It's time to start watching monarch butterflies!!

  I am certain that God,

who began the good work within you,

will continue his work

until it is finally finished

on the day when

Christ Jesus returns.

Philippians 1:6

Joining with my friends Sandy and Deidra

"If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water." 

John 4:10

“But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life." John 4:13  

 

Joining with friends who drink from the same wellspring of Life

at Still Saturday and Jumping Tandem



Uninvited

Death ,  you are

no stranger to us.

Yet , today you came, uninvited

and brought no

grace or mercy.

You tore

the hearts and lives
of those who give

grace and mercy

every day

to those who cannot

stand up to you alone. 

Hear this, O death,

you cannot conquer

those whose lives

are already filled

with Grace

and Mercy.

  For, while you may exist,

you are but a moment,

a breath, a step…

a means to a glorious

everlasting life.

Her Life

lives on in our hearts

and in the earthly lives

who will begin anew

because of

her heart

her eyes

her lungs

and life giving spirit

filled with

Grace and Mercy.

Patricia Spreng

Dedicated to Dell, our hospice nurse and precious friend, who shared grace and mercy every day.  Her legacy of a kind and gentle spirit will be remembered and loved by all of us.

How I Became A Biker Babe

Colorado is a long way.
18 hours of passing lanes.
Hit the road Jack(ie)…

So I followed them, I did.

Curiosity in the wind.
I, in the driver’s seat,
tailed them for hours, wondering
about helmets and handlebars
and leather pants hauling a-
cross country.

There were 9 of them

by my count, on
two wheels and free.
I was on four, encumbered by five
sets of legs and arms
and makeshift campsites staked within
my  four wheel drive,
with no one budging
from macs, ipods, dvds ,
earphones, books and iphones.

Mesmerized  or hypnotized,

I moved with them,
bending to the road’s every whim.
Until…
my inner biker babe
awakened
and I became one of them,
the rear guard
in a Chevy.
(It must have been
how Cinderella felt
in that pumpkin with all those rats.)

There weren’t many profound thoughts

on the road that day.
I rode free and wished to be
with them in the wind.

No, my daughter didn’t see the mountainous grandeur.

She didn’t see the sheer rock cliffs,
the fluttering aspen leaves
or cloudless, blue sky.
She didn’t notice or gasp in awe at the rushing river,
or bend to the rhythm of the road.

Instead, she saw the one thing

that is permanently seared into her Colorado memory.
For, the very moment she lifted her eyes,
(right before she rolled them back as far  as she could)

She witnessed her mother raise a fist…

Harley style
to a pack of bikers
as they left the road
before midnight.


Patricia Spreng

Joining the gang at dVerse Poets for Open Link Night... come on along for the ride.

Tangled Laughter

A flower at your grave site 

left me wanting

for your heart side

buried here,

is not the heart

I carry deep

within me

Nine girls and one boy... I'm in the front on left. 1965

longing to stop 

the passage of time

and all

inevitable passings

the growing children

leaving home

and graying years

that cover me

could it be

for just a moment still

where you would sing

and I would mimic your voice

and tangled laughter

would ensue

patricia smolenski  spreng

in memory of my precious mother,  Mary Burkholder Smolenski…

thank you for always bringing laughter, Mom.

1995  With the youngest 12 of her 32 grandchildren!

Regular Joe

He was a regular Joe
tall, bold and black

Filled up with himself
and too hot to handle

Pretending to be real

forgetting he was decaf

He couldn’t smell
her storm brewing

patricia spreng

having a little fun with d’Verse poets on Open Link Night… come and read the wonderful words of poets.

wake my memory

Click below for a video that's been circulating on youtube... an old man responds to his favorite music...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyZQf0p73QM 

I work for my local hospice agency. So often, people who are suffering from dementia can't remember simple things like, how to brush their teeth, or names and faces... but, they can remember the words to songs once the music starts to play... their feet tap, their heads lift and for a glorious few minutes they are transported....

Wake my memory, Music...
bring me words
to  dance

Hold me in chords
of harmony
that twirl with notes
to lift me
from this chair

My ravaged soul

is quickened

my body racked
with joy

Just bring to me
my music
and my memory
sings again

patricia spreng

Joining with d’Verse Poets .  Come and hear the wonderful words of poets surrounding today’s prompt of “Music”