I love gold stripes
on the road in autumn
as my window wiper wipes
raindrops off my windshield
or the sun shines through
the leaves making them look
like stained glass set in a blue
sky .
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
(Photos by Karen Molenaar Terrell.)
What is it about pumpkins? I was wandering through Gordon’s Pumpkin Farm yesterday and I realized I was smiling under my mask. Smiling at pumpkins. (!) They are a friendly vegetable, aren’t they?
Ode to Pumpkins
Shiny round-cheeked pumpkin
Nestled in my autumn garden
You may become a lantern.
You may become a pie.
You may become a hardy soup
on my stove top, by and by.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
Limerick to a Pumpkin
There once was a punkin’ named Jack
who appeared in the patch in the back.
He was orange and round
and grew up on a mound –
He was the star of Halloween –
that’s a fact.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
Pumpkin Haiku
Round friendly pumpkin
Waiting now for Halloween
Soon he’ll be compost.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
And now some pictures of local pumpkins…
And now a haiku…
Empty country roads
I’m dodging caterpillars
Tiger moths in spring!
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
We’ve learned a lot about ourselves
in the last four years, haven’t we?
We’ve learned what we’re made of,
what needed to be fixed, what’s
important to us, and what we love.
We came together, worked shoulder-
to-shoulder, side by side,
bolstering each other up,
sharing inspiration, sharing the ride,
sharing a good laugh now and then,
letting Love guide.
We’re maybe not looking our best –
we’re battle-weary, battered, bedraggled –
but we’re not beaten.
And look at all we’ve done together!
We will always share this bond, my friend.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
Limerick for a Little Fly
There once was an adventurous fly
who journeyed from his home in the sty
he followed the bright lights
to the stage in the heights
and became famous that night by and by.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
The Great Division of 2016-2020
Grandma, what did you do
during The Great Division?
Were you a part of the revision?
Were you a part of the decision
to follow a new vision
and heal the fission?
Did you walk in marches
and write letters?
Did you go to rallies
to make things better?
Did you do everything you could
to help the jobless and poor
the disenfranchised and mocked –
could you have done more?
Grandma, did you vote?
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
“Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy has always believed that those who are entitled to vote should do so, and she has also believed that in such matters no one should seek to dictate the actions of others.”
– from “Miscellany” (p. 276) by Mary Baker Eddy
Feeling mighty. I am woman.
Hear me roar.
Took the car in for an oil change –
the nice cashier brought up
a list of things to pour
into my auto. I listened
and then asked, “But my car
is a standard. Why would it need
automatic transmission fluid?”
And he nodded his head –
Yes, a standard.
“A stickshift,” I said,
wanting to be clear. And he stopped
short then. Peeked in my window –
Ohhhhh. A manual. And I got it –
who could have guessed
that a gray-haired Karen drove
one of those?! A standard doesn’t fit
the demographic
and isn’t it fantastic
that my father taught me to drive
on that old VW van?
The nice young cashier clicked
a button and my bill magically
became forty dollars less than
it had been.
I am woman. Hear me roar.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
Two Poems from the Cemetery
Such a short time we are here!
The gravestones remind me of this.
Four lie near each other – all younger
than I am now when they died: 42, 56,
59, 25. And I am still alive. But it’s
such a short time we are here!
And when we’re gone – have moved on –
what will anyone remember of you –
of me? What memories will remain?
The accolades, awards, one star
or five? How much we owned?
How our jewelry shone? Or will
we be remembered for our smiles,
our kindnesses, our generosity –
the way we stood up to bullies,
helped lift others up, shared laughter,
shared life’s lessons, shared good fully?
Such a short time we are here.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
Today the cosmos danced for me
at the cemetery. Sitting on a bench,
feeling the peace I always feel
there, the sun came out and a breeze
moved across the grass and autumn
flowers at the edge of the grounds.
I love you, always and forever, a voice
said. Fear not. All is well. Do you feel
me with you? Celebrate with me.
And how could I not?
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Dear star –
I saw your light tonight –
thank you for sending it our way.
It arrived at the just right
moment on the just right day.
I know you sent your light out
thousands of years ago –
traveling through fear, doubt,
and darkness to reach us here
below.
I know
the light you sent goes on, though
you may not exist anymore.
Your light will travel beyond us,
too, to reach other distant shores.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell
Her name was Ruth
and she stood for Truth
She worked for justice –
the rights of all of us
She was fearless, peerless
a woman of honor
no one on earth
could ever con her
When I grow up I want to be
just like the mighty RBG
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 