and feed it.
Bring it to the doctor if it ever needs it.
And love your love's whole life on earth,
because that's what your marriage is worth.

Enough Is Enough

We spend so much time working
to pay for things to take up the time we are not working.
In the free time we buy, we shop, we sort, we fix, we clean,
we use, we move, we dispose of, and finally we scream,
"Enough is enough!
Let's stop with the stuff!
Let's work for what's needed
and live just to love!"

Creature Comfort

I'm glad to know I'm not my own
and that you're not mine either.
I'm glad my creator keeps us as his.
This comfort's made me a believer.

Care

Did Jesus ever see something and just choose not to care?
I know that Jesus cared a lot, but the question's fair.
Because I'm sure he saw some grease or tangles in some hairs,
and although he could have numbered them, maybe he just didn't care.

To Let Rest

True love lets him sleep till noon
or even past. I'll wake him soon,
but I have found, sometimes the best
way to love is to let rest.

Right Now

In the morning sun, when your shadow is long,

I see how you're growing, healthy and strong,

and how you will be so tall someday

and what a joy it will be to watch you play.

And when it is later, almost noon,

your shadow curls up, almost like a cocoon;

I remember when you were a baby just born

and I long to hold you like on your first morn.

And as the day goes, and the sun sets too fast,

I think of the present, the future and past,

and your shadow gets longer, and you're a day older

and a little voice whispers, "Right now– you should hold her."

Not Just Nice

Oh, let me not be like today,
sunshine spread across my face,
but with a heart as cold as ice.
Let me be loving, not just nice.