'Marco Sounds the Shofar"

 

MARCO SOUNDS THE SHOFAR

Israel Pilgrimage—2006

 

Marco bought a shofar in Galilee—

a long and spiraled Yemenite shofar

made from the horn

of a kudo antelope

 

With a deep and steady breath

Marco blows its harrowing thunder

over the Mount of Olives

the Western Wall

the Jordan River

and just about every site

we visit in holy Zion

 

trumpeting its long distinctive wail

to jolt us from our complacency—

 

Wake up!

 

Warning all hearers:

 

Prepare! Repent!

 

Wake up! Oh Sleepers—

Wake up! and follow the Lord, your God!

 

Anne brought her tambourine

from New Jersey—

It’s shaped like a Star of David

Colorful ribbons stream

from its six points

 

Like Miriam, Anne lifts it high

and dances with delight

praising Adonai with worshipful women

from all over the world

as their swirling skirts sweep the ground

It’s Shabbat, in Jerusalem

at the Western Wall

 

and I bought a tallit in Tiberius—

blue and white like the Israeli flag

with knotted fringes in the corners

to remind me God’s promises are true

 

a traditional prayer shawl

to wrap snuggly around my shoulders

like God’s loving arms

enfolding me

as I pray

 

Maude Carolan Pych

Would you like to read more of my poems?

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!" by Maude Carolan Pych, a compilation of poems about the Birth, Death and Resurrection of Jesus, written over a span of thirty years. It is available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, etc.

 

SUNFLOWERS

Lafayette, New Jersey, September 1, 2001

 

God’s abundance wows me

from a sprawling field of sunflowers

which tower above

on thick woody stalks

 

They lift great ochre heads

framed in ragged haloes

of yellow gold

to shine sunrays upon me

like God’s own radiant face

amid a communion of saints

and I must smile back

 

Their leaves

are big green hearts

In their midst

my own heart

grows and greens

 

How God loves me!

He astonishes His child

with wondrous whimsies

 

Soon, when the season ends

they’ll just nod their weary heads

and shed their golden haloes

on the ground

 

and bequeath their gift of seed

to ravens of the air

which will feast festively

upon God’s abundance

unto them

 

Maude Carolan

Would you like to read more of Maude's poems?

 "Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online

at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD.

"Sunflowers Make Me Smile"

 

"Sunflower" by Maude

SUNFLOWERS MAKE ME SMILE

 

Sunflowers make me smile—

because they’re absolutely outrageous!

They’re taller than a beanstalk

and way, way larger than a flower should be

 

They easily pass me in height

and keep right on growing

Each stately stalk and its sturdy leaves

go up, up, up like a ladder to Heaven

and when that flower bursts into bloom

it lights up my whole backyard

like the sun’s come down for a visit

All the shaggy petals are golden sun rays

shining upon me, while

the bees buzz busily

sucking in nectar

 

I think God made sunflowers

to cause us to look up and take notice

of His handiwork and His generosity

 

His Love, too! The bigness of it!

His magnificent magnanimousness!

 

Oh! It’s certainly no wonder—

Whenever I see sunflowers

they always, always, always make me smile J

 

Maude Carolan Pych

The Dead Sea, Israel

 The poem I want to share with you today was written about one of my favorite places on Earth. While on pilgrimage, after a day of touring, some of us decided to take an early evening break and went for a luxurious dip in the great salt lake known as The Dead Sea.

DEAD SEA DELIGHTS

Israel Pilgrimage—2006

 

Earlier today

while bussing

through the region

brilliant sunrays illuminated

the Dead Sea

bedazzling us

with sparkling expanses

of cerulean and turquoise

 

Now, amid evening shadows

some of us slip into the sea

 

There is ample darkness

so we dare to reach down

for handfuls of rich

black, therapeutic mud

and slather it lavishly

over our face and body

 

It’s November—

the air is cool

as is the sea

nevertheless

we linger

bobbing buoyantly

in extreme saltiness

 

as the precious muck

squishes and oozes

through our toes, reminding us

of when we were kids

 

Maude Carolan Pych

"Metamorphosis"

Metamorphosis of a monarch butterfly.

METAMORPHOSIS

 

Once I was a caterpillar, dwelling upon the earth,

crawling along day by day, adept at feigning mirth.

I only knew the earthy life; I thought that that was it;

I took what terra firma gave, the pleasures and the grit.

There was no beauty in me.  No one ever looked here twice,

Few cared if I were evil; no one knew if I were nice.

I was only concerned with myself, what the earth could give,

yet, inside I was sensing a far better way to live.

Instinct led me to spin a thread and weave a neat cocoon;

I became a living mummy, wrapped tight within my tomb.

What was happening to me?  I tried to kick and shout,

“Help me!  Open up this thing!  I want to get right out!”

No one heard and I was powerless, so I went to sleep,

not knowing what was ahead of me, feeling something deep.

I don’t know how much time went by within my tiny tomb,

but sensed that I was being changed, as one inside a womb.

Finally, instinct worked in me.  There was a sudden urge

to break out of my chrysalis and from the dark emerge.

Somehow, I then received the strength to burst my being free;

Alas, the golden Light broke through and there was a new me!

I took some time to understand, some time to wonder why,

then I just shook myself a bit and I began to fly!

And `lo, I was so beautiful, and `lo, I saw the sun...

Oh, after living on the earth, soaring was great fun!

A wretched worm was I no more; I knew that fact was true,

I was reborn and I became a creation wholly new!

A butterfly!  A butterfly!  I received my wings,

glorious splendors of the Heavens, all the higher things.

All old things have passed away; they’ll never come again;

I’ve set my mind on things above, on these I will attend.

Now, even when I swoop to earth and walk upon the ground,

I’ll never be a worm again...I’m Butterfly...glory bound!

Praise God for metamorphosis, it’s by His loving grace

that I’m a new creation now, and I shall see His Face.

 

Maude Carolan

"Sky Dancers"

I planted a butterfly bush and milkweed in the hope of helping the endangered monarch butterflies. I've seen three monarchs so far this summer and hope for more, perhaps a bright bunch of sky dancers like the ones pictured here...

SKY DANCERS

 

There's something happy about butterflies.

They flit-flitter as they flutter by,

flying flowers against the azure sky.

 

They alight upon the milkweed, and then

they circle, soar and alight again,

toe-dancing on pink petals in the glen.

 

Ever dwelling in hue and sweet fragrance,

in garden splendor they flicker as they dance.

Pollination is purely happenstance.

 

I delight in their overflow of joy.

(They wouldn't even know how to be coy.)

A flame of mirth! A whirligig! A toy!

 

Do they recall they once were grubby worms,

remember well their dark and squiggly squirms?

Reborn, now grace and beauty each affirms!

 

This almost seems to be sheer fantasy,

sky dancers as enchanting as can be,

springing from blossoms right in front of me!

 

So, merrily a-nectaring they go,

reaping and sowing sweetness in day-glow…

Seems they have learned what all of us should know.

 

In contemplation of their simple ways,

I wish to add their ballet to my days,

to sky dance gracefully on wings of praise!

 

Maude Carolan Pych

It's Butterfly Season

My last blog post was May 26th. A few days after that my computer quit. I went shopping with my daughter Beth and grandson Dean and selected a new laptop. Dean set it up for me and has been helping me get used to it because there've been lots of changes since my old unit which was about fifteen years old. With a little luck this will be the first post using my brand new Lenova computer.

The poem I'm sharing today is an oldie. It is about a visit to the Butterfly Pavillion in Westminster, Colorado in 2007. We took our granddaughter Isabel, now grown-up and in college, but then three years old.

 

ISABEL VISITS THE BUTTERFLY PAVILION

Westminster, Colorado ~~~August 21, 2007

 

'Twas a magical land for Isabel, three

a tropical rain-forest, lush and misty

 

dense with fern, bright hibiscus and leafy trees

lazy old turtles, a muddy swamp, no breeze

 

Fluttering way up high, coasting low, low, low

thousands of butterflies gave a sky-dance show

 

They glided and swirled around us everywhere…

above, around us; we had wings in our hair!

 

Vibrant creations, every colorful hue

flaming red, orange, green and electric blue!

 

On Isabel, a mariposa alighted

Was she afraid? No. Issy was delighted!

 

She spied a swallowtail asleep in a tree

Our little girl picked it up, most carefully

 

then she set the yellow creature free…oh, my!

It flew off happily…fast as it could fly!

 

Caterpillars, chrysalises, some breaking free…

Winged ones as fanciful as insects can be!

 

In a special kiosk, a fine artist drew

with bright paint on children, butterfly tattoos

 

Issy selected a beauty she liked lots—

a splendid specimen with green polka dots!

 

That evening she told of all the fun she had

and showed her painted tattoo to Mom and Dad

 

Maude Carolan Pych

2007 Revised 8/24/14