The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.
Isaiah 50:4
Poetry
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Welcome...
to my poetry page! As I have mentioned, I have been writing poetry since I was seven years old. (I will have to dig out that poem and post it at some point!) (I found it! See below!)
I learned somewhere that for every jewel of a poem written by an author, there are about 50 more which they wrote that are terrible! I hope I have pulled out all the jewels and left the terrible poems lying scattered in a field.
​Poetry is one of the most beautiful ways to express emotion. There is freedom in writing poetry; the freedom of the structure chosen (there is a great deal of room within a sonnet or other formats for the creative placing of words), and free verse grants even greater freedom in experimenting with shape, structure, style, line, meter and symmetry. Most of my poetry is free verse, but as you will see, there is a certain "structure" to many of my free verse poems. I do not use rhyme much, unless it is a silly poem. In such a case, rhyme is perfect for a rollicking iambic pentameter! I also enjoy Haiku; it is short and sweet and makes a loud splash!
My prayer for you is that you will read these words of mine and they will fill you with peace and joy and many other emotions. But most of all, I pray they help you on your journey to know my Lord and Savior!
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Solo Deo Gloria!
Katrina
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Assateague Island
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I feel free when I'm here,
with no barrier to stop me
and the winds to blow my hair
and the sand to burn my feet.
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© Katrina Scheltema
Summer, 1977
Tasting for The Spring
White clouds
drift across the sky;
a flock of sheep
grazing against the blue.
The wind is fresh,
raw;
it whispers of maple buds
and peepers.
My heart longs
for warmth—
weary of snow, ice
grey and ochre.
I raise my face
to the sun,
seeking, seeking…
I draw breath
of piercing air
and taste for a
hint of spring.
©Katrina Sweeney
Feb 20th, 2014
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Brightdewdrop of rain
Formulated by your hands
Godgives life to earth.
© Katrina Sweeney
June 2, 2015
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Table of Contents
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Poems are listed as they appear
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Assateague Island
Tasting for the Spring
Bright Dewdrop of Rain
The Dance
Tether Me
Love Song
There is A Poem in The Clouds
Thus I Write
A Touch of Day
Filthy Vessel
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The Dance
Our lives dance;
She steps out
I draw her in:
a tension grown from love.
Sometimes the dance
takes her far
caught in the lure
of the Piper's song.
Sometimes
I draw her back
to me,
but the beat of the dance
pulls her forth.
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I cannot hold her--
So--
I spin her
into the Light
into space and seeming
nothingness
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I let her go--
Gasping, startled,
she glances back.
I stop.
The call of music
goes on,
but I hear it not;
the tune is meant
for younger ears.
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©Katrina Sweeney
September 7, 2014
Tether Me
Tether me
close to your heart.
I tug
at your bonds of
love
bleating pitifully
for poison weeds
in emerald hills
lush with decadence;
rife with rot.
Make me
content with quiet springs
and tender growth.
Hold me
in your arms
and feed me from
Your hand.
Whisper
sweet words
to soothe my trembling
and hold me near
lest I wander
and lose my way.
Tether me tightly,
Tether me near.
©Katrina Sweeney
January 31, 2017
Jesus
like a shepherd
lead us...
Love Song
If I could dance
a song of joy
for You today
it would be a scarlet leaf
floating to a mirror
of liquid glass;
a jewel of dust
dancing in the sun
the quiet stillness
of a dreamy afternoon.
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If I could write
a song of love
for You today,
it would be a sleeping baby
in his mother's
arms,
the sound of surf
drumming in my ears,
two kittens dozing,
legs entwined.
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If I could sing
a song of love
to You today,
it would be sweeter than
a morning chorus,
a brook tinkling softly
over rounded stones,
a green fern bank glowing
emerald
in the morning sun.
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But I cannot sing
or dance or write
a song more lovely
than You--
and all the words I could
write,
all the songs I could
sing
leave me spinning
and laughing
and leaping
in the song of my life for You.
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©Katrina Sweeney
Feb 21st, 2016
There is a poem in the
clouds...
There is a poem in the
clouds
of cream and pearl and grey
melding into hills of
silver blue
with cumulus mountains
rising beyond.
The western sky is
an ocean of
tumultuous foam
tumbling over waves of
color--
A silver moon
sails crests of cloud
and the world is washed
in pale smoke
of rose and umber.
The sky dims;
the mountains gleam sharply
against the wall of sky;
the sun dips
and beauty slips
into oblivion.
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© Katrina Sweeney
August 5th, 2016
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Thus I Write
​I was given
the gift of words,
to place grammatically,
and in emotional order.
Thus I write,
and words are the means
and poetry the method
that makes the end
you see.
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© Katrina Sweeney
November 18th 1985
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A Touch of Day
So long it has been,
since I watched a star,
a van Gogh glory in a
violet sky--
fade
a diamond obscured
by the soft touch of day.
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The moon is a silver orb
in a sky
of blue, blue, blue--
I can see to God's eyes
beyond its deepness,
and I smile
as I watch the dawn.
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Fog from the river
lingers,
a soft satin spread
of cool air,
wrapped among the legs of
trees.
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I sit on my bed
to behold the dawn,
out through my window
to the frosty roofs below.
Like the crow,
I long to lift my voice aloud
and cry out in praise,
but I shush,
and turn my shout
into a smile.
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© Katrina Sweeney
October 9th 1987
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Filthy Vessel
Filthy vessel
coated, begrimed
with shame and sin
lost and forgotten
on the shelf of life.
No essence of nard
to perfume sweet souls
only sour, rotten
vinegar of spirit.
Filled with self--
oozing evil
sludge of death
fit only for the sewer.
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Then--
I am caught
in the sunlight
of your love,
rinsed, scoured by the cross
filled with your spirit.
I glow from within,
poured out;
sweet sacrifice for you.
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​© Katrina Sweeney
June 6th 2016