I Read Psalm 30
Say, it’s the first day
of your holiday in the country or the wild:
you’ve slept so well, you go out
just as dawn is about to break,
to take in your surrounding:
fields, woods, forests, mountains;
there’s dew on the ground, moist air
gently rolling off the mountains;
everything seems, at this precious moment,
to know all about two great events:
sleeping and resting, and waking and being alive;
you take it all in for a moment;
then maybe, light a cigarette,
think of your first cup of coffee,
congratulate yourself for living the good life..
or maybe something in you would like,
as the first slow sunlight makes rainbows
in each dropp of dew in front of you,
to say thank you to someone or something;
maybe you believe a bit in God
while freely admitting, you don’t understand
anything about His – or Her, or Its – nature;
and maybe that sense of wonder
that crept up on you
slips into a sort of thankful praise; and that
expands the wonder wonderfully, until
you’re living surrounded by wonder;
and if someone said to you standing there,
don’t you feel that all around us,
we are looking, smelling, tasting, hearing,
in the silence and the stillness, something of
the nature of God? you might
say, something like that…
maybe the psalmist is right,
God ‘needs’, too, in a way;
needs human beings to wonder at him,
thank him, praise him, celebrate him…
maybe the mind loves innocence,
the heart, to sing and dance…
poem by Michael Shepherd
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Related quotes
A Great Wonder Nature Is!
Sky, sea, mountains, falls, rivers, forests and fields;
Trees, leaves, flowers, fruits, bees, flies and birds;
Fish, reptiles, animals and men form living beings.
They are all creations of Nature created by God;
Naturally no doubt a great wonder Nature is ever!
Of all the beings man only has advanced by mind
And he feels a separate entity away from Nature
Due to attachment to body, matter and mind ever!
Galaxies, stars, planets and moon are boon of universe;
All pervading spirit is acting everything everywhere;
Nature is the matter It has created to do all wonders!
Man controls energy to do mechanical work by machines;
With materials he does all what is not naturally possible;
Yet, Nature’s wonders he cannot achieve by art or science!
poem by Ramesh T A
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Heart Attack (a Sestina)
What angelic chorals sing?
These messengers of heaven
Whose words are none of earth
Rising like mists amid the mountains
Rolling down to pastoral valleys
Stirring my fragile heart
My sullen, throbbing heart
Mumbling, for it can't quite sing
Its beat more full of valleys
Than peaks toward heaven
I miss those tracings in the shape of mountains
Which anchor me to this earth
Sweet, sweet earth
How you fill my heart!
Your noble, snowy mountains
Rising proudly to sing
At the feet of heaven
I long to see your valleys
To lay again in flowered valleys
Smelling the rich, black earth
Of my own personal heaven
Heal you traitorous heart!
I long to shout, to sing
Echoing from the mountains
Where are my mountains?
My rolling valleys?
The monitor, its dirge to sing
Strengthening my tether to earth
Even as my woefully tired heart
Slips to heaven
To forestall heaven
I labor to move mountains
As a constellation of disks record my heart
Etching flat valleys
Confirming i am still of this earth
With only a beep to mournfully sing
Each lull-to heaven, then up from the valleys
Drawn back to mountains and earth
As I wait for my heart to once again sing
poem by John Christensen
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Living God
Living God
Maker of all the heaven and earth
We want to worship you
Living God
You are the prince of peace
The master of the universe
Living God
We are your children
We will never forget you
And you will never forget us either
Living God
We give all the glory to you
Living God
You take away our sins
Living God
We are not perfect like you
So I hope you understand this
Because we are human beings
And we have our faults also
Living God
You are worth to be praise
Living God
Take the place of all the power
Living God
Behold, it comes in might,
The power that is power,
The light that is in darkness,
The shade in dazzling light
It is joy that never spoke,
Living God
poem by Aldo Kraas
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Most People Love Nature
Most people love Nature in their own sort of way
And the voices of Nature we hear night and day
The artists sketch Nature and the poets sing her praise
And the wonders of Nature never cease to amaze
Our Earth Mother the one who does live as she please
The babble of her rivers that never does cease
The unmistakeable soughing of the freshening breeze
In the woods and the fields in the bushes and trees
Her beauty is everywhere all around me
Where-ever I turn to look I do see
Her marvellous creations are before my eyes
And every day for us she has some new surprise
Her creatures of night and her creatures of day
Most people love Nature in their own sort of way.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Tempus Fugit
Born in the night
She would run like a leopard
That freaks at the sight
Of a mind close beside herself
And the nearer I came
How the country would change
She was using the landscape
To hide herself.
More in the mind
Than the body this feeling
A sense at the end
Of a circular line
That is drawn at an angle
I see when Im with you
To navigate waters and finally answer to-yes.
If you were there you would want to be near me
Innocence, you could hold all the materials
And though nothing would really be living
It would shock your fall into landing light
In the north sky time flies fast to the morning
The cold of the dawn it meant nothing to us
You were keeping your best situation
An answer to-yes
(yes, yes) and the moment I see you
(yes, yes) its so good to be near you
(yes, yes) and the feeling you give me
(yes, yes) makes me want to be with you
(yes, yes) from the moment you tell me - yes
If you could see all the roads I have travelled
Towards some unusable last equilibrium
Run like an athlete and die like a dead beaten speed-freak
An answer to all of your answers to-yes
In the north sky time flies faster than morning
The cold of the dawn it meant nothing to us
You were keeping your best situation
An answer to yes
(yes, yes) and the moment I see you
(yes, yes) its so good to be near you
(yes, yes) and the feeling you give me
(yes, yes) makes me want to be with you
(yes, yes) if we wait for an answer
(yes, yes) will the silence be broken
(yes, yes) should we wait for an answer
(yes, yes) do we leave it unspoken
(yes yes yes yes . . .)
song performed by by Yes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Tempus Fugit
Born in the night
She would run like a leopard
That freaks at the sight
Of a mind close beside herself
And the nearer I came
How the country would change
She was using the landscape
To hide herself.
More in the mind
Than the body this feeling
A sense at the end
Of a circular line
That is drawn at an angle
I see when Im with you
To navigate waters and finally answer to-yes.
If you were there you would want to be near me
Innocence, you could hold all the materials
And though nothing would really be living
It would shock your fall into landing light
In the north sky time flies fast to the morning
The cold of the dawn it meant nothing to us
You were keeping your best situation
An answer to-yes
(yes, yes) and the moment I see you
(yes, yes) its so good to be near you
(yes, yes) and the feeling you give me
(yes, yes) makes me want to be with you
(yes, yes) from the moment you tell me - yes
If you could see all the roads I have travelled
Towards some unusable last equilibrium
Run like an athlete and die like a dead beaten speed-freak
An answer to all of your answers to-yes
In the north sky time flies faster than morning
The cold of the dawn it meant nothing to us
You were keeping your best situation
An answer to yes
(yes, yes) and the moment I see you
(yes, yes) its so good to be near you
(yes, yes) and the feeling you give me
(yes, yes) makes me want to be with you
(yes, yes) if we wait for an answer
(yes, yes) will the silence be broken
(yes, yes) should we wait for an answer
(yes, yes) do we leave it unspoken
(yes yes yes yes . . .)
song performed by by Yes
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Song For Life
I never believed that
I would see the rain fall again
At this moment in time-
I upheld the moon in my hands
On the darkest night of the year-
Today the day is at the spring and
The wind is carrying
Dandelion thistles
Through every moment in time-
I believe I see a cardinal
Perched upon the branch of a
Cherry tree alone-
Singing a song of hope and love-
All I can do is weep only because
I know tomorrow
Rain will come down in a deluge and
My tears will only follow…
I remember the day we met- my true love and I - the rain was
Falling hard and I would
Capture the raindrops in my cupped hands and
Wondering if my tears would fall
In this moment in time-
I would uphold the sun in my hands on
The darkest day of my life-
Never let it loose from my grasp because
I believe that love is tenuous as is
A day with sunshine or
A night when the moon is full-
Cardinal, I say,
Sing me an aria about love that
I shall never forget and
Watch me dance in the rain as my tears fall
Into the pond in the midst of the forest-
Love is none but tenuous and
I have lost my love once more and that is why I weep-
Rainy days are plentiful and so like the loss of amity-
Sing with me and perhaps tomorrow the sun shall rise over the mountains and
My love shall return and rain shall never fall again
And my love will never again abandon me-
Sunlight, moonlight and love-fickle as they may be-
Here we are at the spring and everything is blossoming-
My hope, my life and my tears- never ending-
And my song and my new life has just begun-
In my hand I hold a bouquet of dandelions and as their
Thistles are blown about,
I give my tears away-
I never believed I would see rain fall
Again, in this moment in time-
Of course there is so much I never believed would be true and
As I let the elusive sun from my grasp
Disappear behind mountains of madness-
A rainbow on the horizon,
As beautiful as it may be
Is all the hope that tomorrow may bring-
It is the only hope I have for a future so
I continue my journey and my search for
None but sanity and grace to be bestowed upon me-
Nothing is more tenuous than life-
Not love, not sunshine or moonlight-
So I shall hold on to every element of life-
For without a firm grasp upon life-
Love, light and feelings
Could never exist for a moment in time so
Be thankful to be alive and
Dance in the rain and sing in the darkness and
Be thankful for every moment that
You are alive and never let go-
Not for one moment in time-
poem by Claudia Krizay
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For Vasant Kothari
Every funeral, cremation, and its rites
may have its grief; yet too,
its celebration of a life well lived;
and call out, too, self-dedication’s vow:
as the crowd of living witness
quietly leave and share their murmured words,
this vow ever calls to me: to celebrate the living:
celebrate them just as if it were
their – our - last day on earth:
celebrate and praise unstintingly;
encourage and enthuse and aid;
form their virtues in the mind and
speak them loud – as if
these whom we praise, were unaware
of their own virtues..
celebrate the living, and their life
shall celebrate the praisers in its life..
Vasant, your sweet, contained humility
hid from strangers, showed your friends,
what you were; and, who we are;
I hope your spirit (which, I’d like to think,
inspired me to the sounds beyond these words)
approves, accepts – in the eternal present tense –
these thoughts of you.
poem by Michael Shepherd
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Of Life And Of Nature
I knew just as much about them fifty years ago
Of Life and of Nature as now I do know
Though from our dealings with people we learn every day
We learn as we live as some are known to say
But Nature of course is a different thing
And though the praises of Nature the Poets may sing
And though from living near Nature insights from her we do gain
Her secrets from us as great mysteries remain.
Even since the invention of the first motor car
Human kind in technology have gone so far
But the greatest are mere mortals just like you and I
And great minds are born and great minds must die.
The achievements of human kind doubtless are great
But Nature out of nothing something can create
And about Nature and Life today fifty years ago as much I knew
But each day from living we learn something new.
poem by Francis Duggan
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I was like a plant in the wrong ground. It wasn't the right earth for me, but I think it was great because I was in touch with the nature and grew up in nature with forest and trees, fields, mountains, rivers, and it was good.
quote by Vincent Perez
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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P r a i s e
Whatever that you think you lack – give that! ’ –
this saying, heard, lodged in my mind a space;
like seed that hides in earth – yet not inert:
its hidden clock an instrument of grace;
the mind, the soil, that meanwhile, does not know:
it neither knows what lies in its embrace,
nor its own precious nutrients which grow
this seed; nor sees the Sower, nor His grace –
until one day, when in some Spring of light,
I realised: I, meanly, denied – praise:
the praise of human beings in my sight;
and thus, the praise of that One source of praise..
so sought occasion, each and All to praise;
now Praise, with golden hand, seeds all my days.
poem by Michael Shepherd
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0186 Praise
'Whatever that you think you lack - give that! ' -
this saying, heard, lodged in my mind a space;
like seed that seems inert - yet, not inert;
its hidden clock an instrument of grace;
the mind, that soil which meanwhile does not know:
it neither knows what lies in its embrace,
nor its own precious nutrients which grow
that seed; nor knows the Sower; nor His grace -
until the day that in some Spring of light,
I realised: I, meanly, denied - praise:
the praise of human beings in my sight;
and thus, the praise of that one source of praise.
so sought occasion, each and All to praise;
now Praise, with golden hand, seeds all my days.
poem by Michael Shepherd
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Voice
Quiet, that time before dawn;
A moment betwixt night and day
Just before the sun cracks the horizon
To flood the earth with light.
Before the first birds sing their morning praise.
A time of silence and contemplation,
Before the bustle of the day intrudes
And shatters its passing beauty,
For in that moment if you listen close
So faint upon the trembling air,
So quietly and gently spoke
You may hear the creator's voice.
poem by Paul Brookes
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Bird’s Song
Swim through oceans of air
Birds keep time up there
And spend their days winging
Through forests of clouds, singing
Hymns of nature’s style
Fluttering away all the while
Dancing with angels in the sky
Dancing, dancing as they fly
Through fields of blue
Just to sing their song for you.
Mountains of clouds all about
Saviors in times of drought
Gather up the tears you cry
Into your reservoir in the sky
And listen to the birds sing
Listen for the song in everything
From the forests to the sea
From the bird to the bee
Listen and the song is there
Nature sings everywhere.
The sun rejoices each new day
But it rises in the usual way
To wake up the world with beams of light
And to conquer the darkness of night
But still the birds sing their song
A tribute to the day that’s long
And travel through fields of blue
Just to sing their song for you
And then when all has gone away
They’ll sing for you some other day.
poem by Jamie Collins
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The Waking (1953)
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.
We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.
Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me, so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.
This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.
poem by Theodore Roethke
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The Waking
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.
We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.
Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me; so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.
This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.
poem by Theodore Roethke
Submitted by Dan Costinaş
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Time, Perhaps
Time perhaps, for wonder –
to look around in awe
at how all that surrounds us
has somehow come about..
we who do not even know
how to grow a fingernail…
time perhaps, for gratitude –
for what we have already,
forgetting for a moment, our desires…
we who have forgotten
whom or how to thank..
time perhaps, for praise –
if not the Lawyer, praise the laws…
if not the lover, praise the love…
we who might become
praiseworthy through our praise…
time perhaps, for imagination –
to consider how things might be,
for then they might become…
we who have the world itself
inside us, just as much as that
great cosmos that’s out there…
time perhaps, for simplicity –
to pare life down to those things
which give us greatest joy –
and then, enjoy them all the more…
we who love complexity
when masquerading as the new…
time perhaps, for time –
to live a measured calm
of stillness, peace and rest
and find the joy there all the time …
we who ceaselessly invent
the labour-saving, and then find
ourselves a slave to these new toys…
time perhaps, to transcend time –
and live a timely life
of timeless joy; and know then,
all that’s not been mentioned here…
we who have yet to know
what human beings really are…
poem by Michael Shepherd
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Psalm 150
Praise the Lord of the morning
When the sun rises from its sleep
Praise the Lord for His excellent greatness
For His beauty makes me weep
Praise the Lord when the darkness falls
And the moon rises high above
Praise the Lord for His majestic glory
And His everlasting love
Praise the Lord in the winter
When the snow falls on the ground
Praise the Lord for His glorious presence
When we stand upon holy ground
Praise the Lord of the summer
When the days are warm and long
Praise the Lord for His magnificent splendor
And the saints shall sing a new song
Praise the Lord of the springtime
When the blossoms on the tree
Praise the Lord for His holiness
And for the Blood that set us free
Praise the Lord of the Autumn
When the leaves fall to the ground
Praise the Lord for His faithfulness
And that His grace abounds
Praise the Lord when your happy
And there's a smile upon your face
Praise the Lord for His mercy
And for His saving grace
Praise the Lord when you're in despair
And your pierced by a fiery dart
Praise the Lord for HIs loving kindness
That restores your broken heart
Praise the Lord with your last breath
As you lie upon your bed
Praise the Lord for His promises
To raise you from the dead
Praise the Lord for all eternity
As you gather around His throne
Praise the Lord for His incredible beauty
As you worship Him alone
Let trumpet, harp and timbrel praise
And dance before the King
Let all with breath praise the Lord
And with their voices sing
Hallelujah to the King of Kings
We worship and bow down
We sing to you forever more
And we will crown Him with many crowns
poem by Frank McEleny
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Your Relationship With Nature
Your relationship with Nature speaks volumes about you
Do you only see Nature as a means to financial gain or are you one of those who
Love Nature for her beauty and love her wildlife and her trees
And her rivers, lakes and mountains and her fields and flowers and bees?
Your relationship with Nature tells of the sort of person that you are
Do you see Nature's protectors as those who have gone too far
In their dispute with the developer in their fight for every tree
If this be so you support the environmental vandals or so 'twould seem to me?
Your relationship with Nature about you more can say
Than all of your friends and enemies can or so 'twould seem that way
For your apathy to Nature tells of your inner strife
And your attitude to Nature is your attitude to life.
Your relationship with Nature says far more about you
Than anyone else of you can say as their words may not be true
For if you love Mother Nature and with her live in harmony
Then you are working for the good of all of humanity.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Hard Living
Hard living
In the country
Planting the corn
In the fields
Living a dream
Where we see our corn grow
Hard living
Planting that corn in the fields
In this warm summer day
Hard living
We have while living in the country
Our dream
Is to see our corn grow
This earth is strong
The rain we need
To water our fields
We pray for the rain
We worship the rain
We praise God for the rain
The rain helps our crops to grow
Our dream is to have a good crop this year
We are proud of our country
We are the country man
We work hard with our hands in the fields
This is what we call hard living
poem by Aldo Kraas
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