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© 2009 James C. Hartsell   

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walking in the rain

remembering a time

when the sky

exposed itself

and leaves flamed

like the colors

of a serape

bird songs

spoke fantasies

content with their own

special truth

butterflies fluttered

in giddy patterns

above flowered fields

content

with their ephemeral reality

moments embraced eternities

eternities sailed on winds

where eagles soared

above snowcapped peaks

that bled silver

to nurture valleys below

remembering

walking in the rain

God Is a Rainbow

I dare you

to look into the upturned face

of a child

that beams with unconditional love

and say there is no God

even if God were nothing more than

a concept

light reflecting its essence

off of substance

its many hues inspiring

the beholder to embrace abstractions

that compel him

to lift his face upward

for the higher values

to beam from his countenance

like a rainbow

filled with the refraction

of beauty and hope

light reflecting

the nature of God

window dreaming

day after day

floating in a fantasy

snow to sun

where memories change moods

like a nuthatch hopping

from morsel to morsel

or doves on a telephone wire

swaying gently

somewhere

I know

green shoots wait patiently

for spring

somewhere

I am sure

even now

when reality is imaged

through a window pane

rusty buds rustle

in their sheath

restless in blossom-dreams

tomorrow

I will wrap myself

in warm garments

sit on the crisp

brown lawn

and gaze at the snow capped peaks

above the shadowed valleys

I Keep Going Back

to the time

when life walked

through each day

at a slow, steady pace

each day's rewards

were paid in silver sweat

and bird songs

and in the evening

we worshipped from the altar

of the front porch

where today's dreams

shimmered behind

a pastel curtain