The closed hand

As in the schoolyard game,
He mocks
By his words,
"Guess what I have!"
Is this 

Just an attitude?
Or a devious inclination?

Alas, I go on wanting--
I'm quite unaware

What is happening

Til he shows

The closed hand--daring,

Provoking--

If it were loosened

I'd behold

Desire granted-- or so I

Think, and torment

Grows--it's surprising my hopes

Do not go up in flames!

I wonder if this

Illusion lasts?

I stare at the

Closed hand.

The evil one dictates the laugh--

Or weeps, screams, cries--
His nature erratic--

The hand opens...
Is empty!

2018

The Neapolitan Man

Love touched him,

The sea called--

And he threw himself 

With wide-open arms into

The wave and swam a mile.

And then he stood still in the 

Shallow, cold water 

Like a stature of strength.

What great force moved him!

2018

Who separated me from my friends

"...cheerfully await the certainty of ultimate perfection." (Science and Health, p. 97)-----

What separates me from
My faithful friends?
All my thoughts make life
And its own proof of harmony
Denying error's verity.
I wander along the banks of a river,
Fresh-flowing, lively and deep.
Nothing is lost and I find
A place to rest.
Little songs arouse flowers!--
In the shady meadows and the dark forests,
Sky all stars. The finite gives place
To the infinite, on earth as in heaven---
Sets oneself right!

2018

A Hearing

If I could see
One day up close--
A tranquil peace, free
From frenzied speech,
What grace, what joy!
O will spread me wings--
And like a dove
I'll rise above
The mockery of those who speak
With tainted tongue—
Without restraint
As passions lead,
And faster than dark days
Retreat.

Fear

Trouble is in our sight--

"The looms of crime, hidden in the dark

Recesses of mortal thought, are every hour

Weaving webs more complicated and subtle."

Tears come down like raindrops now,

The spiritual-minded cry,

"O Learn!--evil is not power!"

Can you hear Christ's voice

Echo above the flooded streams?

"For out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts,

Murders, adulteries, fornications, theft, false witness,

Blasphemies: They are the things which defile a man."

To follow wickedness in high places is our demise!

But we have God/Good as our fountain of Light!

And the divine Eternal illumines our path!

Moments flash by--

Lightening splits the night!

The God of grace is with us,

And helps us

And upholds us! And renews our strength

And we'll mount as eagles!

Fear not!

Because the I AM THAT I AM

Is with you!

Eva-Maria Hogrefe--September 2018

The literal guidance for my poem l found in 

the biblical passage in Matthew 15:19, and

in Mary Baker Eddy's Science and Health: "Animal Magnetism 

Unmasked"--

Dominion - definitive version

Dominion!

Within my mind the windows of meaning
Open wide--to the day I sought--
And I look out to see what Life has made!

Fish:  No useful idea too deep

          Or hidden for me to understand--

Fowl: No useful idea too lofty

          Or too high for me to understand--

Cattle: No useful idea as would carry

          An overbearing burden--

Creeping creatures: For me to see a useful idea unfold,

          No matter how long it may take--

                          

          As  I have been given the patience
          And the strength to remain

          Steadfast in expecting good!

          If this is me--I AM grateful for an

                        Upright nature!

                        Who does not know the endless arguments

                        Between people?

                        Better is to do nothing contrary to ones'

                        Highest sense of good!

                        

                        I will be ready for the winds,

                        They will blow--merciless!

                        

                        From the sea comes a mighty rain

                        And washes the earth clean

                        Of the dust 

                        And soaks the dry, thirsty ground!

                        The herb-bearing seeds grow

                        And grow-- fruit as the flowers

                        And as the trees--Behold! -- 

                        As they cover the face of the earth!

                        How pleasant 

                        And satisfying to my sight!

                        Is that just my poetic nature

                        Speaking?


                 

                   Inspired by the Bible, Genesis 1:26-31

Friendship

What is it?

A spiritual impulse?

A law of attraction?

An expectancy of fulfillment through someone else?

As we journey along the shores of time

We sigh and rest,

"Besides the still waters," and

Become friends

to ourselves!

"In water face answereth to face,"

See yourself--

The full moon and its gentle light

Is within you!

You smile and see the flowers

Blooming--at the same moment

Your wishes weave into a gown,

And you meet a friend!

You can never be alone again,

Because you're now a friend to the whole of mankind.

What are you giving? Grace and

Love and Peace

And you, dear friend?

Your words are running like a deep river

And  I listen--

All carrying the current of momentum

That a solid friendship is!

Let bonding have a chance

And grow on the tree of our innermost self!

Friendship is a great universal force,

It means to invest your love where there is no prejudice!

The inner space takes on the shape and

Contour and color of your thoughts--

Always check your heart,

Silver does not kow it is silver

Until it changes into a gem.

Your friendship does not know its greatness

Until knows its helplessness.

Don't be zealous for too much.

Express the freedom of spiritual equality!

The winds and thunder clean the air.

We are together again in the light of a candle--

Flickering.

Unless we are united with all of God's creatures

Through a spirit of friendliness,

We'll not  be aware of our unity with Good, i.e. God---

A kind loving friendship should exist

In all relationships; between parent and child,

And huband and wife, between man and woman.

Do we hear the call ''love each other?"

There are many different kinds of knowing,

Many layers of learning--but all we need is the Now--

The awareness of intelligence and goodness

Of the great artistry of Life's existence!

Because I love, my heart is happy,

Thus I'm not bored, goodness wells up like a spring

And leads me to a simpler way of living.

The candlelight is now blending with a sunbeam,

A new day started and also a new opportunity!

Thanks to God!--A blade of grass bending in the breeze, and

We bow to each other by the virtue of a gentle touch.

Birds sing melodiously in the distant woods,

And we likewise enjoy our togetherness!

Eva-Maria Hogrefe -- August 2018