Saturday, October 29, 2011

In the Clouds

Lenticular clouds,
like massive, motionless UFOs,
hover at high altitudes
over snowcapped mountain peaks.
They appear deceptively tranquil.

Vigilant jet pilots avoid
these aggressively turbulent clouds,
the severe rising and falling masses
of air and moisture
teeming with precarious wind currents.

Intrepid glider pilots gravitate
directly toward them,
eagerly seeking them out
to rise
with the thrill of the wave
to astounding altitudes,
then to plummet,
soaring at record breaking speeds
for an electrifying adrenalin rush.

Me?
I just want
to gaze at them


...and dream

Friday, October 28, 2011

Some Words

Some words
are clearly understood:

secretive
kindness
daring

…or they can be ambiguous:

surreptitious
chivalry
audacity

It’s all a matter of
presentation

… or staging
appearance
usage

What? Where? Why? How? Who? What?

What?
“Praise the Lord!”

Where?
“Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.”

Why?
Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.”

How?
“Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.”

Who?
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”

What?
“Praise the Lord!”
~Psalm 150                                                                  

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Rain in a Shoebox

Collect some cool rain in a shoebox,
gather sunshine in a jar,
pile up together
some cold snowy weather
to store in the trunk of your car.

Carry these elements with you
to have at your beck and your call
wherever you go,
for you just never know
when you’ll need them, so keep some of all.

“Why, that’s silly!” you say, “I can’t do that;
rain in a box isn’t cool.
As for holding the sun,
it just shines then it’s done,
and my snowy trunk would be a pool.”

“It’s outrageous to even suggest this!
These forms of containment are wrong.
A box and a jar
and a trunk of a car
cannot hold what you say should belong.”

Just as God caused the manna from heaven
to fall to the ground where it lay,
and gave clear command
to gather by hand
only what was enough for the day,

so it is that He offers His blessings
to descend upon where we abide.
He is faithful and true
to His word.  He will do
as He promised us;  God will provide.

“Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving,
…Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who provides rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the mountains…”
~Psalm 147:7,8

“The Lord will give strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace.”
~Psalm 29:11

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Laughter

There is nothing quite like
laughter with old friends,

comfortable, easy laughter,
a natural extension of longtime friendship…

..a friendship
tested by trials,
established through tears,
enabled by encouragement,
secured in trustworthiness,

…a friendship
sharing likeminded direction,
rejoicing in a common hope,
investing in prayer,
praying in faith,
dependent in forgiveness,
believing in Love.

“Beloved, let us love one another,
For love is of God…”
~I John 4:7

Friday, October 21, 2011

An Attractive Resistance

A delightfully steamy aroma ascends
Mmmmm…  so delicious!
Hands reach cautiously
tapping ever so gently
against the sides of the cup

Hot!... too hot.

Hands jerk away
shaking off the sudden searing pain signals
A fitting reaction to
an attractive resistance

…and there it sits
Taunting enthusiastic eyes
as a foreseeing pallet awaits
longing for just a small taste
to take in the fullness of its flavor
to satisfy the longing for its encouragement
to fulfill the anticipation of enjoyment

Cleverly
using a folded cloth
hands determine to captivate
this alluring deliciousness

A wary mouth
hovers as closely as possible
yet remains standoffish
not daring to close the distance
until reassurance of safety
is decided
defined
declared

Waves
ripple across the surface
as lips gently blow
with hope of fast-forwarding
the cooling process
Just a sip…

Hot!  … too hot.

Mouth jerks away
blowing and licking off the sudden searing pain signals
A fitting reaction to
an attractive resistance

Yet inviting messages
unceasing in their tactical advances
continue to streamline aromatic appeal
accentuate hopeful potential
entreat creative methodology

…insistent that there is value
in steady pursuit
to attain the goal
to take in its warmth
to ingest its goodness
to treasure its flavor

… even at risk of being burned

And so it is
with friendship
"A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity." 
~Proverbs 17:17

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Waves of Mercy

Sound waves
intangible, merely perceptions,
entering a narrow, curved passage.

A wall,
fragile, delicate
yet strangely impermeable,
permitting admittance to sound alone.

Sound knocks.
Echoes magnify,
swirling inward within tapering coils,
increasingly confining, constricting,
focus intensifying
until each sound wave
is captured, imprisoned
within relentless confines of final destiny.
Abruptly and without ceremony,
sound is put to death.

Sound is no more.
Not one wave embarks upon a return voyage;
sound utterly ceases to exist.

What is sound without mercy?

Messages carried by martyred waves
received by the mind of sincerity,
rebuffed by limitation of humanity,
relinquished by the heart of humility,
regenerated by the Occupant of the soul
giving birth to thought, to voice, to discernment,
offering increase to insight,
to wisdom, to hope,
to life.
“They were all amazed at the greatness of God. 
But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing,
He said to His disciples,
‘Let these words sink into your ears;
for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.’ 
But they did not understand this statement,
and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it…”
~Luke 9:43-45

“My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow Me
and I give eternal life to them…”
~John 10:27,28

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Kingdom Monera

Offspring Bacterium:  (with a sad expression) “Mom…  um….  I mean…  Donor?”

Donor Bacterium:  (concerned) “Yes, my little… or actually same-sized… offspring, what’s wrong?”

Offspring Bacterium:  (sniffing and itching capsule with its fimbria) “I don’t feel well.  Am I leaking cytoplasm?”

Donor Bacterium:  “Hmmm… maybe you have a virus.” 

Offspring Bacterium:  “Well, it can’t be a bacterium because, well, I already am one.”

Donor Bacterium:  “You do look a bit… yellow.  ”

Offspring Bacterium:  “Please may you conjugate me a plasmid with a few of those random pieces of DNA particles over there?”

Donor Bacterium: (sighs tiredly) “I was just on my way to the host’s nose party.  And in about 20 minutes, my next offspring is due.  This is such a busy season, honey.”

Offspring Bacterium:  “I haven’t been connecting my plasmid with bad DNA, honest!”

Donor Bacterium:  “Why don’t you propel your flagellum over to the Nonfunctional Donor Cell Mart and ask someone in the Transformation department to help you diversify your genetic code.  Poor little saprophyte!  I’m sure they’ve got some traits you could absorb.... but try not to sneeze on anyone.”
… (then mumbling to itself) “Ugh… transduction season!  Why can’t viruses mind their own business?!”

Offspring Bacterium:  (sighing heavily)  “Yes, Donor.”


(propel… propel… propel…)


Offspring Bacterium: (arriving at Nonfunctional Donor Cell Mart) “Um… excuse me.”

NFCM Employee Bacterium:  “May I help you?”

Offspring Bacterium:  (looking over the appetizing selection of DNA pieces floating around)  “Yes, I have a virus and was wondering if you could pass a plasmid of… um… That One!... Oh, yes please!!!”

NFCM Employee Bacterium:  “Certainly… I happen to have exactly what you need right here.   If you’ll step this way…  There, now we’ll form a conjugation tube between us and… there’s a strand for you.  Got it?”

Offspring Bacterium:  “Yes, thank you so much!  How much do I owe you?”

NFCM Employee Bacterium:  “No charge, dear.  I still have one strand like the one I gave to you.   Have a nice day!”

Offspring Bacterium:  “Wow!  Gee, thanks a lot!  I feel like a million ribosomes!”
~ae