My Joy
My joy depends on no man
or woman or place
or circumstance and nothing
can keep my heart from soaring.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
Photo of snow geese by Karen Molenaar Terrell.
My Joy
3
Category Archives: poetry
“In the Eyes of Most of Us”
When I read “your two thinkers are very
discredited in the eyes of most of us”
after a friend had posted a story on poverty
in America I found myself sitting here
with a frown between my brows,
trying to puzzle it out.
Who are “the most of us” of which you
speak? Most of who? Most of whom?
And are you including me in your us?
Because I actually want to read what
my friend has to share about poverty
in America. I might learn something new.
Complacent, comfortable, isolated, insulated,
we sit each in our homes, assuming
everyone thinks exactly the same way
we do. We turn our televisions on to
the usual channels and listen to the same
old perspectives, and nod our heads
in contented, unquestioning agreement.
And our ponds grow stagnant without fresh,
tumbling brooks stirring up the waters
our joints get calcified and rigid as we sit
in our easy chairs, nodding our heads, lulled
by the same phrases parroted over and over…
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
“The time for thinkers has come. Truth, independent of doctrines and time-honored systems, knocks at the portal of humanity. Contentment with the past and the cold conventionality of materialism are crumbling away.”
– Mary Baker Eddy
Be still, and know that Love is God.
photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell
Because that is how you roll…
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Copper Puddles
Copper puddles and puppy cuddles
autumn brings apple cider smells
and musky leaves and wool sweaters
out of cedar chests and crisp mornings
and rainy days and cold starry nights
that hint of winter to come…
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell
Autumn Sings
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Putting the Puzzle Back Together
“We should remember that the world is wide; that there are a thousand million different human wills, opinions, ambitions, tastes, and loves; that each person has a different history, constitution, culture, character, from all the rest; that human life is the work, the play, the ceaseless action and reaction upon each other of these different atoms. Then, we should go forth into life with the smallest expectations, but with the largest patience; with a keen relish for and appreciation of everything beautiful, great, and good, but with a temper so genial that the friction of the world shall not wear upon our sensibilities; with an equanimity so settled that no passing breath nor accidental disturbance shall agitate or ruffle it; with a charity broad enough to cover the whole world’s evil, and sweet enough to neutralize what is bitter in it…”
– Mary Baker Eddy
Putting the Puzzle Back Together Again
We both hold pieces to the puzzle –
you have yours and I have mine
and to solve the puzzle we need
to come together and share
what we know and work as a team.
You say “stick to the facts” and tell
me you don’t need to listen
to what I have to share, but you do
and I do, too, if we want to put
all the pieces of the puzzle in place.
I agree you are an expert on your
bits of the puzzle, but you are not
an expert on mine. You have not
lived my life, seen what I’ve seen,
or learned what I’ve learned.
So let’s share, shall we? You share
your perspective, and I’ll share mine,
and we’ll learn from each other.
I’m thinking we can only gain from
this. Gain in understanding of
America. Gain in understanding of life.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
What’s the alternative?
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The Perfect Time
It’s a great time to be alive, ain’t it?
(This is the time you’ve been given to live –
if you don’t live now, when are you planning to do it?)
There’s never been a better time to love.
(This is the time you’ve been given to love –
if you don’t love now, when WILL you love?)
There’s never been a more perfect time to be you.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
Embraced in Light
Moon from Bow, WA (photo by Karen Molenaar Terrell)
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 