Father God I love you so,
Though thorns
Around my heart do grow,
One word from you
Cuts through them sure,
And Leaves my battered
Soul washed pure.

Copyright 2019. L.L. Shelton.

Sunlight
Starlight
Moonlight
Firelight
Lamplight
Red light
Blue light
White light
Flashlight
Bright light
Candlelight
Lantern light
Sparkling light
Reflective light
Refractive light
Glittering light-
To top them all,
A lightening fight!

Copyright 2019. L.L. Shelton.

In the dark of night I grew,
But daylight dried my wings.

From the ground I speak aloud,
While on the mountain sing.

Cacophony is deafening
As I hang with my friends,

There is much to talk about as
Thirteen years it’s been.

Copyright 2019. L.L. Shelton.

Darkness overtakes us every evening,
Incessant rain brings about a flood,
Drought leaves the world around us ever thirsting, yet
We fail to claim our blessing by the blood.

Dancing with the ashes at Chernobyl,
Wading through the clinker that remains,
Twirling through the cinders o’er The Island,  still
Proceeding ever on in the same vein!

Fashioning our idols out of matter,
Destroying it to play a faster game,
Wandering earth’s avenues in search of meaning lost,
We push away the answers when they’re plain.

Copyright 2019. L.L. Shelton.

Dear Child of Mine,

You must know that every time you hurt, I ache because I couldn’t prevent it. Each time you cry, I shed a tear of my own because I could not stop whatever that mean old thing was that caused you misery. When you’re scared, I fear my own overwhelming desire to destroy the thing that has had the audacity to cause you to be anxious. And the worst dilemma of all: Knowing that I may have triggered any of these difficult emotions.

I would never willingly give you back, and yet when you’re consumed with grief I wonder if it was a cruel thing that I played a part in bringing you here. Therefore, with His enabling grace, I do the only reasonable thing there is to do: I remember the sovereignty of my God and I lean into Christ Jesus, as He is the only hope of a concerned and thoughtful mother, and ultimately He is the only hope of every mother’s child.

I love you for always.

Copyright 2019. L.L. Shelton.

Guess what I saw from my porch tonight,
Flying around in the full moonlight-
Insects with their tails so bright
Busily defying night.

Copyright 2019. L.L. Shelton.

Did the wind begin to blow?
Graceful tree outside my window
Stands conversing with me,
First swaying to and fro,
Then bowing low
As in a slow dance,
Next waving frantically
As if she begs me to believe,
Now, she merely stands trembling,
Wondering what will be my response.

Copyright 2019. L.L. Shelton.

Who are we;
Only slightly more significant
Than the ants,
Building our cities,
Tunneling our way through
Here and there,
Building nests and towers,
Crafting storages,
Eating and drinking
And making more of ourselves
For work and posterity,
Returning to dust
Only to begin again?

Copyright 2019. L.L. Shelton.

I do not now, nor have I ever,
Placed my confidence in
The power of the law to save,
The power of time to heal,
The good to be had in suffering,
Words spoken under duress,
Violence as the answer,
Love at first sight, or
Paper money.
Some things are make-believe.

Copyright 2019. L.L. Shelton.

Sarah, with eyes straight,
Knowing and luminous,
I have no familiarity with the devil.
Sarah, with eyes clear,
Glowing and brilliant,
I am no witch.
Sarah, with Biblical name,
Slender, with graceful curves,
Sarah, confident and calm,
A form a man could not deny.
Sarah, executed to pay for his sins.
Sarah, illustrative of the fall
In the garden where man blamed God
For his worship of the gift,
For his fashioning of an idol
From the clay-pot he called woman.
Eve was no witch.

Copyright 2019. L.L. Shelton.