The Saving Grace of Jello

I don’t really know what cancer is, but mom’s in the hospital having surgery because she has it. I think that’s what Aunt Barb had and she died. I hope mom doesn’t die, too. We’re visiting her today. She might be ready to come home,...

Her Hideous Scar

Once I saw her without her shirt or bra revealing the scar where her surgeon first took her diseased breast then sloppily gathered excess skin in a quick running stitch of sutures leaving her hideously deformed It’s no wonder I seldom saw her smile _______________________ De is running the...

My One-Note Song

Last summer I entered my first poetry book, Light in My Darkness, in the Writers Digest Self Published Book Awards contest. Riding high on the coattails of being named a finalist in the Cascade Writers Contest in the published poetry category, I decided to submit my...

Exhale Fear

Pain in childbirth Holding my breath Breathe nurse prods I must inhale oxygen exhale carbon dioxide Watching him grow Often I held my breath Amazed at his creativity Now he’s grown Finding his own way I must inhale Spirit exhale fear and trust God ___________________ Today...

Prayer Sparks

Despair sparks desperation sends me to my knees I want to cry I don’t know why Sobbing turns to prayer deep in my soul Mercy sparks forgiveness sends me to my knees I find healing for this desperate feeling Life that makes me whole ———...

Clouds of Haleakala

Standing in the dark in the middle of a rain cloud sideways rain at ten-thousand feet slapping my face Waiting, waiting for sunrise Angry visitors give up, go home, curse the clouds We wait, are rewarded with beauty of sparkling rays streaming  God’s glory ________________________...

What Is Bravery?

Why say I’m brave? You don’t call robbery victims brave when they tell You don’t call shooting victims brave when they tell You don’t call mugging victims brave when they tell Yet your clouded view calls me brave when I tell I was raped _______________________________...