Long Time – No Poems
By larry r Linville

A good friend complained the other day
I’d done no poems for a while.
“He’s correct”, I said to myself
but how long it’s been I cannot tell.

Was I lacking the discipline
that would make me do the hard work
as I settled back in laziness
trying all my writing to shirk?

I became busy at Easter time
and was tired when it was ended.
So I seemed to take a mental rest
as my poetry was suspended.

During the time things went unnoticed
which would earlier have caught my eye
so I will try to pay attention
and not let those things pass me by.

I'll try again to post a poem and see if it ends up in prose form.

Enduring a Bad Sermon
By larry r linville

What do you do when you’re setting there
as the preacher speaks and you must be fair?
His subject you are ready to hear
but to that topic he isn’t near.

It’s like eating only the pizza crust
and the center leave like it was rust.
When he begins to come near the point
he slips like a bone in a sprained joint.

You feel like you have been on the road
which bypassed the town and never slowed.
The topic he chose sounded real good
but it’s been so long I’ve lost the mood

My calendar I begin to check
I’ve wasted my time but what the heck
I haven’t even made a peep
and I couldn’t even go to sleep.

It makes me wonder what others think
when I preach a sermon that might stink
But I don’t think it could have this smell
Even if it was as bad as hell.

This blog is really messing up. I can't figure it out. I'll keep trying.

Communion Shirt by Larry R Linville I'm looking for a purple shirt. The pattern can be plain. I'll wear it to communion and it won't show a stain. I dip that bread into the cup but when I raise it to my lip a purple drop lands on the chest of my light shirt which isn't hip. Perhaps I should just wear a bib which other people would think strange or have another shirt we me and go to the bathroom and change. What would you do my dear fine friend if this kept happening to you? Maybe I'll try your suggestion or a polka dot shirt will do.

I don't know why my previous entry didn't take poetic form. I've tried to revise it several times. Perhaps in a day or so I can edit it and it will take proper form.

A poem about a special friend

Reunion for First Grade Friends By larry r Linville We started first grade together at a small one room country school. Both at such a tender young age today you’d say each was a fool. In December a bright star shone in the skies each night after dark which the teacher said was the star that over the manger did park. I became very excited but was shocked Joe didn’t believe. I gave a Bible comic book to Donnie Joe for Christmas Eve. A year later my family moved and we each went separate ways. He spent his life as a truck driver and as a preacher I gave God praise. I often wondered if he believed but I figured I’d never know. I didn’t know he met a girl and at her church his faith would grow. I received a message from Joe inviting me to visit him at his room in the hospital where his illness was very grim. We talked about so many things and he gave a special look as he said words that touched my heart telling me he still had that book. I went back to his room today as the old men we were teary eyed. While I spoke words holding water and Donald Joseph was baptized. Sixty three years ago these boys would never have guessed this day could bring such a blessing to both leaving them without words to say. He could have done this years ago but it wouldn’t have been the same for some other humble preacher to speak his special Christian name.

The Lawn Wakes Up
By larry r Linville

The yellow yard woke up today
and tried to decide what to say.
It shouted to the sleepy grass
that winter was about to pass.

Dandelions would seek a head start
along with weeds that we call smart.
Crab grass needed no second call
like other weeds next to the wall.

With a little shower and sun
the sap in trees started to run.
The grass’s envy could be seen
as it began to turn bright green.

The lawn began to feel very good
as the spreader applied plant food
and just like in a barber’s chair
the mower trimmed everything there.

It was just a few weeks ago
that the yard was covered with snow.
Now until the summer is spent
we will enjoy its fragrant scent.