Showing posts with label my poetry website. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my poetry website. Show all posts

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Homecomings and Goings


©2019 Susan Noyes Anderson

Come home to me, my child; come home.
Dance on the words of a mother's poem...
stepping-stars across the sky,
shining bright to draw you nigh,
spun from gossamer and love,
heart-notes sent to heaven above.

Tiptoe through the rooms that knew you
while I whisper secrets to you.
Brush my soul with velvet fingers...
breathe a sweet goodbye that lingers...
then return, like fallen rain,
to the place from whence you came.

Angel voices call your name.

∞§∞


This is the poem I wrote to my son on Mother's Day, having lost him last year to a prolonged and painful illness. It feels good to share it here, on my trusty old (though neglected) blog, where I know I am among friends. 

Yesterday was Todd's birthday. He would have been 37. We miss him terribly, but (as ee cummings so beautifully suggests) we carry him in our hearts. We always will.


for more poems, click below

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

From the Heart


(for ryan)
©2018 susan noyes anderson

city beat
city heat
miles of pavement
pulsing feet

dirty asphalt
ocean breeze
misty mornings
nights to seize

sidewalk sleepers
suited men
money makers
born again

mission district
nob hill flair
sunset, castro
union square

trolley crossings
up-and-downs
beeping, dinging
magic sounds

snaky streets
bridge of gold
arching, soaring
bonny, bold

gritty, graceful
work of art
san francisco
from the start

(bring your dreams
leave your heart)

for more poems, click below

 for more poems, click below

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Still Waters


©2018 Susan Noyes Anderson 

O be not lulled by placid sea
nor lapping waves
of harmony

stand warily beneath a sky
of azure born
to soothe the eye

lean soft against the stolid tree
serene in all
its symmetry

embrace but do not claim the breeze
that rustles gently
through the trees

for deep within each peaceful thing
a wildness waits
and will be seen

the oceans roar, the heavens burst
the branches whip
the winds reverse

and e'en my steady soul breaks free
unfettering
the wild in me

∞§∞

Sometimes I fear the wildness in this world, but I make every effort to seek and appreciate the good in it. Quotes like the ones below help me find my way to acceptance, even appreciation. (I do confess that nothing thrills me more than a violent thunderstorm or waves pounding the beach with unyielding ferocity, so maybe there is a bit more of the wild in me than I realize.)

"God loves all the flowers, even the wild ones that grow alongside the highway."
– Cyndi Lauper

"Wild waves rise and fall when they arrive; and that's what makes the peaceful sea alive."
– Munia Khan

"She found herself over a long and treacherous road, and the more treacherous the road became, the more of herself she found."
– Atticus Poetry

The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy."
– John Muir

"By forces seemingly antagonistic and destructive, Nature accomplishes her beneficent designs - now a flood of fire, now a flood of ice, now a flood of water; and again the fullness of time, and outburst of organic life." 
– John Muir

"All the wild world is beautiful; everywhere and always we are in God's eternal beauty and love."
– John Muir

Our Creator didn't get this wrong. It's what we do with the wildness that matters. 

=)

for more poems, click below

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Soul Substance


©2018 Susan Noyes Anderson

The spirit finds home
inside warm flesh and bone,
taking ownership,
giving direction.
Should the formula fail, 
appetite will prevail,
driving action
without due reflection.

More blessings abound
when the nexus is found.
Spirit breathes, and
the body is whole.
Sacredness is defined
as the two are combined
in God's greatest creation:
the soul.

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Monday, December 18, 2017

Christmas Joys

Image by Anita Schiller Terry ©2016

©2017 Susan Noyes Anderson

At Christmas, simple things are best:
A family meal, a day of rest,
A sprig of holly on the tree,
A sweet noel, sung joyfully.

A cozy fire, a child at play,
A tale of Santa on his sleigh,
A glowing candle burning bright,
Reminder of the Savior's light.

A hug exchanged, a burden shared,
A broken heart sweetly repaired,
A listening ear, a gentle hand,
A tender heart to understand.

Hold fast to lovely things and true;
Let peace on earth begin with you.
∞§∞

On Christmas Joys:
“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree.” 
–Roy L. Smith
“Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.”
–Peg Bracken
“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.” –Burton Hillis
Wishing everyone a warm and wonderful holiday season!
=)

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Friday, November 17, 2017

The Lift

The prompt was to write a poem inspired by the following image:


©2017 Susan Noyes Anderson

His spirit crawls a lowly road
with little will to rise.
Leaves falling from the trees reprise
tears falling from his eyes.

Shoe leather, laced with mud and muck,
greets shadow on the wall.
The trap once set, now cruelly sprung,
yields no escape at all.

An ill wind blows no body good,
and sometimes life just blows.
Could be that he comes out all right,
could be all wrong. Who knows?

Balloon man, can you spare the fare?
One magic taxi ride.
A free lift for a sorry soul,
jumpstart to the bright side.

for more poems, click below

Friday, November 3, 2017

Hold Fast to Hope and Fireflies


©2017 Susan Noyes Anderson

I used to have a firefly inside me,
a certain spark against the dark of night...
her wings translucent threads of hope and dreaming,
her glow as magical as soft starlight.

I knew she was a gift; I always knew.
There was no capture, no attempt to snare.
She simply was, and so we simply were.
Partners in joy, staunch allies in despair.

We carried sunshine as we walked through shadows,
found springtime in our hearts on wintry days.
She danced and floated, every gloom dispelling.
We were as one; and oh, I loved her ways.

But graceful wings of hopes and dreams proved fragile.
Sharp words cut them away, blew out the spark.
She vanished in a flash of light extinguished,
left me to wander, broken, in the dark.

I used to have a firefly inside me,
a healing glow to warm my weary soul.
I bide my time, seek her in clouds and rainbows,
wish on bright stars, Come home and make me whole.

for more poems, click below

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

The Uncool Kitchen


©2017 Susan Noyes Anderson

My kitchen is a clone of me,
and at its very heart
hums one cold, stainless giant,
covered in graffiti art.

Refrigerator magnets. {wince}
They do not make me proud.
Unhip, uncool, oft-parodied,
mocked freely and aloud.

My critics can be merciless,
yet I am undeterred.
Some twisted slave inside me
clings to every magnet word.

HOME RULES: The list is lengthy,
unoriginal, and lame.
But everyone who sees my fridge
must read them all the same.

If Grandma Makes Life Beautiful,
and Love Is Spoken Here,
then Life Is but a Song to Sing.
Blech! {gagging on good cheer}

No worries. Home Is Where the Hugs Are.
Family Warms Our Hearts.
There's No Friend Like a Sister.
Home Is Where Your Story Starts.

Time Flies. (It does; I'm almost done.)
Snap Out of It, you say?
I'll try, but When It Rains, It Pours,
and magnets Seize the Day!

for more poems, click below

Friday, September 22, 2017

Secrets of the Sea


©2017 Susan Noyes Anderson

When my own tides are at low ebb,
I stand beside the sea.
Bright waves of truth I used to know
come washing over me.

The sand dampens beneath my feet,
connecting me to ground.
A sacred message to my soul
rises in every sound.

Its rhythm whispers ancient tales,
soft secrets of the deep, 
reflections of the promises
my spirit longs to keep.

And I embrace the mystery:
the pulses of the earth,
the highs, the lows, the ebbs and flows,
the watery rebirth.

Peace lands so gently on my shoulder,
lifts me on its wings.
My freed heart opens to the sea
and every gift it brings.

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Friday, August 11, 2017

Depression: Cornering the [Black] Market


©2017 Susan Noyes Anderson

You don't understand me,
he said.
No one knows
of the suffering
stored in my soul.

I told him of dark days
I stumbled 
and bled,
days when life nearly
swallowed me whole.

But it wasn't the same,
he insisted;
his pain
was unique and mine
could not compare.

My empathy suspect,
my counsel
in vain,
I held back things
I wanted to share.

It bruised me to look
 at him,  
caught up in
misery, claiming
it all as his own.

He holds the black shadow
so close to 
his chest
that he's left
to do battle alone.

for more poems, click below

Friday, June 23, 2017

Taking Back the Knack


©2017 Susan Noyes Anderson

I think I may have lost the knack
that surely was my stock in trade
in days gone by. The years have made
me less adept. I've gone off track.

Relationships: I had a gift
of sensing need, meeting it well.
But lately, I am empty shell,
and every comer gets short shrift.

Oh granted, things are crazy here.
A drooping sun. A spinning moon.
Wheels of (mis)fortune turn too soon.
No respite. Toxic atmosphere.

Machine gun miseries from all.
A clip of trouble raining down.
Can't keep my people off the ground.
Can't always see them when they fall.

It rankles when I fail to see.
Not used to it. Don't like it much.
I'm fading, dropping balls and such.
Not quite the force that once was me.

Used up. Burned out. Like melted wax.
Point taken. I'm no northern star.
But they're my heart. Straight up, they are.
And I'll not drop them through the cracks.

for more poems, click below

Friday, April 21, 2017

A Postcard Wave


©2017 Susan Noyes Anderson

Just jotting down a word or two
to let you know that I love you
and miss you, too, if truth were told.
(The bathroom grout is sprouting mold.)

Just blowing kisses o'er the sea,
hoping you'll blow some back at me.
I've also blown a bit of cash.
(Got super bored and drained our stash.)

No need to fret. I'm A-OK.
Don't hurry home and save the day.
I'm muddling along just fine.
(Wait! When's that income tax deadline?)

for more poems, click below

Friday, April 7, 2017

The Path of Peace


©2017 Susan Noyes Anderson

I love those peaceful moments of the heart
when mind and spirit finally run free,
the fleeting moments, seldom set apart,
when every soul is stilled to breathe, to be.

The quiet morning, jeweled in drops of dew,
the dusk as sunset colors fade to gray,
the mountaintop with wildflower view,
the friendly clouds to float each fear away.

A white dove calls; an eagle takes the sky.
A raindrop freshens bits of budding spring.
The redwood tree sends branches reaching high.
Soft sweetgrass waves its welcome, beckoning.

Across the earth, the beauty is profound:
serenity and nature, hand in hand.
The senses rise in sight and scent and sound,
collecting peace from grove to sea to sand.

And yet, absent the grace and power of God,
no wave would crest, no blossom bless the air.
It is His path of peace that all must trod,
and He waits patiently to lead us there.

for more poems, click below

Sunday, December 25, 2016

To This End Was He Was Born

We had a beautiful Christmas service last Sunday, one that left me filled with the spirit of Christ's birth. I was grateful when the poem shared below came to me rather quickly on Saturday morning, as I had been running behind all week, and it was meant to conclude the program. Happily, I was able to read the completed poem as planned, proving to me once more that prayer works! I hope it honors the Savior as much as I honor Him, on Christmas Day and always.


To This End Was He Born
©2015 Susan Noyes Anderson

A child was given to the world
one perfect, starlit night.
He came to bless us with His truth
and fill our souls with light.
He was the Son of God and Mary,
human yet divine,
the only One who had the pow’r
to take your sins and mine.

The angels heralded His birth;
the very skies took part,
and shepherds ventured from their flocks
to offer Christ their heart.
Even the Magi worshipped Him,
arriving from afar
to celebrate the newborn King
beneath that guiding star.

His mission was a saving one.
Christ taught us how to live.
No sacrifice too great, He offered
all He had to give.
His gifts were many. When a child,
He spake as if a man.
The people wondered at the boy
but did not understand.

Though Jesus could not fully know
the path His feet would trod,
He soon began to sense His mission
as the Son of God.
He grew in strength and wisdom as
His purpose was defined.
He was the Father’s firstborn Son,
the Savior of mankind.

His ministry began with words:
three words, “Come, follow me.”
He chose apostles, simple men,
to share His company.
Disciples followed Christ as well,
inspired by His stories.
Beside Him, they learned much about
God’s kingdom and its glories.

Along the way, from place to place,
Christ healed, and saved, and blessed.
The blind could see; the lame could walk;
the suffering soul found rest.
Even the dead took up their lives,
if Jesus willed it so.
“Who is this man?” the people asked,
“and whither does He go?”

“I go before thy face,” said He.
“Hear me, and heed my voice.
Who chooses to obey my words
hath reason to rejoice.”
The righteous loved His goodness, but
the wicked feared his power.
They yearned to steal His life and
plotted evil, hour-by-hour.

When Jesus knew the end was nigh,
He gathered up His men
and gave them a last supper…
His way to say amen
to all that He had taught them.
Later, He brake the bread
and offered up the wine
as blood and body in His stead.

“One of ye shall betray me, one
deny me,” Jesus said.
Judas revealed Him with a kiss;
Peter, in panic, fled.
Early, entreated by their Master
a close watch to keep;
Peter, James, and John failed Christ
by falling fast asleep.

But Jesus knew the task was His
and bore the weight alone
of every sin and grief and sorrow
all the world could own.
He bore it until blood escaped
from every sacred pore;
and when they raised Him on the cross,
He chose to suffer more.

He chose to suffer, for the power
was His to end it all;
but He was born to rescue us,
to save us from the Fall.
“Here am I, send me,” He said,
so long and long ago.
Jesus knew well the sacrifice
required here below.

Christ gave His life so willingly,
‘midst earthly judges’ scorn.
In agony, He bled and hung;
for us, His flesh was torn.
For us, His life was forfeited.
He died, that we might live;
and ere He gave His body up,
pled, “Father, please forgive.”

He begged forgiveness for us all.
As shepherds guard their sheep,
our Savior and Redeemer gave
His life, our souls to keep.
And when He took it up again,
the promise was fulfilled.
The Son of God, the Son of Man,
had done as Father willed.

A newborn baby in a stall,
a gentle mother’s heart.
Two fathers, one on earth and one
in heaven, from the start.
Animals and angels, shepherds,
wise men from afar…
all beheld the baby Jesus,
born beneath a star.

The brightest star in all the heavens…
How else could it be?…
The Light of Christ is brilliant.
May it shine through you and me.
On this and every Christmas Day,
the gift He seeks is clear:
that we receive His gift to us
and keep it through the year.

Our love for Him is manifest
in how we choose to live…
in loving one another;
in striving to forgive;
in honoring His sacrifice
by offering our own;
in doing what we must to kneel,
one day, before His throne.

To this end was He born; for this
cause came He to the earth.
Rejoice! Rejoice! And sing Noel
for our dear Savior’s birth.
Hosannah in the highest…Peace
on earth, good will to men.
Let every soul sing praise to Him
forevermore. Amen.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
=)

For more Christmas poems...click here.