beloved country roads
the images that went
past my mind and
to my soul
now old friends
and around the bend
seagulls rise
from corn stubble
Winter fields
a new week . . .
sky the color
of overnight
snowfall
white and green branches
stillness of evergreens
blue sky
and sun shines
on the snow
that rests on
evergreen trees
shadows of trees
on the snow that
covers the path,
flower gardens,
and lawn
if the weather is not
too severe –
I thought of patients needing
to see their caregivers now, and
when I needed to reach my mother,
teach a class –
there is a solitude
a quiet now
like no other time
of the year
Ellen Grace Olinger
reading poetry
from books and journals
recently in the mail
and also on my shelves
for a time
and for a different
sense of time
the new sun
on the birch trees
in the back yard
January 2015
Ellen Grace Olinger
evergreen branches
fill part of the sky
without the ash tree
words that are tears
may be harder to write
and this is just fine
sometimes I read a poem
years later and remember
my emotions
do I revise the poem?
improve the craft?
sometimes yes
and the change
may be small
but only if I do not
lose the voice of the
person I was then
who wrote the poem
Thou tellest my wanderings:
put thou my tears into thy bottle:
are they not in the book?
Psalm 56: 8 (KJV)
This is such a beautiful verse from the Psalms, and I wanted to quote again. I have wandered too – needed to start over, begin again. I can only imagine living where you grew up, or a career of decades. Or being a mother and grandmother. There are many beautiful ways to live. I know I am dependent upon the skills and gifts of others. Good to both give and receive. Say thank you as often as I can.
I am so grateful for the life I have been given. Illnesses and health conditions I have known, still know, are now my teachers and friends. A quiet life keeps me well, and blogs are the perfect way for me to create. I have more fluency again. Yet when I first learned, and other times, I might spend a few hours on a post that takes a few moments to read or view. Or let posts rest for a time. So far, my creativity always renews. Patience is a part of the process.
When I can live in a way that offers silence and space for poems, the poems arrive in time. I try to manage my time, so the poems feel welcome. Daily dedication, and content with small steps.
Thank you and blessings,
Ellen Grace Olinger
Poems From Oostburg, Wisconsin 