These images are courtesy of Reusable Art. I learn from the art and research notes there.
Thanksgiving Harvest – a postcard by Ellen Clapsaddle
Christmas Chrysanthemums – illustration by Sidney Thomas Callowhill
Category: Beauty
sun fades
sun fades
art on walls
and prints
on bookcases
in frames or
held in place
by some small
treasure
I take care
to preserve
yet also like
the thought
that in a way
each is then
unique to this
time and place
Image: wpclipart
The poem is from April 2015.
Ellen Grace Olinger
peaceful memories
ordering
a Christmas wreath
for my parents’ graves
even though I know
they are not there
Christmas Wreath Drawing is courtesy of Reusable Art.
Ellen Grace Olinger
Acrostic Poem for MERCY
M ay
E veryone who can
R emember and
C onsider
Y our children in need
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Matthew 5: 7 (KJV)
The image is from Repeatable Backgrounds: Fabric Weaves and Textures (Dover Publications).
Ellen Grace Olinger
Haiku
blue gloves rest
on wheelbarrow of weeds
autumn work
from 2017
country roads
reflections of light
from new steel roofs
Published in on down the road, Haiku Society of America 2017 Members’ Anthology, edited by LeRoy Gorman.
I wrote this poem for EarthRise Rolling Haiku Collaboration 2015: The Year of Light, The Haiku Foundation.
frost soon –
cutting flowers
generously
Published in The TOP, The Tournament of Poetry (October 1995).
The image is courtesy of Dover Publications. It was a sample from Victorian Design.
Ellen Grace Olinger
Creativity Over Time: Music Notes
I enjoy a wide variety of music, and still buy CDs. I like seeing how the artists create the whole work.
From Pandora, I learned of Helen Jane Long, Karen Marie Garrett, Brian Crain and others.
From the News Hour on PBS, I learned about Patty Griffin’s latest CD, Patty Griffin. There was an interview with Jeffrey Brown earlier this year.
After watching a WoodSongs program on PBS, we bought Silver Skies Blue by Judy Collins & Ari Hest.
And I just began listening to Threads, by Sheryl Crow, which includes many artists.
When I was young, we bought albums. One of Joni Mitchell’s covers would be part of my decoration.
Life now is a combination of blogs and also books and music. Everyday work. Fall chores outside when flowers have completely faded, though I leave some plants to look beautiful in the winter snow. It is a blessing to simply wash dishes and look through the window to the yard.
And I continue to read Luci Shaw’s poetry often. She writes in such a healing and honest way about her long life – she was born in 1928.
I took the photo yesterday. As you can see, the pumpkin is on the ash tree stump with October hosta plants. The ash tree fell in a storm, and we created a new image of beauty in the yard. Of hope. I love the hosta weathered now too – all part of the cycle of the seasons.
Blessings,
Ellen Grace Olinger
Acrostic Poem for PSALMS
P romises of
S erenity
A nd
L ove
M editations and
S trength
The Psalms have been with me for as long as I can remember. I wrote the acrostic in 2010.
The Psalms are ever-new – they apply to whatever life is asking of me – yet also are comforting because I have been reading a long time.
Thou tellest my wanderings:
put thou my tears into thy bottle:
are they not in thy book?
Psalm 56: 8 (KJV)
Thy statutes have been my songs
in the house of my pilgrimage.
Psalm 119: 54 (KJV)
The Psalms inspire me to write poems.
reading Psalms
in the sunroom
fragrance of daffodils
rereading Psalms
colors of leaves
a deeper gold
Wait on the Lord:
be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen thine heart:
wait, I say, on the Lord.
Psalm 27:14 (KJV)
The image is from Crafter’s Cornucopia and courtesy of Dover Publications.
Ellen Grace Olinger
