Category: Nature

A Different Story

~ Brad Sheppard ~ Leave a comment

winter lingers
with its wind and cold
wanting to persist
tenacious and bold

but the birds tell a different story
their songs melodious and light
arriving to sing-in the new season
their notes uplifting and bright

and the crocus too defies the cold
pushing with persistence from the darkness below
unfurling delicately despite the hard soil
a beauty that melts the dusting of snow

when I am restless, tired and weary
I long to listen in the darkness of night
amidst uncertainty and looming despair
for whispers of good news subtle and slight

for a different story among the stories
that sings with truth despite the strife
a story of peace and harmony and beauty
of grace and love and abundant life

A Tree in Winter

~ Brad Sheppard ~ Leave a comment

What is a tree to be in winter?
I wondered on a snowy sabbath day.
Seemingly stoic and obviously bare
what else might a tree consider?

From what I can see and certainly surmise
there is more to a tree than appearance.
For along its trunk and among its branches
there are happenings that are sure to surprise.

The squirrels are about with total abandon
running and jumping without reservation.
The fallen snow covering the branches
leaves pattern that are anything but random.

Moss upon the bark survives
its green a welcome sight for the eyes.
The buds that tip the ends of the limbs
promise that spring is soon to arrive.

What is a tree to be in winter?
I wondered on a snowy sabbath day.
As the good Lord made it I surmise
and for all of creation the better.

The Landing Below

~ Brad Sheppard ~ 1 Comment

it is early autumn and change is in the air
as days shorten and leaves fall
I’m left with the questions of what to do and dare

sleep beckons in the sudden coolness of the night
to go and slip under covers
is the temptation before me to stay out of sight

yet while the light lingers I should rise and find the way
that takes me out and beyond
the place I can no longer stay

for the leaves tell a story real and true
that beauty is found
when the darkness descends before something new

where the fallen leaves gently lay
bright flowers will bloom tomorrow
beauty reborn in the newness of day

what beauty in me will fade with the night
so that something new can emerge
when the time is right

for an end is not the end but only a new beginning
the loss a part of what is becoming
as the Creator keeps the universe beautifully spinning

beauty is the seed within me that will grow
as I dare to let go in the lingering light
may I fear neither darkness nor the landing below