Church Camp

Trying to come up with something for my Creative Writing class, a stab at trying to convey in poetry form some of what SGYC means to me. (Running at roughly 25-30,000 words on the subject at my personal blog for now.)

"Some have threatened to kidnap me if I didn’t show up

Many others then volunteered to help.

Northeast of Springfield

Couple miles off the highway, down the dirt

You asked me to talk; so here I go

For quite a while this topic can spurt…

Reel the set, no spikes allowed

Ultimate Frisbee, Red scored a touchdown

Single eked out on a softball error

Petrified scared-rabbit new-kid terror.

Want to pet the buffalo? Well, TOO BAD, you’d best forget it,

Don’t approach ‘em, you’ll regret it…

Extended family from eight states gathers

Hymns and praise sail up through the rafters

Counselor’s meeting in the misty dawn

From candy stampedes lifelong memories spawn

A hundred miles down the river-gravel trail

Cinnamon rolls mean it’s time to unwillingly bail

Talent share part of how names are made

There was so much more to the games we played

Growing in faith with preachers and dear friends

Glimpse of heaven – the real thing comes once this one ends

Legends pass down from sibling to sibling,

“In Christ Alone”, country, “Call Me Maybe”, songs you hear singing

Puppet shows, ping pong and photography,

Mid 90’s with high humidity

I’ll stop now, it’s a partial list,

Of all the blessed and trying times, faces which are missed

Sixty to ninety players in the human drama, fringed with bison and cats,

What did/does it mean to me? Not enough words to express that…."

Space Jam Poem

For a homework project in my Creative Writing class. 

"Some could say it was a marketing ploy

Others maintain it was an instant cult classic,

I’d say it was the perfect movie for a sports-obsessed four-year-old boy

Starring the greatest basketball player of all time

Teamed with legendary American icons

“This makes no sense!” the critics whine

“It’s a cartoon world, anything goes,” I would respond

It explains my taste for extreme-angle photography

Which no doubt came from this screwball comedy

“Gather up your ‘Toon pals, we’re taking your for a ride!”

Quotable quotes are only matched by The Princess Bride

If that makes me an

Unashamed young adult fan, what can I say?

Then, yes, I guess I am – and forever will –

Be a fan of Space Jam."

Tarnished Strings

This was an early poem written for my Creative Writing class. I revised it several times, this was just the first draft.

"Ice skating rink is where they first met,

Time goes by – so many stories you could tell

Flip through the songbook, this one they’d sing as a duet,

The guitars were shields; their coats of mail…

She a West Coast rebel, pocket sized, dye streaks, big grin

He was a dreamer, doggone loyal, barbed-wire thin

There’s still photos from the point-and-shoot cameras

Them talking at the bonfire as the elm tree dropped samaras…

Her painted fingers pick melody on the strings, bead by bead,

Like the jewelry in her spare time she would fix

His hand played the rhythm, thumb then palm he’d strum,

Together – their music mixed…

Steve doesn’t get out much these days,

While Abby Lee, she sings alone

Today she no longer plays,

He stares wondering at his silent phone…

The kids grew up; they’re doing well,

They hear news by the occasional email

(Within, Proverbs 21:19 highlighted)

Ice skating rink is where they first fell…"

Course Schedules and Other Pieces of Paper

Another poem written while studying one night.

"See that piece of paper
Carried along there with the breeze
For the heading, in red block lettering
The words "SPRING 2015"?

"Under that there's maybe a couple
Streaks of green, a dash of blue
But after that it's white space -
No directions, no real clue.

"On the flipside there's a list of courses and locations,
Times to be somewhere learning
Subjects to study that will expand the mind
Letters mark our performance,
On that essay, mind the kerning.

"That paper kicks around campus
Eventually changing color, growing more yellow
It now says, "...today, this Degree
"is to be Conferred upon this Fellow."

"Now, that paper earns us more,
These are green and they're used to keep score
Some have names, (Benjamin, George, Andrew)
They convey a sense of power,
Dream of attaining things a higher grade
We leave some of these bills at the bookstore.

"In the work we buy there may be marvelous things;
Explanations of the proper tone for guitar strings,
Deeds done so astonishingly, or related so admonishingly,
Unnatural creatures, logical arguments,
Christmas ghosts fading away into vapor
Or pictures as simple as a runaway bit of paper."

The Harden Trade

Written while studying with a Thunder game on TV as background noise. 

"You know those unanswered questions

You try not to think about?

The kind of real-world algebra 

The problem goes, "If X is so much, then what is Y?" 

Ties the mind in knots unraveling it,

But you may as well go ahead and try

It might be, "Should I have gone to school here?

"Is It really a better education?

"What if I'd have stuck around that place?

Then there's that aspect of socialization..." 

Relationship-wise it'd be known

As "The One(s) That Got Away,

If you would've hung around longer

And what if they hadn't strayed? 

For us Thunder fans

(Blue unites the entire state)

The question that haunts us

"...but what could we have done

"If it wasn't for the Harden trade?"  

Red Healer

Written while trying to study.

"Paws hit the pavement
On the roadside of 16,
From the back of a pickup truck...

"She hobbled down to the nearest house
Barking "Please", pleading for help
That's how she got to our front porch
Didn't recognize that voice
So we looked out the door to see what was going on...

"It was a medium-sized scared brown dog
With an injured leg, needing somewhere to stay
I set out the food bowls on the weathered boards
Told her it was gonna be okay,
She knew our house was the place to go,
No longer an unwanted stray...

"Her name was Copper,
We loved her, she loved us
Her adopted family
Something in those dog-brown eyes
Said it plain for all to see...

"Time went by, our lives changed
Not much stayed in place
Climb up these mountains, dodge the rocks
But we got through that relay race...

"Bring it back full circle several years,
From September to November
While exploring she got hit
She crawled back, broken leg, burned face
There was nothing we could do
But cry and say "Goodbye
And thanks,"
To our red heeler..."