Weekly Prompts

Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated. From The Old Man and the Sea

The world is “charged with the grandeur of God.”

Exposed

I marvel at the egret, her charm and elegance,

her pristine plumage as white as moonlight, and daring.

At her long, jet-black legs slippered in chicory as she moves

serenely and elegantly among banks, peering intently,

eyeing little fishes in the shallows. She’s subdued, patient,

foraging the waterfront by foot, stirring pools and eddies

as she drifts. Sometimes she flies just above

water’s waves. Other times she swims or glides and dips.

This morning she’s restrained and poised, still, like

hurricane’s eye, awaiting her prey. And then she swoops.

With dexterity and grace, she dazzles and awes,

and I am exposed. Exposed to the grandeur of God.

Published: Strange Fire, 2021; photo from Unsplash

Prompt:  Where do you see the grandeur of God? First, make a list.  Then go from there.  Perhaps you will dwell on just one thing,in all its glory, as I did.  Maybe you will want to write about many things that show God in His splendor. Here is Hopkins’ poem.

Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise.

To live is to be marked. To live is to change, to acquire the words of a story, and that is the only celebration we mortals know. – Orleana in The Poisonwood Bible

How can we live without our lives? How will we know it’s us without our past? From The Grapes of Wrath

Prompt:  The women packing up to leave their homes lament that they can take very little of their belongings with them to California. While the men are saying, “Leave it,” a little piece of the women is dying as they say goodbye to things they cherish. What “things” do you cherish? What “things” make up your life?  A picture album, a piece of jewelry from a grandmother? An old Bible that belonged to your grandpa? You might start your poem with the first part of the line – “How can we live without our lilves?”

The name of a person you love is more than language.

…humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat. – The Invisible Man

This is the hour of lead

You ain’t big enough or mean enough to worry God much. – Ma Joad in The Grapes of Wrath

The impeded stream is the one that sings.