Category Archives: poetry

Spiritual Sense

Posted on by
Reply

To be immortal, we must forsake the mortal sense of things…
– Mary Baker Eddy

It turns speech to singing
walking to dancing
the written word to poetry
It causes the yearning
for something more
than survival, it turns
us towards what’s true
and kind and immortal
and gives us the sight
to see beauty in the rainbow
and in Love.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell

My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
– Proverbs

Lulled by stupefying illusions, the world is asleep in the cradle of infancy, dreaming away the hours. Material sense does not unfold the facts of existence; but spiritual sense lifts human consciousness into eternal Truth.
– Mary Baker Eddy

Advancing to a higher plane of action, thought rises from the material sense to the spiritual, from the scholastic to the inspirational, and from the mortal to the immortal.
– Mary Baker Eddy

Bow Sunrise

Sunrise on the way to work. October 2, 2017. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell.

Open-Minded Cat

Posted on by
3

Kitty doesn’t care if I’m male or female,
overweight, underweight, old, young,
Democrat, Republican, black, white,
red, or blue.
Kitty responds to what’s in my heart
and the kindness I do.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell

“The weapons of bigotry, ignorance, envy, fall before an honest heart.” 
– Mary Baker Eddy

Making Friends with a Feral Kitty

Posted on by
2

Feral kitty eats the food I poured in his bowl
and then approaches me, cautiously, skittish,
not sure he can trust me, but wanting to trust,
and I reach out and scratch him behind his ears.
He rubs against me and nestles into the circle
of my arms, curls into a ball and purrs.
A perfect moment. Sweet and whole.
Is there anything finer than a feral
feline who trusts you?
– Karen Molenaar Terrell

Sparky the black cat 2

Like Party Confetti

Posted on by
Reply

Gusting and pelting rain outside
and leaves of red and yellow
and orange are dancing
through the air like party confetti
and inside I’m cozy with a fire
in the woodstove and Earl Grey
tea beside me. I am content.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell

Gifts from the Wind

Posted on by
Reply

What gifts will today bring?
Yesterday I found laughter
with my students, and love
in a message, the music
of rain pattering on the window,
a cat waiting to be scratched
behind the ears and a dog
waiting for a walk. And on that
walk I found jewelry of  ruby
amber, gold and copper, blown
by the wind to the side
of the road.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell

“…today is big with blessings.” 
– Mary Baker Eddy

autumn leaves 3 this one

Distracting Distractions Swimming Everywhere

Posted on by
5

Tweeting twooting twittering twits
sleazy sloppy squeeking soundbits
red herrings here and red herrings there
distracting distractions swimming everywhere

Awwk flag! Awwk anthem!
Awwk patriots! Awwk vets!
Parroting words to the masses
that it knows will get
their focus off Russia,
and tax breaks for the rich.

Tweeting twooting twittering twits
sleazy sloppy squeeking soundbits
red herrings here and red herrings there
distracting distractions swimming everywhere.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell

A Simple and Unremarkable Perfection

Posted on by
3

It’s a miracle of perfection.
I am warm and fed and I can hear
my loved one tapping the keys on his laptop
and clearing his throat
near me
I have chamomile tea with cream and a chunk of
sourdough bread and the wind is moving
the rain-splattered screen on the window
and making the lights behind it look like they’re dancing
I feel no pain or fear
I know I’m completely safe
and I imagine coming through some terrible danger
and finding myself in this room
and what a miracle that would seem to be
and how much I’d appreciate the simple unremarkable
perfection of it
and I am filled with gratitude.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
(excerpt from A Poem Lives on My Windowsill)

A_Poem_Lives_On_My_W_Cover_for_Kindle

The Pact

Posted on by
4

We had an unspoken pact –
trusting each other.
I’ll never share what I saw
when she was at her most
vulnerable, scared.

Another pact –
as my partner and I
work and play through the highs
and lows of our life together –
there are some things we’ll
never share with the rest
of the world. We are not
a reality show.

All of humanity shares a pact.
We trust each other to do the right
thing, to treat each other fairly,
and with tenderness and consideration.
When we venture onto highways,
by-ways, and freeways, we trust
those around us to be competent,
intelligent, and thoughtful drivers.
When we enter stores, malls,
and concert halls we expect those
around us to share our values
of kindness, courtesy, and honesty.
When we send our children
off to school we trust that the rest
of humanity will protect them
as we would protect their children.

If we didn’t trust each other
we wouldn’t be able to do what we need
to do, be where we need to be,
survive. Thank you for honoring
our pact.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell

“Brood o’er us with Thy sheltering wing,
’Neath which our spirits blend
Like brother birds, that soar and sing,
And on the same branch bend.
The arrow that doth wound the dove
Darts not from those who watch and love.”
– Mary Baker Eddy

Snow Geese in Skagit County

Snow geese in Skagit County, WA. Photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell

“Thou to whose power our hope we give,
Free us from human strife.
Fed by Thy love divine we live,
For Love alone is life;
And life most sweet, as heart to heart
Speaks kindly when we meet and part.”
– Mary Baker Eddy

 

Stealing Integrity

Posted on by
3

So you want to force people to stand for the anthem
whether they want to or not?
You want to force them to pretend to believe
what you believe?
You believe you can force respect from others
by stealing their integrity?
How do you see this happening, exactly?
All the players standing in a coerced line,
hands super-glued over their hearts?
Simons says. Puppets on a string.
With no right to disagree or question
or protest what they feel is wrong?
And how is this going to help anyone?
Or make anything better?
Wouldn’t it be better if we fixed the system,
healed the hurts, so everyone wanted
to honor the symbols that represent freedom?
– Karen Molenaar Terrell

 

A Time of Innocence

Posted on by
Reply

It was a time of innocence, wasn’t it?
The before times.
There are moments I wish
we could go back to those days –
I see the before-movies
with the towers in the background –
Working Girl, The Thomas Crown Affair –
from a time when the chief concern
was winning.

We were there a month before –
smiling and laughing with our
fellow tourists, and the people of
New York, walking the same streets
as the best-of-the-best writers, actors,
business people, artists – the energy
and rhythm of the city filling us with
ambition, and possibilities.

Before we left I gave my unused subway
tickets to a businessman – I think he said
he worked in the Towers – he thanked me.
And a month later we watched
the towers fall, looked at our souvenir
mugs with the skyline emblazoned
on them – and knew the world had changed.

We returned two years later, wondering
what we’d find. Would our New York friends
be beaten down, lost, defeated?
No. We found resolve. We found generosity.
We found people who’d been tested
and come through with more than
“winning” on their minds.
We found nobility on the streets
of New York. We can’t go back.
But we can honor those who died
that day by living our lives
in a way that brings peace
and healing to New York,
to our planet.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell, from The Brush of Angel Wings

10457943_10203978982171825_9044278750904725345_n