As I review our archives, here are some favorite garden journal photos by Karl from Spring 2019. Hope to create a calendar some year.
Karl also took photos of pelicans and Lake Michigan.
Ash Firewood from the tree that fell last year.
Oostburg, Wisconsin
Spring 2019
Free Bird Drawing is courtesy of Reusable Art.
I enjoy the vintage art. This Spring, I decided to postpone work on another book. I am writing my journal poems – as the days and seasons are given. My blogs are a creative home for me now. Thank you.
chair in sun
by lilacs, ferns,
forget-me-nots –
view from my desk
this morning
These two pictures are from the Flower Images Category at Reusable Art.
Lake Michigan
Oostburg, Wisconsin
May 28, 2019
Photo and edited closeup by Karl
hosta plants grow
around the ash tree stump
an abundance of health
and new green
as if to say
we knew you would not
last the storm
we are here
there is new beauty now
new hope and a new time
I wrote the poem last week, and took the photo yesterday. They were published first in posts at Poems From Oostburg, Wisconsin. I call these poems journal poems. They flow from my heart, and I write them directly in posts. Often though, an image or personal reflection is with me for a long time, before I write. When I can write easily, it is because I am living with the images, and blessed by God’s grace in many ways. And as I pray the Psalms and read in general, my own writing grows. Rest is necessary too.
Ellen Grace Olinger
Pot of Tulips, by Kate Greenaway, is courtesy of Reusable Art. There is a special category for Kate Greenaway at Reusable Art.
I published these poems as I wrote them on my blog, Poems From Oostburg, Wisconsin. Today they are here, in one post, in honor of Mother’s Day. When I helped with her care, for many years a long time ago, my mother often asked if I was writing. Then I was not able to write, as often, for many reasons. Now my heart is overflowing.
My study of haiku influences my poetry in general. And my goal is to offer hope. There is a lot of rest around my posts, and the new WordPress editor makes it easy for me to create posts like this small collection today.
Hope you enjoy the poems, and perhaps one or two especially. And when you are unable to create, the work is still growing, as I have learned. Health must be the first priority. Thank you.
grey stillness
evergreen branches
are a painting
and I can see
the shape
of each branch
Easter lily
continues to bloom
and fragrance
blesses the room
morning clouds
and here and there
enough light for the lily
Spring grows
afternoon shadows
on a green lawn
after a warm day
and worth the wait
forsythia
evergreen branches
dance in the wind
light on forsythia
by the old garage
daffodils and tulips
bloom in Sheboygan
and some here too
Wisconsin Spring
AGE AND PLACE
where one person may see
an empty building
I see the store that
was there before and
where I shopped
for my mother
the road may look grey
with rain today yet
I remember this road
on all kinds of days
over many years
and seasons
bookstores may have closed
yet shelves of books
to look at and perhaps buy
exist in different places
thrift stores and other stores
library discards too
one step at a time
a new life can grow
and sometimes later
we may realize that
we are more at home
than ever before
reading poetry
some blue sky among clouds
and forsythia
THEY CAN RETURN
they can return
in new and different ways
some of the things
thought lost
my mother and I were
closer in her old age
though we always loved
language and books
a past illness led to me
simply sitting with her
for hours as that was
something I could do
conversations
the trust that grows
through decades
of unconditional love
now sometimes
these many years
since her passing
I remember what she said
and the advice still applies
Ellen Grace Olinger – Spring 2019
evergreen trees
with their branches
in May winds
through another
winter and green
and growing
resilient
some broken branches
interesting shapes
shelter for birds
the years show
and they are
beautiful as
they bless
today
May 10, 2015 (with some revisions today in the visual presentation of the poem). The WordPress editor inspires me to try new ideas.
The original post may be seen here.
Ellen Grace Olinger
