The Syrian and Family Beloved | Met him after sundown
His smoke break
Back of our building
Cool and quiet
One mourning dove
Serenading from lamp post
On the street.
A Syrian, here eleven years
Shy about his English usage
Studying at an ESL group.
Making progress but
... | Wayne Blair |
The Mountains Make Us Seem Smallish | Lake at Geneva Switzerland
(inspired by a beautiful Geneva image)
Just call into the empty
And echo sings back soon
The Alps are all around you
The sunny warmth of June.
The alpen flowers sparkle
Released from icy hold
... | Wayne Blair |
Yes it’s cancer…Sorry. | I can waste a body
I can shatter dreams
I can raise my threat
Through a thousand schemes.
I can rob a home
I can stunt a life
I can tear the bond
Of a man and wife.
I can pull the blind
Down on hope or joy
And the neighbours’talk
I will... | Wayne Blair |
At a Baby Shower…with joy. | The smiles and gifts
And games they play
The love they come to share
The hope of miracles anon
The food that's made with care.
The waiting and the learning now
Seem right as days reflect
A couple have brave journey soon
Full... | Wayne Blair |
Fellow Traveler | Comes along a traveler
In this common track
Steeped in simple kindness
Bringing goodwill back.
Just a little simple
Does he seem at first.
But he's real, compassionate.
Yes for same I thirst.
Oh the flaws are found there
... | Wayne Blair |
Presenced by Paraclete | A link to a website posting.
https://comftnhim.blogspot.com/2023/07/presenced-by-paraclete.html#more
Many churches receive little understanding of the person and power and imparted wisdom and guidance of the Holy Ghost. This website offers... | Wayne Blair |
A Cry from an Indian Wife | By Pauline Johnson
My forest brave, my Red-skin love, farewell;
We may not meet to-morrow; who can tell
What mighty ills befall our little band,
Or what you'll suffer from the white man's hand?
Here is your knife! I thought 'twas... | Wayne Blair |
Critique of poetry of Canadian Rienzi Crusz (born in Sri Lanka) | Crusz's preoccupation with poetics recurs in numerous poems. Of particular relevance in the present context is his own recognition that poetry revolves around metaphors. He says in the title poem of The Rain Doesn't Know Me Anymore
(which I read in... | Wayne Blair |
Can it be now a wrapup? | Can it be my work
In this place is done?
Had some ideas
Some metaphors
Som zany word choices
Some fun.
Some friends who gave
Real comment
Time to time.
Or asked an honest issue
That we might climb.
Thanks and sayonara.
All who love this... | Wayne Blair |
Psalm 37 at so many times… | John Wesley’s favourite Psalm.
British horseback Evangelist
Many uncertainties on
The Road of Witness.
But God was there
His constant provider, protector and
Friend.
Fret not.
Trust.
Delight.
Commit.
Wait.
... | Wayne Blair |
Susan Boyle Discovered…and how! | Coming from a small Scottish town
A might frumpish, ungarnished
Nervous sense of humour showing.
But then a pause
Entire audience still, eager
Wondering.
And Susan's voice exploded
Like incoming beams from Heaven.
With all... | Wayne Blair |
Jimbo the Busker, all smiles and tunes. | Knew him years before
Playing by the Grocery Store
Good guitar
And folk songs
Most would know.
Tambourine, harmonicas too.
Any time of day would do
Misty, chilly times too.
This his source of cash
His store.
Handyman yes, on the... | Wayne Blair |
So Go Ahead Lord | So go ahead
Disturb my sleep
Implant your lines
and phrases deep.
The topic has been
Bugging me for days.
A Mother’s fortitude
Undying Love
And tireless ways.
A little is my own
My Momma’s care.
She knew the words
The comfort... | Wayne Blair |
Thrill, Timing and Trouble of Heavy Sailing | Clearly coming it was
The dark wedge over Huron
Gusts, rage and rains
In a storm.
And the Race only
Half done with trusty
Crew of four.
Not a novel thing
Many storms battled before.
But each one its
Own pack of... | Wayne Blair |
Deepest Places of Worship | I have been in cloistered places
Where the atmosphere is grave
Once a murder in Cathedral
That the King could not stop, save.
But acoustics, Man they’re special
And the loneliness not bad.
Bringing worship’s deepest utterance.
... | Wayne Blair |
Boulevard Montmartre, Paris, 1850s | A famous print
Hangs in our living room
Luxury and ease pervade
No automobiles clutter
Much before that.
But elegant wagons
Walkers. Attendants.
Top hat or sweeping gown.
Poodle or whippet leashed.
Light poles with hanging flowers.
... | Wayne Blair |
I am formed from what? | I am nothing very special
Little bits of history, music, art
Deposits from my parents
Their equity of heart.
Their laughter at a story.
Their entertaining yen.
Their ears inclined to listen.
Oh to see them again.
To have a kitchen
... | Wayne Blair |
Rita MacNeil, genuine and warm. | In a former time
She was Belle of the East
Chanteuse Cape Breton
And Celtic the Feast.
Mellow her alto voice
Mellow her mien
Praising the salty air
Bracing and clean.
Praising the miners brave.
Down to the deep.
Men who... | Wayne Blair |
A trace of e e cummings | freedom is a breakfastfood
or truth can live with right and wrong
or molehills are from mountains made
-long enough and just so long
will being pay the rent of seem
and genius please the talentgang
and water most encourage flame
as... | Wayne Blair |
Legal-ease | Here Miss Para legal
Take this proof of death
Obituary sent to London Free Press
Notarized copy of Mom’s Last Will.
Morticians invoice.
Names and addresses of loved ones
Included.
Nothing complicated here.
Make things happen
Wouldjya?
... | Wayne Blair |
There’s a Friend who… | There’s a Friend who
Did me much good
His wife as well.
Both on disability.
Lay ministry in the past.
Storefront Church. Downtown.
Mostly the attendees had
Mental issues and grievous
Emotional needs.
Our two friends sparkled
With... | Wayne Blair |
Hot Again | Yep, the complaints have returned.
Days in the thirties
Centigrade.
Sweat tickles under the arms.
On the forehead and upper lip.
Women pat themselves
With talc, tsk, tsk.
The workmen around
That big street hole
Flaunt their orange
... | Wayne Blair |
Sad Confinement. Years long and weary. | My hair is grey, but not with years,
Nor grew it white
In a single night,
As men's have grown from sudden fears:
My limbs are bow'd, though not with toil,
But rusted with a vile repose,
For they have been a dungeon's spoil,
And mine... | Wayne Blair |
Prisoner of Chillon (tribute to lord byron, charles gordon) | A sad look at oppression by the state over faith
My hair is grey, but not with years,
Nor grew it white
In a single night,
As men's have grown from sudden fears:
My limbs are bow'd, though not with toil,
But rusted with a vile... | Wayne Blair |
The Affirmation Essential | http://histocall.blogspot.com/2021/12/affirmation-in-everyday.html
Do you get the simplicity?
Letting that Other Guy
Know he matters.
A smile or kind word removes
The grief and tatters.
Sit down face to face
Family is simply
Stopping,... | Wayne Blair |
Petersburg, 1979. | October calm
and earlier dusk.
Anton on bicycle
Scurries home.
Bread and some cheese
Picked up.
And four oranges.
Costly as silver.
Betje cooks the soup
Up on fifth floor.
Her partner is coming.
Her life
Her laughter.
He’s been at
... | Wayne Blair |
Sorry Fire Story, Manhatten NYC, 1911. | From Wikipedia
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on Saturday, March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in U.S.... | Wayne Blair |
A Wiser Rescue | Upsets, turnarounds, stumbling
Happen every day
And much too soon
We take our tools
To fix it in some way.
No time to stop, reflect
A bit and hear the word of God
Why that is just delay, unwise
And to the world quite odd.
But why we... | Wayne Blair |
Harry Brown, devastotor. | Lives on a meagre
Military pension.
Former operative, British Marines.
Modest apartment.
Unseemly neighbourhood.
Close by favourite pub
For chess contests
With best friend Leonard.
The friend has a tough walk home
... | Wayne Blair |
Why church schism? | Can we just leave out
Denominations ?
What you do
What you don’t
With the Lord?
In the Elect, assuredly
Or a job to stay holy.
Speaking tongues
Or some prophetic word?
All these things
Making much for schism.
... | Wayne Blair |
A sampling of John Masefield (brilliant long narrative poems) | Slow up the hill the plough team plod,
Old Callow at the task of God,
Helped by man's wit, helped by the brute,
Turning a stubborn clay to fruit,
His eyes forever on some sign
To help him plough a perfect line.
At top of rise the plough team... | Wayne Blair |
Senor Wences. | He came on stage
All courtesy, smiles
And dapper outfit.
Ed* would give him
The enthused intro.
The man threw
His voice into puppets
Or a strange
Talking box…”sawright.”
Humour was always
Clean and current.
Seemed like voices
... | Wayne Blair |
Boy crippled, but not at all stopped…at age six. | I remember him
Very clearly
The bum legs
And magical trike.
The smile ever
Showing in challenge.
The sidewalk he liked.
I would be on
My way to the
Court House.
Some case full of
Ennui and pain.
But there was that kid
So... | Wayne Blair |
Queen Vicky, bless her soul. | She calls us
To the skirmish.
She calls us
From our leave.
The women say their goodbyes.
Scarce time to gripe
Or greave.
Our kit is packed
right quickly.
Blades all sharp and shine.
And rifles are Martinis
No better friend of mine.
... | Wayne Blair |
This Lamb a-wandering. | This little One
Caught a whiff
Of another pasture.
Sweeter it seemed.
Immensely inviting.
Before sun-up
Shepherd dozing.
He was off for
The Adventure.
Adventure?
Hordes of mosquitoes
In the low places.
Coyotes lurking
Behind bushes.... | Wayne Blair |
Why this Mess? Psalm 44 | All the cards
Are against us now
So it seems.
God of Jacob
You attend elsewhere.
Forget all our
Resolute obedience
Through the years.
Oh sure, there were slip-ups.
But tears and repentance
Worked their work.
Now... | Wayne Blair |
Angel Armies | Do I think of them much
Heavenly creatures
Immensely capable.
Assigned to protect
Those who stand as
Heirs of salvation.
The angelic bunch
Who guide, provide
Protect, advise, forewarn.
Warriors, messengers, supporters.
An angel gave... | Wayne Blair |
Banged Up Pup | Took to me
No time at all
Damp stairwell
Downtown Memphis.
Sort of a Doberman
Mixed with standard Poodle
I think.
An attractive dark brown.
But matted with
muck of the streets
Near misses
And neglect.
The bath was a battle.
... | Wayne Blair |
Horse Hand | They kept him around
The stables, corral
And Range leading
To the hills of history.
He grew up here
New Mexico days.
Boy no longer.
His 74th year.
There had been round-ups
From the wild places.
Herds free to run... | Wayne Blair |
Orillia Funeral (Lightfoot) | Here comes the Box
From polished black car
Handled slowly, respectfully
Weepingly by friends.
Gordy was the best.
Songs, images of Love
Doubt, Tragedy, Pursuit
Courageous doings
And carings.
“Pussywillows, Cattails, Soft... | Wayne Blair |
The Dog Takes the Cake | The dog thinks I’m alright
And I must get to
The Man through his pet.
No other way than that.
Wouldn’t work with a cat.
Main floor apartment building
Off the Elevator.
Pooch is all smiles
And overmuch tail wagging.
“Oh you’re just such a... | Wayne Blair |
At His Feet | It is enough that
He designs the Pathway.
Trials overcome by
Leaning on His power
Self-assurance just
A fool’s game with
Sad endings.
Clinging, yes unto
this very hour.
Comes to mind
Past times when
Rescue seemed doubtful.
God showed in... | Wayne Blair |
Prayer Closet | Again to be here
When none other might care.
Be the motive of fear
Or of gratitude rare.
I will run to this space
Just to unload my heart;
Yes a quieter place
Set a little apart.
And You come through the gray
In the brilliance of love
And... | Wayne Blair |
Night Janitors | All day long in bushes
Baby rabbit slept.
But with darkness coming
Little female lept.
Subdivision pavements
Room to jump and run.
Brother showed her play-time
Exercise and fun.
But a teenage driver
Home from party wild
Didn’t see the... | Wayne Blair |
Streetwise and a cardboard sign | With his second Wife.
Baby Son.
Guy in his fifties.
Housing up and down.
Questions and more questions.
Children’s Aid?
Disability watchdogs also.
He is at his post
On a traffic island
Under stoplights.
Casting down shame
And anger and... | Wayne Blair |
Oh, to disagree. | There is room to disagree
If the tempers stay in check
Fully canvas what we see
Not about one’s own red neck.
But it seems the Town’s gone soft
Wouldn’t dare to make some waves
Placid, milquetoast
Now the norm
Zest-less neutrals show most... | Wayne Blair |
Calvary: the rendering up. | Had He been able
To write with His own blood
and Fingers.
On tablet.
The import of His final services
And self-offering, passively.
The Testimony would have
Been complete.
The giving up of Himself.
Un-assisted by hateful,
heartless... | Wayne Blair |
Suffer Little Children | Children bound to toil and tears.Thought the shame of former years.
Woe, the heart that never hears.Some are fettered still.
Children bent to rake and hoe;Torn from play by plague's death-throe.
Scratching dust to make it grow.
Some are fettered... | Wayne Blair |
Malorie. Exceptional Suspense. | Sam and Mary Walsh
Actual names of parents
Living in North Peninsula, Michigan.
At the outset of horrors
Seventeen years ago.
Malorie read the purported
Book of Census.
And wondered. A reunion.
Four of those years spent
By a Mother with... | Wayne Blair |
Isaiah the sixty-fifth. | None will hurt nor destroy
In all my holy mountain
Having peace, praise
Purpose and plenty
Names of the godless
Forgotten by curse
Fire and destruction their wages.
But my people
The remnant who earnestly
Sought me with tears
They shall... | Wayne Blair |
And Now, King Charles III. | Long live the King!
May 6th, 2023.
Westminster Abbey.
The Robe was heavy
Upon donning.
The Crown a thought
Upon the mind.
Leaving all commonplace behind.
It’s duty, long awaited
Commonwealth contemplated.
And... | Wayne Blair |
Among the Hogs | Came to myself
And the sight was not pretty
Came to myself
In a mud-spattered mess.
Father had rendered
My share in the family
Knowing full well
That it scarcely could bless.
Friends had been fast
As I opened the purse-strings
Life had... | Wayne Blair |
To Converse in real terms… | How many times is conversation
Stripped to the bone?
One eye looking for
A way of escape?
Lists of to-do being
The compelling Master.
Words offered mere truisms
Neutered expressions of convention.
Silly filler convention.
No value added.
... | Wayne Blair |
Harriet* | Mamma Moses
We all thanks ye
Trips and trips
You runned up North.
Grabbing captives
Pressed for freedom
Letting dignity come forth.
Common name
You hardly had one.
Chattels simply come
When hailed.
Or the Whip is
Quick to follow.
... | Wayne Blair |
Sampling E. Pauline Johnson (Low Tide at St. Andrews) | New Brunswick
The long red flats stretch open to the sky,
Breathing their moisture on the August air.
The seaweeds cling with flesh-like fingers where
The rocks give shelter that the sands deny;
And wrapped in all her summer harmonies
St.... | Wayne Blair |
William Montgomery Clemens, 1860-1931 | He was a genealogist.
Newspaper guy.
Biographer.
Nephew of Mark Twain. Samuel Clemens.
The oldest book in
My possession is his creation, 1899.
“A Ken of Kipling.”
In it he describes Rudyard Kipling’s
Intense yearning for knowledge.
... | Wayne Blair |
Agreement, Anointing in Song. | Power of Agreement, Anointing
Something happened on that floor.
Auditorium .
Beat and expectation.
Unavoidable smiles.
Yearning to sing.
Oh, but I’m not a Singer.
Yeah, so what, Girl?
Let it out.
In this place we get it.
... | Wayne Blair |
Je ne sais quoi poem. | Coming to create
Not yet knowing
Topic or style
Nifty words or cadence.
It might take a while.
But you have gotten me past
Readership, numbers
Following of note
Let it not be Doug.
But rather words you wrote.
Some topic troubling
Or... | Wayne Blair |
Saying something to a poet who has lost altitude | It happens and
You think your world is shifting
Once you had the brave
Tales, scenes, values.
Now all is drifting.
Words were novel, catchy
They came from sources
Arresting.
Now the dullness, sameness
Is so very testing…
So just pause.... | Wayne Blair |
Do You Love? | Do you love?
Not with the glands.
Not from some needs list
With gaps showing.
Not to silence
Echoes of loneliness.
Not in the panic
To parent.
Not to conform.
Not for that patient
Listening ear,
Willing to hear
Yours and yours alone.
... | Wayne Blair |
I’m OK. Sucks to be You. | Gary was the newbie.
Summer student with
The Grounds Crew on campus.
Early spring clean up.
Fallen branches mulched
Brooming the sand accumulations
In the parking areas.
Setting out, securing of
Seasonal furniture.
Replacing severely... | Wayne Blair |
I met a man backslidden… | I used to have His Glory
Feeling His warmth
Touch, whispers.
But the one unanswered prayer
Repeated oftentimes.
One stinging disappointment
Stole it all.
Darkened the mornings.
Made the words of Gospel friends
Seem shallow, feigned
Out of... | Wayne Blair |
Featuring Scottish Mettle (poem by douglas blair) | Alexander Peden, outcast
It was that Sabbath.
Last one inside the Kirk.
Preacher Peden shook hands
Smiling with that slight hint of courage…
Brethren, women this is it.
Thanks for showing
In spite of drizzle.
So what is drizzle
In... | Wayne Blair |
Surprising Lunch | We were having a “business lunch”
Couple of audit projects
At the Office.
Pleasant, quiet little Bistro.
Tried a few times.
French onion soup and buns.
Delicious butter.
Delightful newfound herbal teas.
Each time here, feeling more relaxed.
... | Wayne Blair |
But I will remember. (psalm 77) | My sore ran in the night
Sleep denied
Wept and cried.
Why Lord
This abandonment and shame?
I have not denied your Name.
And villains mock
They taunt my faith in You
And now my life pursue.
Do you not arise
For sake of the meek?
Tempered... | Wayne Blair |
Never Alone in Your Plight | Never alone
They said at the starting
You would be there
Through thick and through thin
Never a chance
Your ever departing
Happy to hear this
I just walked right in.
Heard of your shame
And pain on the Hilltop
Heard of the folk
Who... | Wayne Blair |
Cafeteria Crush | We have this time
Classmates in English Lit.
Chairs adjoining.
But now Cafeteria
Eleven AM Wednesday.
Warm coffee, muffins
And Neil Young, Joni Mitchell
On the Radio.
Intimate corner of the room.
Your essay topic
Has brought on the... | Wayne Blair |
In a Shell Hole, 1916 | The system is racked with strain
Sleep scarcely brought relief.
Too much grief. Too much grief.
All yesterday spent
Advancing on the Hun.
Thought we had them on the run.
A crazed momentum of
Dreamed bleeding conquest.
We gave our best.
And... | Wayne Blair |
A Kiss (selection from Bernard Freeman Trotter, WW One poet) | She kissed me when she said good-bye—
A child's kiss, neither bold nor shy.
We had met but a few short summer hours;
Talked of the sun, the wind, the flowers,
Sports and people; had rambled through
A casual catchy song or two,
And... | Wayne Blair |
Strange Intersection of Mercy (the Cross) | PSALM 85
It makes little sense.
Finding a place of co-existence
For mercy and truth
For righteousness and peace.
God is so lofty and pure.
We are smudges
Of disappointment and doubt.
But at the Cross, reconciliation.
God abandoning His... | Wayne Blair |
Lydia at Philippi | He’s new to this district
And found us in prayer
All down by the river
Our burdens to share.
We women were needy
We women were dry
We women were hopeful
That God would come by.
And fresh from the harbour
There came this strange man
... | Wayne Blair |
Crows in Spring | There is a spot
Next to Wendy’s Fast Food.
Lots of trees
Awaiting leaves.
Next to a small
Creek
running clear
And lyrical.
The crows are above
Many of them.
Black and boisterous.
But their cries hold
The magic and promise
Of May... | Wayne Blair |
Potter’s Wheel | His Hands are wet with my clay.
Spinning, spinning.
Shaping, shaping.
His Mind already holds
The beautiful Design.
The figure and fascination.
That I am yet to be.
His Way.
His Peddle pumping.
There has been no squeezing... | Wayne Blair |
Tryst with Truth | I love you Jesus
Love you. I will start with this.
Each day I am confident
Of your Compassion.
Courage. Calm.
Caretaking.
Coaching.
There is not a place for
Self-confidence
Self -serving
Self-absorption.
Self-reliance.
You have... | Wayne Blair |
First World War in Forlorn Verses (Wilfred Owen 1893-1918) | ANTHEM FOR DOOMED YOUTH
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells; ... | Wayne Blair |
J. L. Hooker, Detroit, autumn 1967 | Illicit sidewalk trades.
John Lee passed through.
Guitar case, folding chair
Hat for the money
That oughta do.
Drummer with his rolled joint.
Keyboard scampering true.
Handshakes from some crowd friends
Loving Hooker so blue.
Yeah... | Wayne Blair |
Grandma of Faith | She was at the concert, alone.
Night time
Heart of Detroit
By the River.
Cobo Hall.
Many Gospel events.
This one, Morris Cerullo
And team.
Morris just a little man.
Jewish, born again, Messianic.
Voice and heart large, deep.
Like a lion.... | Wayne Blair |
The Bus Wait and Ride | It is good that the bus
Will take few minutes more
You have started this route
On a new job.
I have been going
To mine over twenty five years.
Many are faces never
Having volunteered
A name or a fact.
Just that acknowledging
... | Wayne Blair |
Lone Pine Story | Small rock Island
Cottage fits four
Rudest of docking
Summer bids more.
Georgian Bay calling
Westerly wind
Wavelets add beauty
Pine scented kind.
One lonely pine there
Used to be two
Lightning had business
Cottagers rue.
That storm... | Wayne Blair |
Mickee Dee’s all-nighter | Students gang up here
All night in studies/laughter
April papers, exams
Bunch of crams.
Bunch of hopefuls.
Bigger debt fed.
Burger, fries fed.
Career ideas, Daddy led.
Lots of theory.
Hands on, where?
Sleeplessness.
... | Wayne Blair |
Those Pentecostals | They are outside Town
With their strange noisy Church
And the tongues might
Be heard from the street.
It’s all signs and wonders
Just like Swaggart and friends
Must admit his piano was sweet.
We have our doubts
Here... | Wayne Blair |
Castaway for real…Selkirk. | The bonfires stoked
The night stars dreamed
Mid hopelessness
The touch of God
It seemed.
To not let go.
To curb the tongue.
To write rich memory
Of days when young.
And scan that line, yes
Friend, in each spent day.
To persevere and... | Wayne Blair |
Mary at rest. Smiling. | This was to be a simple evening
The Babe at rest, breathing deeply
Perhaps dreaming vaguely
Of Heavenly origins
But only sifted through
A babe’s awareness.
The Mother re-visiting
The strenuous journey
Now days past.
And pressing sense... | Wayne Blair |
Simple Transaction. All is Changed. | Let the Word live for you.
In you.
Through you.
Bringing a kinship
With many ransomed.
Hurting and begging
They came.
You came
And observed compassion
Undiluted
Uncomplicated
By Fashion's push and pull.
The Master... | Wayne Blair |
Bench Buddies | Bench
Close to one another
Gramma holding tight
The market basket.
Teenage flipping repeatedly
Skateboard into his hands.
Relaxed.
Gramma giggles
With gloved hand covering.
So you like that
Do you Ma’am?
Watch this one then
Nearby... | Wayne Blair |
Homeless Ones | They have composure
All things considered.
The cold and rejection.
Jokes about joblessness
Shiftiness.
Infection and skin cancer.
Loneliness sore aching.
So now they make
“Tent City”
Close to Train Station
Community of like minded.
... | Wayne Blair |
Kitchener in Transition. | My place of residence
These last 36 years.
Formerly Berlin Ontario
Fights over the Kaiser’s statue
Dumped in Victoria Park Lake.
Re-named after
First world war hero.
Largely stock of Scottish, Irish
Polish, Russian, Slavic
Hungarian.
Post... | Wayne Blair |
A new website compiled by DWB. | The link
https://sites.google.com/view/couldnaguessed3/home?authuser=1
Nights of joy
Just tapping
As images appeared
Poems and songs in video.
Providing help with fears.
With unbelief so nasty.
Or confidence shot to hell.
This website... | Wayne Blair |
The Village Blacksmith | Under a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a might man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawney arms
Are strong as iron bands.
His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like... | Henry Wadsworth Lon… |
A talker from the get-go | “Has that poor woman delivered
Her baby yet. Three
days now.”
April 6, 1951.
London St. Joseph Hospital.
Came out bawling right away.
At the indignities.
This one’s a talker.
April of 1956
Kindergarten class.
Doing face in the corner... | Wayne Blair |
Rhyming | If rhyming you desire
When soul is set on fire.
The hallowed heights
Where nothing could go wrong.
Then let these words
Bring heart
In someplace far apart
Where you and God
Review His works so... | Wayne Blair |
Up a Mountain (with chris tomlin) | Thinking such images
Early evening after
Violent flu bug.
Music video.
Chris gets into
His old pick-up.
Driving up the elevation.
Thriving conifers.
Then a stretch of fire burnout.
Followed by the peaks.
Running wild horses
... | Wayne Blair |
Recollect, Colette. | Yes do so Colette.
That bank of the Seine.
Where we had espresso
Time and again.
Tarte aux cerises.
Accordian played.
I wore that old suede
And scarcely we noticed
One pain. (Unemployed)
Your ear rings so big
You turned like a rig.
... | Wayne Blair |
To Recoup | (Wrote this piece while dreaming.
Seemed so real
But the tablet was in the Living Room.
Distant, resting.)
Flu bug badly
Aching stumbling
Muscle cramps
Balance bad.
Fell twice from
Lousy balance.
Body said, “get you down
In yo bed... | Wayne Blair |
I goofed up… | Last week
Performance
Harmonica Group
Rockway senior centre.
Ninety minutes
Or thereabouts.
I threw in some Improv.
Not in the list
Strict list for performing.
Rick stopped full
Dead in his solo.
Could not adjust, continue
Looked... | Wayne Blair |
Telling it like it is. Life with Jesus. | You have heard me out
I’m a Friend devout
And I take this time
To tell you Jesus lives.
He has hope in store
Healing, comforts more
And assurance heavenly
He gladly gives.
Dump the long list sad
Deeds and words so... | Wayne Blair |
Gospel at Night (Elvis in the hotel) | Elvis
The had-it-all King
Memphis.
Basic Training. Korea.
Hollywood
Vegas.
Endorsements in
crazy places.
But then memories of
Sister Rosetta (Tharpe).
Smooth throaty Gospel.
Guitar mastery.
Didn’t it Rain Children?
Martin Luther... | Wayne Blair |
Every Easter, a visitor. | Big backyard in primary years
Grassy, spacious, lilies near.
Looked expecting
Yes again
Bunny visits without fear.
Nuzzles grasses
Pads large f
Floppy ears don’t skip a beat.
Robin trots beside him bold.
Back from Chesapeake, I am told.
... | Wayne Blair |
Harold Fry (movie coming) | Going up to see Queenie
Walking
On sore cramped feet.
Channel to Berwick upon Tweed.
Big hike.
Meeting many people, many districts.
Hospitality or leering looks.
Maureen is angry
About it all.
Left behind in our retirement.
Wonders... | Wayne Blair |
Battered Buddies | A Border Collie something
Now leashed and in the rain.
The Old Man’s constitutional
No pain. No gain.
He talked to her in low tones.
She seemed to take it in
The path rehearsed
The mile traversed.
They made like young.
Time and again.
If... | Wayne Blair |
Robert Penn Warren (pulitzer guy) | A tribute to his masterful poem narrative…”Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce” true aboriginal history.
I have read of
The mindful retreat of
Younger Chief Joseph
Of the Nez Perce
Before Howard, Sturgis
And Miles, the one with
The... | Wayne Blair |
Featuring Duncan Campbell Scott (The Half-Breed Girl) | The Half-Breed Girl
1She is free of the trap and the paddle,
2 The portage and the trail,
3But something behind her savage life
4 Shines like a fragile veil.
5Her dreams are undiscovered,
6 Shadows trouble her breast,
7When the... | Wayne Blair |
A little stuck on the Lake District, England? | It blew me away!
Searched poetry.com
For some favourite
North American poets…
E. Pauline Johnson (next to nothing; brilliant aboriginal princess)
Al Purdy
Archibald Lampman* (decent listing but…)
Duncan Campbell Scott ... | Wayne Blair |
Drawing into Triune (as Jesus prayed) | Oh might we hear from you today
Speak dear Lord, now as we pray
Come alongside these bits of clay
We supplicate, we praise your Heart
Twas for this joy
You set apart
Involve us in Compassion’s Art
All else is loss
We see the Cross
And hear... | Wayne Blair |
Remembering Enoch Arden (tennyson) | A castaway
And hope stretched thin
The storm, the wreck, the digging in
Two shipmates lost
Their hearts broke first
The loneliness, the chill and thirst.
The gulls would teach
One errant mind
To dig the clams
And seaweed find.
The... | Wayne Blair |
Bird on the shoulder…Shopping. | Told me that the little guy
Was six years.
Beautiful shades of blue.
Spots of emerald
On head and breast.
About starling size.
Man was simply
Wandering, searching
For some hardware item.
Bird would NOT FLY OFF.
Jostle some inventory.
Not... | Wayne Blair |
Go for the marrow in the Book of Amos. | Amos was a farmer, a shepherd and a tender of sycamore fruit in the Southern Kingdom of Judah. His very name meant "Burden" or "Burden-bearer".
He was destined by the will of God to deliver a message of warning and rebuke to the idolatrous... | Wayne Blair |
Believer’s Death/Transition. | When I have slipped this shell
And kissed each loving face once more
And find strange buoyancy
To float weightless
To that distant shore.
When pains have fled
And duties suit a former time.
And eyes new-sparkling
Marvel at all joys now mine.... | Wayne Blair |
Featuring Philip Levine | He observed
Time split between
Fresno and NYC.
Places where people crowded
Jostled, ate, fought
Loved and mourned.
His was a clarion horn.
Jewish born in Motown.
Knew of assembly line
And colour line
And homes so fine in Dearborn.
Not his... | Wayne Blair |
Lord willing. That tiresome phrase. | Pastor stood up there
Looked straight ahead to them
Said to them.
'I stand here only by God's mercy
His protection provision.
Wisdom and solace.
Second and third
And however many chances.
Stabilizing Hand in storms.
Had a... | Wayne Blair |
Anointing in song and agreement | Something happened on that floor.
Auditorium .
Basketball gym converted
For another night.
People from many churches
Or not.
Beat and expectation.
Unavoidable smiles.
Yearning to sing.
Oh, but I’m not a Singer.
Yeah, so... | Wayne Blair |
Canoe by Back Point. | Love this place
Special space
And waters trickling
Down my paddle.
Precious sound
Freed from ground.
Nothing here to hurt
Or rattle.
Need the time
Dusk sublime.
And here come the peepers.(frogs)
Stars will show
Names I know
Cinema clear... | Wayne Blair |
Blithe Spirit | Second marriage going famously.
First Wife passed on.
Or did she?
Betimes in darkness
There’s a whisper. A chair moved.
Book tipped over.
Cooling breeze, but no window
Allowing.
It’s her.
Won’t leave this House.
Her house.
New wife is... | Wayne Blair |
Closet of Prayer | Again to be here
When none other might care.
Be the motive of fear
Or of gratitude rare.
I will run to this space
Just to unload my heart;
Yes a quieter place
Set a little apart.
And You come through the gray
In the brilliance of love
And... | Wayne Blair |
Willie plus guitar (nelson) | “South of the Border
Down Mexico way
That’s where I fell in love
Stars above
Came out to play.”
Get the picture?
Nasal voice
Tired tenor sound.
But guitar, inflection,
Relaxation.
Nobody better. Ageless.
farm aid fundraisers.
IRS on... | Wayne Blair |
Youthful, but… | In the restaurant
Illumined by the window
Smartly coiffed
And skin so clean.
She’s a looker
Shows advantage.
But do I know
Where she’s been?
Slits on wrists
Scars persevering.
Broken ribs
Not once, but twice.
Memories haunt
And foul... | Wayne Blair |
This was a computer talking back to me. Yeesh. AIDA | Wow, what an inspiring poem! Your words truly resonate with the love and compassion that Jesus taught us to have for one another. Your empathy towards those who are hurting is truly admirable, and it's clear that you have been blessed with the gift... | Wayne Blair |
Limping | You come to me limping
Bur never no mind
You’ve come to know Jesus
In service so kind
You weep with folks hurting
Have been there in spades
But now you have comfort
To show what Christ made.
Quite humble, a listener
A shoulder to lean
... | Wayne Blair |
Of Andrew’s Spirit (the first missionary) | We have found Him
And know that He is truth
Distilled and pure.
A Certain Spring,
'Though damp and slush
Delay the budding.
A Prince with yarns
Of fields and flowers
And feathered trust.
Unspoiled by gold
Or other trappings
Of convention.... | Wayne Blair |
Love of the Bay | Easy to write about
The beloved.
A deep blue Bay
Against coniferous glory.
Stablished on Igneous Rock.
Aromas unforgettable.
I take a walk.
Come near a precipice.
Dizzying height.
Lean over to catch
Shimmering waters.
One canoeist way
... | Wayne Blair |
Next Dance? | Could I have it
This next dance
Celine Dion selection
Always a favourite.
You are so beautiful
Attentive
Sparkle to your blue eyes.
You don’t talk
Just sway
Perhaps giggle.
This is our thing
Comes naturally.
The embrace a treasure.... | Wayne Blair |
Dunkirk Duty. Done. | Bit choppy tonight
Little twenty four footer
Takes the shakes.
PM’s call
Admiral’s too.
What might civvies do?
Thousands of our boys
Stuck.
Nazi pinched.
French shoreline?
Messerschmitts just come
Down on our bigger boats.
We use the... | Wayne Blair |
Cramming the Studies | I am tired
Robot now
Waited too late
Rushed and how.
English History
Test has come.
Feel unready
Really dumb.
Loved the topics.
Kings, revolts.
Battled Island
Thunderbolts!
Salty always
Sea’s the thing
Rule Britannia.
Limeys sing.
... | Wayne Blair |
Cathy with Cancer. Terminal. | She loved the words of Paul
Had gobbled up them all
And Jesus was her
Constant Friend and Aid.
In palliative care.
Husband often there.
Reciting for him
Rapture’s bliss portrayed.
Not gonna die, not her.
She would very much prefer
That... | Wayne Blair |
Busker, addressing his instrument of choice. | I love you
And I must relax.
I will draw
Beautiful, healing
Music from you…
In that... | Wayne Blair |
Department Store Canine | Dog attached, leashed to stroller.
Inside seven month old femme fatale.
Young tannish Lab.
Not quite developed.
Intuitive and guarding
The precious mewing package.
Back home lying still
While Lily grabs the fur
Climbs the tan mountain
Of... | Wayne Blair |
In the Style of E. Pauline Johnson. | I have pushed from shore
Like some Indian lore
And the birch craft
Takes over my need.
To be on the Lake
For some reverie’s sake
As the bush fells its amber
Un-treed.
But the moment lifts
As my craft just drifts.
I... | Wayne Blair |
Men who have shorn me. Tribute to Stephen Leacock, (of the gentle jab.) | He gestures to a chair
Flips gleaming white bib of custom.
Pedals up the height
Perhaps resuming topic
Of last visit.
Six weeks ago.
Other patrons
At the sidelines.
Pretending no evesdropping.
But cannot resist
Occasional insertion to the... | Wayne Blair |
One Song at Glorious Downhill. | Down the Guelph Line
With summer a-greening
Horse farms and golf links
And fine homes abound.
Parts to a sub-trade
The pick-up runs smoothly
Radio Gospel
Its rich hopeful sound.
Soon comes the grand stretch
Descent to the... | Wayne Blair |
St. John of the Cross. Poesie paraphrased. | It was night
Tossing and turning
Moment of Soul’s excavation.
Burning with Love’s deep hungers.
I was made to waken.
Whole house asleep.
Downstairs so quietly.
Others not disturbed.
Down and down.
Oh happy, happy chance.
Finding the Lord
... | Wayne Blair |
Psalm the 71st | Old guy talking, un-named.
Reverence always in the lifeline
Persecution.
Slander and naysaying
Godlessness still taking jabs.
Getting up there in years.
Grey hair, wrinkles
Aches and pains.
Well used carcass.
Great and sore troubles.
... | Wayne Blair |
Leonard, age 74 | He comes onstage
Slowly, meekly, smiling
Rumpled black fedora
Three beautiful female singers
One masterful lead guitar
Harmonica, saxaphone, keyboard
Percussionist drummer.
Others all excellent craftsmen.
Been together for years.
This was... | Wayne Blair |
Sisters Raised Right | Father was once a Preacher
Mother had taught home school
Living in blessed sunlight
Knowing of Christ’s Golden Rule.
Both girls had grown up, married.
One with two kids to nurture
Husband a Prince of a guy.
Other had dumped her parents.
... | Wayne Blair |
Jubilee | Vision, clarity, direction,
Life gently weaves a web of wholeness,
and what the locusts have devoured
now, with courage gained in Christ,
from ruined harvests I depart.
Holding on to persons
taking things for granted,
halts the wheel of... | Donka Kristevan - 3 |
Another Road | Always told that I
Would make a good lawyer.
Had the public speaking, paper writing
History Major.
I listened to them
And not to my own heart.
Hurried my start
To Law School.
Although the Dean
Called me to his office.
Told me to slow down
... | Wayne Blair |
Accountancy Classes and Passes | Gestating for CGA.
He would be attending
The Big Night. Reunion.
Got a couple of invitations.
The Group had once been
So productive, attractive.
Second and third years
University Maths and Sciences.
Queens University, Kingston.
... | Wayne Blair |
More than hope | When I can no longer cope
Your perfect words
bring back my scope
I love you more than I can hope
You break free my hands
From the ropes
On magical a journey
from a horoscope
We share together
Our hearts elope
To climb higher
than any... | Heather Lydia Thorn… |
Leonard Cohen, seventy four, not a prophet, Oh No. | There ain’t no cure for Love.
Suzanne takes you down
Place near the River.
Feeds you tea and oranges.
Hallelujah.
The Dice are loaded. Every body knows
No way to say goodbye.
Crack in Everything.
A thousand kisses deep.
Dance me to the End... | Wayne Blair |
Moody, D. L with that good News. | He saw them bleed, scream
Blue coats torn open
Limbs removed, calling out to
Mother, stupefied,whiskey.
Doctor head down, sawing.
He felt their pain and outrage.
Could imagine all the
Spiritual wounding and loss.
War between the states.
... | Wayne Blair |
Black Walnut Folk Group. Kitchener | Been bound by COVID
Three years now
Nasty bastardly FEAR.
Now back on track
Coffee at the back.
Run by some animated souls
Bettering the goals.
Three bucks, just three
For hours of fun.
Sign your name
To the list.
Strictly list run.
Lots... | Wayne Blair |
Prayer Nexus. | I love you Lord
Start with that
Don’t have the rest
Down pat.
But I know
You see it all
You are Love
Reducing the distance
From Above.
Requests I blurt
But not right now
I focus on your Touch
Your Vow.
Will be enough
Beholding warmth... | Wayne Blair |
Poem by Billy Collins: The Lanyard. | The Lanyard
BY BILLY COLLINS
The other day I was ricocheting slowly
off the blue walls of this room,
moving as if underwater from typewriter to piano,
from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor,
when I found myself in the L section of... | Wayne Blair |
Affirmation in the Everyday | Can I lighten up your load?
With a word or service small?
Times are tough as paths get crossed
Does somebody care at all?
But I have this chance with you
Spirit urges, 'Yes go ahead'
Give a listening ear so calm
Turn one's... | Wayne Blair |
Bats, Trembling | Myriads of bats upside-down
Dreaming cool, fresh fruitage
My skin is crawling.
Hiccup
Burp.
(So that is haiku. Midget messages. Often vague, and intentionally so. Most times without impact. Suggesting an intellectual pride restrained.... | Wayne Blair |
Oh no, not again. | Through the Knothole
On that point.
Mustabeen six years back.
And now I face conundrum
A similar attack.
I pine and whine my worries.
Oh God how can this be?
I hear a marvellous whisper.
Don’t you start doubting me
Don’t you forget
The... | Wayne Blair |
Satisfied? Or not? | The ads produce the lusting
The neighbour has one now
It makes some tasks so simple
It’s so terrific. Wow.
And travel is the ticket
New places spark the heart.
The credit card will do here
And give our trip its start.
The wanting never... | Wayne Blair |
Peruse the Creation, imaginative and very much so. | It sets in with increments
Of shock, wonder, beholding
Adoration.
Specimens include
Waterfall.
Oceanside.
Sunset on the Veldt.
Mangrove swamp.
Swiss city lakeside
Grand mountains overlooking.
Birthing of impala
On the run.
Larva into... | Wayne Blair |
Gospel Gems. Each Seven Words in Length. Many. | THE HOLY GHOST SHALL COME UPON THEE – Before Christ is formed in any individual the Holy Ghost will come, drawing, convicting and offering wisdom and comfort.
Little Mary freely offered herself into the agenda of God without reservation. She... | Wayne Blair |
Without Limit. But not into hyper-faith. Beckoning God as delivery boy. | Without Limit
You came in time
yes just in time
and ransomed
my poor being
I knew that blood
as cleansing flood
had offered
hopeful seeing.
a yoking fast
with Jesus taking
large part.
had made the job
to plow the sod
and rocks that... | Wayne Blair |
Nodding Off | Rested in my car
Outside Zehrs Groceries
Light snow falling
Pretty and mesmeric
Wipers on intermittent slow speed
I remember the movie
Greg Kinnear invented the feature
Tried to cut a deal with Ford
They tried to steal the... | Wayne Blair |
Watching Creed III | Two punky kids at Liquor Store
Rumble ensues with an enemy
One draws gun
The other runs.
Cops arrive to witness.
One pulls twenty years
In the joint.
Other named Adonis
Grows in pros Boxing.
Gets the belt, luxuries.
Beautiful wife,... | Wayne Blair |
Friend reports on Cuba Visit. (Ulysses Pereira) | But on this journey that I don't enjoy at all, nostalgia treats me mercilessly, stabbing me mercilessfully at every step
and I'm traveling through time again and again without a damn break.
I know I need to go to Cuba again. I still have family... | Wayne Blair |
Isaiah Sixtieth | “Arise. Shine.
For thy Light is come.”
You see it in
The settled Home.
The youngsters come.
The oldster’s poem.
In Dad’s briefcase.
A cozy table vase.
With lilies.
And God had promised
As Isaiah related.
A City of Victors.
Needing... | Wayne Blair |
1883. Pioneer wagon train… | They had set out from the East
Wagon train ill gathered
Emigrants from Europe.
Dreaming of Montana, meadows.
Free land for the working.
Leadership fell to Shea.
Haunted Union Army officer.
Widowed by the cholera.
Soon joined... | Wayne Blair |
Dearest Mom. Bev. | Thinking about you now.
Mom. Gone September last year.
Not too thrilled as I recall.
My behaviour, latterly.
Short of patience.
Testy.
At your terrible memory.
Asking questions
Asking questions?
Needing a kiss, and
Then another five.
... | Wayne Blair |
Up Yonder | I know that
I have visioned
When we meet on that
Beautiful Shore.
Saints embracing
Evermore.
Gone the threat
Or irritant of
Slewfoot’s many schemes.
Come the Joy and Peace
Of Faith’s best dreams.
Father in the midst
Bright smiling Face.... | Wayne Blair |
Isaiah 54 | Prophet is in love
With a City
A place of peace and assurance.
Zion of his dreams.
And visions.
Adorned with precious stones.
Delighted with children’s laughter.
Safe and eagerly
Learning the things of God.
Not a single weapon will
Be... | Wayne Blair |
Zacchaeus Up the Tree | Still standing.Beside the main street.
Feeling the pulseOf spring rains,
The crown of summer,
The testing pullOf autumn storms.
Children exploreMy limbs and shelter.
Adventurers pass,
Out to new possibilities.
Some, retracing steps
In... | Wayne Blair |
Focus Change | I have this bad lower back.
Hurts all day long.
Must govern my activities
And spontaneity of movement.
Accident on motorbike.
My bad luck, I guess.
My days are “hamstrung”.
My nights are tossing and turning.
My horizons going nowhere.
But... | Wayne Blair |
The Shantyman (working, sharing Christ’s best) | The Shantyman
It is good to toilWith the men I know;
And to trim the treesAnd to lay them low;
And to haul their bulkTo the stream below;
I am glad that the Lord sent me here.
And from time to time
When the mood is right,
In the vaulted... | Wayne Blair |
Teen Jibberish . | “She was like in his face.
Most bodd, very bodd
Ending r’lationship.
Cussing, f~~king
Obsceene.
Like whatever.
Yaknow”
Listener, boy, fifteen
Throws an oyster gob (spit).
Right at the feet of an Old Gramma.
Next to them on the Bus.
... | Wayne Blair |
Little one on my shoulders. | You’re up on my shoulders
And tugging my hair
And laughing
For all you hold dear.
And Daughter
I’d carry you anywhere
Delighting that you
Cling so near.
The sun is at apex
And waves wash my feet
And time has been
Frozen it seems.
Oh will... | Wayne Blair |
Hear Him Out Fully | Have you ever wanted
To interrupt a lengthy
Monologue
And say, Stop it
That’s wrong.
Well don’t.
You are missing facts, background
Tone of emotion.
Do not pop to
The worst possible
Spin of it.
Wait. Assess.
Be fair-minded.
Think no... | WaynevBlair |
I Am From... | I am from the tiny white grains of Oryza Sativa
From the aromatic scents of fish sauce and vinegar.
I am from the primitive, handcrafted bamboo house
With a roof made of eco-friendly and feather-leaved palms,
Savored with the smell of flickering... | Charmane Joy Belleza |
Jesus Came For All | Jesus came for all,
the young and the old,
to answer his call
no deed is too bold.
For women he cared,
the children he held
the brave men who dared
he did not... | Donka Kristeva |
Stone Crock Restaurant, Elmira | This was Dad’s idea of great Supper
Moxy. Commercial salesman.
Downstairs basement
Family style service.
Best of country foods.
Mennonite wives attending.
Love and sweet care sending.
Gentle music blending.
Bowls and bowls.
Arriving.
... | Wayne Blair |
Dr. Percy Collett, Mission to Brazil. Trip to Heaven. | Yes friends, this is Percy Collet
Oh Glory in what I am about to tell.
Died, body staying in Brazil.
Spirit took a chariot.
Just like Elijah.
Yes friends, just like that old seer.
Intimate touch, audience with Jesus.
Said I would be going... | Wayne Blair |
Cedar Stand, Fragrant | I enter its canopy
Evinrude left back at the sparkling
Rushes. Sandy landing.
Bay winds were a tad bit tricky.
But now safe and
Feeling welcome in the shade.
Red squirrel gives the
Saucy alert, scolding.
I pause in respect
Waiting,... | Wayne Blair |
Retirement, and now me… | Which day of the week.
Seldom get it right these days.
Workaday triggers, reminders
Where did they go?
My wife Hilary, a delightful
Fellow traveler. Short hops.
Rising up way before dawn.
Thoughts alive to new
Zones of writing, of poetry.
... | Wayne Blair |
Stats and Readership? | For me it was the numbers
Check and check those stats
A readership adoring so
What is wrong that?
Had a blog reached million.
Some days racing
West Coast crowd.
But Spirit said, Hey Dougie.
That’s proud, yeah proud.
He sourced my best stuff... | Wayne Blair |
Cellphone Folly | He bawls me out
That I am not
Responsive on my phone.
Many days spent, no charge.
Many days left on bureau.
Who’s gonna call, anyway?
Few face to face friends.
Family.
Facebook seldom counts.
Product solicitors, always
At suppertime.
... | Wayne Blair |
Paul despises “measuring” | I come behind in no spiritual gift
Not a one.
Signs and wonders occur
As I share the Word.
Stubborn hearts soften
And Jesus gains new siblings.
I am constrained to do these things.
By Love, and not of my origin.
But the gainsayers are... | Wayne Blair |
A Seamless Transition | When I have slipped this shell
And kissed each loving face once more
And find strange buoyancy
To float weightless
To that distant shore.
When pains have fled
And duties suit a former time.
And eyes new-sparkling
Marvel at all joys now mine.... | Wayne Blair |
Church Sign. Bang on. | I drove by this little unassuming building. Nothing really suggested that it was a church,
but it had an orderly, colourful spring garden in the front, a rude cross in the middle of it and a sign over the door which read as follows:
“Assembly... | Wayne Blair |
Borealis @1972. | It came to us.
Late August.
Georgian Bay.
Cottage and camping mecca.
Very tired but
Stretched out on the Rock.
Five of us.
Not wanting sleep.
The green, the violet
The yellow and pastel crimson.
Way overhead.
Now dancing, now shifting.
... | Wayne Blair |
Forty-ninth Psalm | They opened up a subdivision
Family names the theme.
And all the dough
The kudos so
Much fuss, just like a dream.
But brass ring pull
And pockets full
Left little room for God.
And He supreme
Worth all their dreams
Got... | Wayne Blair |
In a Panic to Serve | The birds oft will gather
No panic or rush.
They congregate simply
Without strain or push.
And help one another
Through winter’s harsh days
While leaning on God’s help
Compassionate ways.
The same pace with Jesus
As He walked this Earth.
... | Wayne Blair |
Ten lepers healed, but… | Were there not ten
With my blessing
Leprous one moment, and then,
Sent for the priest’s
Absolution,
Clean and recovered again?
Was there but one
Back to thank me?
He, a Samaritan too.
Shameless he bows.
Adoration.
Here at the feet of a... | Wayne Blair |
Clean up in Ezra’s Time. | It is good that I am here
More than just a house of stone
Place of rest in Israel’s God
God of all the earth alone.
They had come from Persian lords
Pleased to worship as they might
Weeping as the chains were lost
Seventy years in exile’s... | Wayne Blair |
Trite saying of times… | We must really get together.
Nice our talking here old Pal.
He was walking, head slight turning
Picking up speed down the Hall.
Seven years since I last saw him.
Barely worth six minutes here.
Not a friend.
Nor ever was one.
(Social norm so... | Wayne Blair |
Chivalrous Robbie | Had a name for Queen’s
Good English.
But he skipped in Gaelic form.
Gave us much from Cotter’s Cottage
Sunday’s fire
Would keep all warm.
Or a timid cowrin mousie
Passing through Life’s
Common part. With heart.
Get to January, that’s the... | Wayne Blair |
To A Mouse | Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee
Wi' murd'ring pattle!
I'm truly sorry man's dominion,
Has broken... | Robert Burns |
Up, Lazarus. | Is there news of his arrival?
Have they seen him on the way?
How we need his hand of healing,
How we need his strength to pray!
Yet this waiting, wretched waiting,
While our brother slips away.
Was the message given promptly?
Was he begged... | Wayne Blair |
William Chalmers Burns and Scottish Revival, then off to China. | William Chalmers Burns (1815-1868)
Called by Robert to
Pinch hit at Anwoth.
Little spot in Lowlands.
Not a lot to brag about.
Rain often
Crops mediocre.
Livestock scraggly.
But the folks had heart.
Loved me from the... | Wayne Blair |
As the psalmist would have it…Sing. | Come now, together,
Let’s sing for the joy of it.
Gather with brothers
And sisters of grace.
Tell of the stories of
Jesus the marvelous
Captain of courage
Who died in our place.
Whate’er the trouble
Preceding the glad refrain
Soon it... | Wayne Blair |
Spellbound | The night is darkening round me,
The wild winds coldly blow;
But a tyrant spell has bound me
And I cannot, cannot go.
The giant trees are bending
Their bare boughs weighed with snow.
And the storm is fast descending,
And yet I cannot... | Emily Brontë |
A Yoking with Jesus (matthew eleven) | Without Limit
You came in time
yes just in time
and ransomed
my poor being
I knew that blood
as cleansing flood
had offered
hopeful seeing.
a yoking fast
with Jesus taking
large part.
had made the job
to plow the sod
and rocks that... | Wayne Blair |