We must first want to,
then we must try,
patiently striving, to identify
what we are growing
...
I wonder if writing alone is ever lonely?
To ponder is to partner.
To illuminate is to lighten
a dark background with smudges.
...
When you can keep your faith when all about you
Are loosing theirs and friends are but a few.
When you can keep your head while discouragement surrounds you,
And hold a lifeline to the drowning crew.
...
Sunflowers are obedient,
to the sun's eternal light.
Drawn upward by the sun's warm rays,
they praise Him, day and night.
...
A puzzle is like poetry.
It causes us to reflect
And see a thing quite differently.
Is it object or object?
...
How I feel and what I do
should not be determined by an angry few.
On me, alone rests my tone and set for
I can enjoy or I can fret.
...
On a fact finding mission, I traveled one day
Observing obstructions that got in the way.
I found, when I wandered too close to the hole,
I kicked loose the gravel and cankered my soul.
...
He walked upon the water.
He calmed the raging sea.
He suffered in Gethsemane.
He died for you and me.
...
Virtue is it's own reward.
To be the best that we can be
is to conclude, with fortitude,
and show integrity.
...
I wanted to be happy.
I worked for it in vain,
for happiness is not the goal,
and, so I tried again.
...
If our hearts entwine are you stringing me along?
If we do it for a lark are we both engaged in song?
If we loose it in the clutch have we both stripped our gears?
If we hold the tender moments will our marriage last the years?
...
Rainbows are the sky's bouquet,
a celestial adornment.
And children are a mother's ray
of sunshine and fulfillment.
...
I wanted to explore
and let my family see
the wonder of our past
found in our family tree.
...
My father gave me his name. I'll honor it always.
I value my bequest. I'm known as, Val, today.
I was the oldest child; expected to lead the way.
I often wanted childishness. I'd really rather play.
...
Fathers' Day's this Sunday
and we are truly blessed;
for on His day we remember
that Father loves us best.
...
Stepping on organic sponge
I moved into the wonderland.
A gauntlet of fir and pine
shadowed the flowers and vines.
...
What is it that I feel?
Is getting started
so important
that I must stop,
...
Val John Jennings is a published poet, genealogist, webmaster, scouter, grandparent and an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his wife, Karla, reside in Norfolk, Virginia.)
A Godly Garden
We must first want to,
then we must try,
patiently striving, to identify
what we are growing
and pull out the weeds.
What's left in our garden
are godly seeds.
Watered and nurtured
loved and caressed,
their fruits are virtues.
Our growth, happiness.