WHEN THE SUN SETS IN THE SOUTH

I really don't mind the longer evenings and the extended hours of darkness before twilight. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the Morning Star (Venus) travers the sky in the predawn hours allowing for thoughtful meditation and prayer. Here is a little poem I penned a couple of years ago... and of course Robin took the perfect photo.

***

When the sun sets in the south,
Or nearly there it seems...
And the clock is striking four,
And you catch the last of the sunbeams.

Reminds us of the passing of time
And the brevity certainly... there of.
As the sun sets into the dark of winter,
Never forget... the wonder of God's love.

LBR

THE MUSIC OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

By Larry B. Reinhold *** March 23, 2023

Frolicking light of green and red and white,

Prancing and leaping and having a ball.

Seems to be moving in rhythm of a distant symphony,

And I hear the yip and howl, the yip and howl of the coyote's call

***

Streams of light reaching the Great Bear of the night sky.

High in the sky these northern lights are amazing to all.

And then I listen for the music of the silence,

And the yip and howl, the yip and howl of the coyote's call.

***

I follow a beam of polar light over my shoulder.

And seemingly the journey of Orion comes to a stall

And just as an old friend we stop and watch and listen,

To hear the yip and howl, the yip and howl of the coyote's call.

***

Again I stand amazed by the drama of Aurora Borealis.

I glance to the west, where the stage was not at all small.

Venus and the Crescent moon play second chair and hear

The yip and howl, the yip and howl of the coyote call.

***

I am now feeling the chill of the night as it replaces

The thrill of watching the spectacle from heaven's hall.

I lower my gaze and I turn my back and yet continues the music

The yip and howl, yes the yip and howl of the coyote's call.

WINTER HAS ME ASKING

For nearly six decades I have pondered
When the shadows cast nearly north.
And the sun catches the distant horizon
And the days of winter now set forth.

The winter solstice has me asking
What is it about the enduring night?
That sets in at the end of each day
When the darkness outlasts the light.

The "North Country" is where I call home.
Often, sunup to sundown happens to be my clock.
It is no use to fret that the day is done.
Makes little difference on the path I walk.

So, I will take each moment in stride.
Perhaps the seasons say it best.
The days of summer I work long and hard.
The days of winter it is time to ponder and rest.

I am reminded a lesson to adhere.
To everything there is a reason,
As the Scripture of old clearly states
To the passage of day and of each season.

Larry B. Reinhold
December 21, 2021

EMANUEL JACOB FISHER... A TRIBUTE TO YOU

Not a word to say, Daddy carried in

A pine box to be their son's earthly bed

Mommy whispered through her tears,

"I sure wish it was a toy box, instead."

A little boy conceived in love.

A dream to enhance the human race.

Delivered from the warmth of mother's womb

Into the loving arms of God's embrace.

In their home and in their eyes...

So much evidence of joy.

In their heart they know God is love.

But oh how they miss the heartbeat of that little boy.

Carefully they lay their son in,

This homemade box of pine.

They fold his blanket all just right.

And in the silence, "Mommy, Daddy will you be fine?"

Daddy holds Mommy real close and tight.

"Our son...'God With Us'... It's even in your name.

Emanuel Jacob Fisher.... A tribute to you...

We will be fine... But we will never be the same."

***

Larry B. Reinhold

December 10, 2021

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ANOTHER DAY (POETRY BY LARRY)

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INSTEAD OF RUDOLPH

I put on my red felt Christmas hat,
And was dressed in my finest clothes.
Went out and caught me an antelope
He had the blackest nose.

He had only one speed you see,
And that was faster than the fastest fast.
I hooked him to my little runner sled
We could deliver gifts to the very last.

As a little cowboy in Dakota
Things were a mite different when the snowflakes fell.
Cause we didn't have any reindeer
Just antelope to wear the Christmas Bell.

Now here I am some fifty years later
And I still have some gifts to put under the tree
And yes if I had my druthers instead of Rudolph.
That little Buck antelope would be the one for me.

Larry B. Reinhold December 16, 2014

Bucky and Larry around 1960

WHAT IS TRUTH

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You find it so dark in the shadows of the bright new day
Standing at the doorway do you go in or run away
You have learned and have no answers along life’s dusty road
You have packed all the important stuff and now are trapped beneath the load.

All the new beginnings have been given to someone to boot
The helping hand is slippery and is a shallow root.
You’re as free as the wind till the storm has blown you around.
You are ready to bask in the sun’s warm rays, but it too has gone down.

What is truth; Can one color, stretch or twist?
Can it only be half there and the other part be missed.
Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free”
This is something you should claim and live, I know it works for me.

By Larry B. Reinhold 2006