Martin, Mary, & the Moon

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Linking with Poets & Storytellers for Writers' Pantry #23

We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own.

  ~Ben Sweetland

True words linger like memories of the moon

washing out doubt's shadow

giving hope a lit stage

for there are those that listen

and those that speak

poets that spark fires

and heroes that live by a brighter light

their tracks in the snow lead the way

and if you watch the moon

it follows too

brilliant light flows wide and long

and true words always linger

like memories of the moon

as imprints upon our heart.

This is dedicated to Marin Luther King Jr, Mary Oliver, and so many that are boldly inspiring change in this world.  They are the ones who enlighten and move others with a brilliant light that lasts many lifetimes to come.

©Carrie Van Horn 2020

Hoarding the Light

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Linking with the Sunday Muse for Muse # 75

"We are star stuff which has taken it's destiny into it's own hands."

~Carl Sagan

Note: It was when I was a child that I learned to hold on tight

keeping all I could call my own

and clutch on to it with all my might

my whole adulthood I have been learning

to simply let it go.....

You Cannot Cage an Orb of Light but You Can Cage Your Own Heart,

To the east their hearts held loneliness

To the west it was a certain fear

In-between there was a desolation

That spread like a woman’s tears

Then one day an orb of light arrived

That lit up their hearts and the sky

So desperate they would lose it

They took to ropes ladders and ties

Trying to hold it down

It lasted about one day

And then the orb was gone

They couldn’t make it stay

I wonder if they would have let it freely stand

Maybe it would have chosen to remain

Some things cannot be caged

But what our hearts choose to hold

is truly within our hands

Silence Has a Blackness

Photo by Isabella Mariana from Pexels

Linking with the Sunday Muse for Muse # 49

Come join us!

There are times when silence has the loudest voice. ~Leroy Brownlow

I was raised in a house

that made more sounds

 than the voices that it held

 creeks in the night 

whistling windows

steps that whined louder

 than a child wanting more

old secrets walked the rooms

with colorful voices

that only faith and children

could truly see

silence has a blackness

darker than coal

but it always catches the light

brightly once truth has a chance to shine.

©Carrie Van Horn 2019

Light Is A Lover With Long Blonde Hair

photo by Kelsey Hannah

 Linking with Poetry Pantry #221 at Poet's United

Thank you Mary. 

Light, God's eldest daughter...  ~Thomas Fuller

Light is a lover with long blonde hair

she reaches out like an heiress

full of beauty yet no cares.

Her touch is warm and soothing

that lies full weight upon the skin

 as she looks hard in your direction

but she will never let you in.

She holds a subtle power that

overtakes the darkest place

bringing forth a certain glory

though you will never view her face.

Don't Be a "Scaredy Cat"

Courtesy Google Images 

 

 

Hope is much like a cat in the Dark — you only know it's there by the reflection of its eyes — which means there is Light nearby. ~Terri Guillemets




Wishing everyone in "blog-land" a wonderful Halloween.  May you eat too much candy and hear the giggling of children all night.

First Cousins Once Removed

"In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't."  ~Blaise Pascal

They touch just at

the fringe of brilliance

and the edge of the obscure

as their descent

both rises and falls

from the same force

where one's exhale

is vapor for the other

a lineage that spans

beyond our vision

above our own design

they are relatives

in a world

where oracles

can only be found

by blind faith

light and shadow

both accentuate

the other

each one

showing contrast

serving a purpose

to decide

what is

and what is not

consider this

a test

that no other

can answer for you

you must see it for yourself.

linking with Poetry Jam This week's theme is "Shadows".

Light's Journey

Andrew Wyeth, The Revenant, 1949

Magpie #82

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything,
That's how the light gets in.
~Leonard Cohen

Light's journey like hope radiates outward

penetrating all openings

every splintered gap

each and every crack

broken boards

and broken hearts

reaching all points of breach

until the farthest place is attained

then like karma on the passage back

it's illumination reflects like glass

a brilliant glimpse of hope.



The Keepers And The Swift

Magpie #34

When I was an older child, I was fascinated by running my fingers swiftly through the flickering flame...it seemed as if my fingers, and the flame for a moment were within each others embrace...but I was careful to not linger...all too aware of the sting that could remain.  Some lovers can be that way...fasinated by the warmth of the embrace, yet they will not linger, for they are afraid of getting burned.

We long for the spark of something more

warmth of light enveloping an empty orb

solitude extinguished and kinship ignited

with one touch of the match onto the wick

yet once the flicker transforms into

a steady flame

a mystery smolders in the light

some hearts will hold the flame true

like a sturdy lamp

embracing the beauty's glow

and it's sting

but like the scattering of dry leaves

some lovers swiftly move on

for fear of getting burned.

I recently went with my husband to his 30 year class reunion.  There were many people there with the same old story; they had married, had children, divorced, and started new families with grandchildren as well.  But amongst the many, there were two couples that had been highschool sweethearts, married in highschool, and were still together to this day.  I became completely fascinated by them.  When I had a chance, I asked one of them what their secret was...she simply replied "we were friends from the start and we are friends now."...but there is more that I can add to this observatiion.  When the music started and the DJ invited the couples to come on down, they were the first couples out there, and when the last song played they were still out there dancing their hearts out. You could tell that they embraced life whole heartedly.  I realize now, they are what you call true "keepers of the flame".

Visit beautiful Willow's Magpie Tales to read more...