Swallows - A Poem

Swallows

Black bodied, oranged breasted bombers.
Acrobats darting and flying about.
Seemingly random and but focussed.

Mud for the nest, soft bedding.Mud, carried in tiny beaks.
Trip after endless trip.

Spit into rows, built tiny bricks.
Layer by layer rising up.
Resting frail on nail or ledge.

Plant fluff, breast feathers.
The bed soft for the eggs,
Lined for the treasure of young

Eggs, small and perfectly frail.
Life growing, life reaching to
break free and begin their demands.

Black bodied, oranged breasted.
Small bodies, almost all mouth.
Cries for more! More! More!

One darting capture, happless insect
delivered to the demanding babes.
Mouths ever open, parents ever bringing.

Weeks exhausting pass in summer's sun.
Hot days, raining days, morning and night.
Mama and Papa bringing food, defending them.

On my deck with a coffee.
I hear a new sound.
No longer nest bound but not flying.

Lined up on the ledge, a hungry line.
Quiet watching, eyes only moving.
Until a parent is spotted!

The fastest mouth is fed.
The quickest babe to cry.
The others wait, quietly.

Without plan or measure.
Each gets fed, fairly until full.
Each parent rests on the light cover.

Baby barn swallows.
Soon will fly.
Mama and Papa
will do it
all over
again.
 
copyright 2011 Shanyn Silinski

M.O.B. Society Hop!

http://www.themobsociety.com/2011/07/the-first-annual-boy-mom-bloghop/

Welcome to my wonderfully blessed and beautifully chaotic life!  I ranch in Manitoba with my husband and son.  We have a lot of fun, we work hard and we children of God who celebrate His creation every day!

This is my Mom blog, where I share about our adventures, the stories that move us and the poetry that life and the Lord bring me.  Sometimes it is just photos, sometimes it is a story. Sometimes it is just stuff!  My faith blog is Strawberry Roan and my healing journey is over at Scarred Seeker.  You are welcome to stop by either and say hi!  

We have four rescue dogs - Border Collie, Catahoula, Great Pyrenees and a Corgi mix. We have Highland cows and horses, cats and lots of wild critters who call our ranch home.  

As a writer, photographer and scrapbooker I have a pretty creative mind, and it is so different from my work, which I love, that taps into my work in emergency services and animal care. 

We are avid readers, lovers of books and some are authors too.  We read Dr. Seuss, Cat In The Hat science books, we follow the adventures of the trucks in the Truck Town books by Jon Scieszka, any books about farming and heavy equipment, the 'talking' Britannica set of books on science, nature and the world are very popular around here!  Poetry, Bible stories and singing songs keeps the sounds rolling.  We homeschool and spending time reading aloud or to ourselves but together is really important and a lot of fun.

My son, Luke, loves Bible stories and his two favorites are the Easter Story and the Good Samaritan.  He also loves to read about Martha and Mary.

It gets muddy, dirty, and kinda crazy around here but we love our ranching life and wouldn't change it for anything.  It is a blessing to be stewards of this land, this water and these animals, both wild and not so wild.

Thank you for coming by, I hope you come again!

Bright blessings, always and in all ways...

Sunflowers

Oh how I wish I could keep my face to the Son,

Faithful as a sunflower watching the sun

crossing the arc of the sky.

Oh how I wish I had the faith in that seed,

planted by winter hoarding birds,

growing in a tiny bit of soil in the crook of a willow tree.

No matter where you plant one,

they always seek the sunshine.

Why can't I, oh Lord, be as faithful?

Planted in rough soil or easy,

all I need is to hold on and seek You!

They seek the sun, the feed birds and bees.

They shade frogs and smaller plants.

Strong as a tree in stalk,

delicate velvet leaves and abundant seeds.

Bet you can't look at one and not smile?

Promise of a tight bud, the fulfillment of a full bloom.

Soon fading to seeds, winter feed for birds and animals.

Reminders for me, during the dark days and during winter months...

The Son always shines and all we have to do is keep 

facing Him!

Five Minute Friday: Loss

Crowd pressed around, smells of the city.

Dirty, gritty, gas and oil.

Concrete and asphalt.

Sweat and perfume.

People press and I push it down.

Then a scent ribbons past me.

My head turns, nose up wolfish.

I know that scent, that memory.

Turning, I scan the crowd.

Searching for the impossible.

You are gone, long since gone.

Your voice faded away,

your face soft and distant.

That scent brings it all back!

That smell of you!

Scents, I wish I could see how

They carry memories so light.

Twisting ribbons of scent

tangling my heart, twisting my mind.

Just one instant and it all comes back.

Losing you, missing you, holding you.

Our last words an argument.

Our last night talking in a pick up truck.

Me fighting, you quitting.

Strangled with a second of scent,

that noose of a memory.

Then, in tears, I realize it is gone.

I seek with my nose, my heart, my eyes.

That crowd, improbable and dense.

Finding you there, a delicate thread

of memory strung along to my heart

all the way by the scent of your memory.

Losing Kelly was the hardest grief, it was and still is the loss of a friendship and a love that never truly got a chance to fully bloom.  


Shared on Gooseberry Garden: http://gooseberrygoespoetic.blogspot.com/2011/10/poetry-picnic-week-7-love-and-loss.html

Everything is out of our hands...

Everything is
out
of our hands.
 
I tell you,
it's out
of our hands....

Nothing was
ever
in our hands.

Seeds we plant.
Rain we praise
or curse.

Babes we birth.
They grow
weeds, roses or vines.

Everything is
out
of our hands.

Not by works.
Not by righteousness.
Nothing in our hands.
Nothing but grace.

I tell you
it's out
of our hands...

and I tell you
who has
hands enough
for it all.

He does.
He can.
He will.
He is.
 
Copyright Shanyn Silinski 2011
(This poem inspired by a prompt by our Triggered Muse Poet's group on Facebook. )

Stormy Monday Part I

Blue sky edges the layers of clouds as the front moves our way.

This was moving like a nest of snakes.

Cloud sculpture any one?

Ominous aren't they?

On a day with many warnings emerging all over the province, the storms are starting to rumble and roll our way.
These are the leading edge of the storm photos, it's been 'use a lamp' dark at our house since about 2 pm.