how the
trumpet vines
grew on the wall
of my mother’s home
glorious
like her faith
her unconditional love
when God said
“It’s time…”
My poem was also published in Bell’s Letters 135, February 2011.
Love endures and grows beyond grief. I am grateful every day.
Ellen Grace Olinger
Skeins of geese flying
To our neighbor Canada
A brand new chapter
Books arriving in the mail
Songs of beauty and courage
Bell’s Letters Poet And The Ratings For No. 136 (post from 2011). Readers enjoy this poem. Thank you.
Images: wpclipart
driving across
a new bridge
on an old road
Daily Haiku: November 8, 2018
Charlotte Digregorio’s Writer’s Blog
January thaw . . .
letting go
of old heartaches
Published in A Splash of Water: Haiku Society of America 2015 Members’ Anthology, edited by Catherine J.S. Lee.
poems we read
again and again
washing an old plate
the pattern
still new
A favorite blog poem
turning the vase
of flowers
learning
there are
more roses
Published in Bell’s Letters Poet
The rose is courtesy of wpclipart.
Poems are by Ellen Grace Olinger.
This is another beautiful photo by Karl from yesterday.
Poems from my archives, inspired by bleeding hearts:
old photos
on my desk —
bleeding hearts in bloom
Published first in Time Of Singing (1994). Also reprinted with the poems selected for my Poet Profile at The Haiku Foundation.
AUTUMN GRACE
leaves of bleeding hearts
now gold
so do broken hearts mend
so does grief heal
Autumn grace
Published by Bell’s Letters Poet, SMILE, and WestWard Quarterly.
Ellen Grace Olinger
I received the new WestWard Quarterly, The Magazine of Family Reading (Spring 2019). Shirley Anne Leonard is the Editor, and Dr. Richard Leonard is the Publisher. They kindly published the small ad Karl and I wrote for this blog. We invite readers of WestWard Quarterly to visit.
These are a few of my poems from WestWard Quarterly, that were published there over the years. This is a print magazine, with a website.
AUTUMN GRACE
leaves of bleeding hearts
now gold
so do broken hearts mend
so does grief heal
Autumn grace
(also published by Bell’s Letters Poet and SMILE)
Monday
and planning
the week
what will grow
what should rest
reading
in a sunny corner
of the house
I could be
any age
Ellen Grace Olinger
Winter North Beauty
these roads
I love these roads
over so many years
different views
of Lake Michigan
houses and barns
with one wreath
a few lights
fields at rest
and dairy farms
family restaurants
with good food
and service
home
love for you
became her care
until she joined you there
grief gives way to fields and wind
and now I hear your voice again
Written for my father years ago, and published in Bell’s Letters. I still remember driving home and being given this poem.
There is no fear in love;
but perfect love casteth out fear…
We love him, because he first loved us.
I John 4: 18a and 19 (KJV)
Ellen Grace Olinger
Kiwanis Park
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
August 22, 2018
Photos by Karl
CONTRASTS
cold winds in predawn hours
gentle music and a cup of coffee
stir-fried vegetables in olive oil
Autumn so swift this year
time now for a long project or two
let the days grow short, read and rest
clouds hover over small space for sun
wear a bright sweater, look at the gold leaves
store it all for a winter of faith
HOW EASY TODAY
falling leaves
and silent sunrise
how easy today
to let go of old dreams
cook some eggs
wash the dishes
write this poem
The first two poems are from 2012.
carrots, cabbage
spinach, radishes
and faded flower bouquets
food on the snow
for a rabbit
This poem is from January 2016. When snow covered the garden, a rabbit began eating the bark from the cotoneaster branches that were bowed to the ground.
gulls lifting
from the sand
corn an inch tall
Published in SMILE (2009, 2010); Bell’s Letters Poet (2010).
Ellen Grace Olinger
Poems From Oostburg, Wisconsin 