Just when I thought I could bear the grey skies no longer, the sun burst through for a morning of light at last! The brightness tempted me to open the storm door, and capture a photo of the sunrise, but "someone" had been busy overnight! Isn't it strange the way that shapes and forms can feel mischievous, as though they have a life of their own?
And isn't it strange how a glimpse of mystery needs no
explanation to gladden a heart?
Jack Frost
Jack Frost, blow and paint
The icy panes show a touch
Sunlight, please reveal
--Bettie Gilbert
"From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?"
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?"
These offerings today, are part of the #HaikuChallenge that has been issued by Ronovan Hester over at his site:
where the weekly challenge is set forth to write Haiku using his two word prompts. This week's word prompts were "blow&please." At first I was quite stumped as to how those two words could fit together, but it didn't take long for a "window" of opportunity to present itself to me. pardon the pun, couldn't resist :-)
But the next set of words flowed from a photo that I shared with a dear friend yesterday. A plant that keeps me going through the garden-less days of winter, Crown of Thorns is a pretty reliable bloomer. But just because it's reliable, doesn't mean it's boring. I am always moved by the beauty that rests alongside the pain of this plant. Thorns are jagged along the whole stem, with hardly a space left open. But at the tip of each stem there rests such a fragile seeming, tender bloom.
Will my own heart find tenderness alongside the pain?
Crown of Thorns
Gentle thorns, I pray
Please don't blow the joy away
Let the blooms remain
--Bettie Gilbert
And if you understand the Song of Solomon to be an allegory of the love story between our God and His People,
then He sees us as that beautiful bloom:
"Him: Like a lily among thorns, that is what she is;
my dear is a captivating beauty among the young women."
Song of Solomon 2:2 (The Voice)
Oh what a mystery is the Love of my God!
I am linking today over at:
#TeaAndWordTuesday with Meg Weyerbacher
--Bettie Gilbert
And if you understand the Song of Solomon to be an allegory of the love story between our God and His People,
then He sees us as that beautiful bloom:
"Him: Like a lily among thorns, that is what she is;
my dear is a captivating beauty among the young women."
Song of Solomon 2:2 (The Voice)
Oh what a mystery is the Love of my God!
I am linking today over at:
#TeaAndWordTuesday with Meg Weyerbacher