The Sublime Roundabout

They'd spent all summer Building this place She driving nails He handing planks Though they were but ten years old They knew that this place would be The once place on earth Where they could find peace High up in the limbs Of the mighty sycamore tree They constructed floors and walls and roof A sanctum sanctorum for their souls And when it was finished They sat on the plywood floor Looking at their splintered hands And sore thumbs And they laughed He pulled out an apple He'd sneaked from his house And passed it to her She took a big bite, smiled... And passed it back to him

Empty smiles Linger on frozen faces Caught in the flashbulb Of political life She started the path  Of election Wanting to be the chosen one Wanting to help To make a difference Make things a little better But somehow, some way Those things got lost It is difficult to identify  When that happened When did it start? How did I end up here? She remembered talking To a concerned citizen About the plight Of children It seemed innocent enough Who isn't concerned about children? It was easy to take The money for support But then, once the money Had changed hands Like thirty pieces of silver The price was paid And it became difficult To say no To the supporters Who had contributed so much And, again It was for the children, wasn't it? But it didn't stop there It moved on to other things The cause of trees Of jobs for families Of

Sparkling notes of joy Resonate across soundboards Stretched across my soul

The sun rises On a new day Glorious and bright Radiant and warm The rays reach the earth Giving life and light Meaning Bringing color and depth Yet all of this Is not as beautiful As the light that comes From your eyes For therein I see The very love of God A divine queen A sun In your soul

It starts with a seed. But that's not really it, either, is it? It doesn't start with a seed, for even the seed had it's beginning somewhere. In the process known as reproduction, two halves come together to make a whole. And what a whole! The potential for greatness lies within. As the newly formed organism begins to grow - dividing, multiplying, becoming - the seed takes shape. This particular seed is an acorn, but it may also be a kernel of wheat, or the stone of a peach, or the helicopter of a dandelion. The seed garners strength from the mother plant (or is it the father plant? or both?) and forms a fruit around itself. This fruit develops into a hard, outer shell, with a distinctive rough cap along the top, where it is firmly attached to the tree. In time, however, the seed is sent forth. It falls not far from the tree, but it is picked up by a squirrel and carried off to be consumed later. But this seed is forgotten. The squirrel, acting as an unwitting par

There have been several experiences in my life where I have come to know the awesome beauty and terrifying majesty of lightning... ...the first was when I was very young - maybe eight years old. My parents were quite destitute at the time, and we were living (8 of us) in a two bedroom basement apartment. One night, a thunderstorm rose up. We had spent the evening in Orem at a park, and you could see the massive clouds boiling up over Provo where we lived. It was awesome, from that distance, to see the clouds frequently light up with inner glow and then fade back to blackness in the day's fading light. The rain began to pound our car as we drove down the hill into Provo. Racing inside to escape the weather, we quickly got ready for bed. But I could not sleep. The sound of thunder, rolling around the valley, through canyons and bouncing off the cliffs. It felt as though the mountains themselves were crashing down around me. Because we were in the basement, it was impossible to see

I like the phrase: health care. There is so much in that phrase that it seems almost too rich with meaning, to suffused with importance, and too electrically charged to be used in our current world. We live in a world of distractions, of ease and convenience, and of a never-ending saccharin stream of sappy, vapid pleasantries. How are you today, one may be asked. But the answer is always positive, as if it were a ghastly affront to be otherwise. And certainly no one really cares to hear if they are not ok. Besides, what could one do? Much, really. Health care is so much more than the simple caring for one's body and physical needs. There is an emotional, even spiritual aspect of one's soul that requires just as much sustenance and maintenance as the physical. Perhaps more. Because there are tests for the conditions of the body, and corrections can be relatively easily made to rectify all but the most serious of ailments. But what of the illnesses of the heart? Who can bind up