I love Rika Inami’s tanka/photo pairings! She is such a wonderful poet and photographer, and I wanted to share her recent post. Blessings and peace, my friends. Click the photo below
2023年3月 短歌 March 2023, Tanka All rights reserved ©Rika Inami 稲美 里佳 ＜ This winter is over. 今冬が終わり＞ 1 春きたり雪のあがたの天開き重き調べの冬越えしかも spring arrives… sky in …
稲美里佳の短歌：Tanka by Rika Inami (67)
Away from life’s busyness and noise, I relish my time of solitude in nature. The day’s stress resides as birds return to their nests and evening’s peaceful quiet settles over the little pond. Thank you, Lord, for your blessings.
passing clouds…
Al Gallia
the damselflies like me
need a rest
A perfect autumn afternoon at Lake Martin, a short drive from home. The kind of day that brings a smile to my face, even when no one else is around, and chases stress and concern quickly away with beautiful earth-tones, stillness, and reflections, and life’s chorus.
a young gator waits
in dappled autumn sun
the frog moves closer
Al W Gallia
I treasure my time in Nature’s solitude; it is my direct channel to meditation and prayer where God is always present. Blessings and peace.
One year into our Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, how the priorities of my life have changed! No longer do my wife and I plan fun shopping trips, cafe lunches, or casual visiting with family and friends. Add to that the stress of politics and the realities of turning 80, and we are now living in a new ‘normal’, maybe forever.
The one thing that makes our situation bearable is an unwavering FAITH in a loving, caring God, and the love and companionship we give each other! And one of the best ways to feel and hear Him is in the solitude and beauty of nature, where no words are needed but only awareness.
winter walkabout
among the dead leaves
a dandelion shoot
©Al W Gallia 2021
So refreshing to find others who understand that violence is the other pandemic disease ravaging our world. This shared post from Aratibanstola in Nepal, on the opposite side of the world from Louisiana USA, shows we all face the same violence by those who hate the values and morals of the civilized world. Pray for God’s intercession. Blessings and peace.
old man watching TV…
violence and coronavirus
ravages our world
©️Al W Gallia
Not only my hands but also my heart is shaking while writing this. People doing such kind of inhumane acts really astounds me. Don’t their hands get …
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
“…The Lord is near. 6 Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. 7 Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4: 5-7)
midnight thoughts
of Covid, social unrest
he opens his bible
©️Al W Gallia 08-12-20
The old man, soon to be 80 years old, awakens on a Tuesday morning as he always does. He lies quietly in bed, listening to his wife’s soft breathing, and thanks God for this new day, her untroubled sleep, and their continuing health. Glancing at the sunlight on the sheer curtains, he sees promise of another typical hot summer day. But he also happily notes that days are finally growing a bit shorter now.
sunlit sheers…
©️Al W Gallia 2020
a mockingbird’s song
starts a new day
Wincing at a twinge of arthritic hip pain, he silently crawls out of bed, puts on his slippers, and eases down the long hall to the kitchen. The house is soundless as it always is each morning, except for a faint lawnmower. In a few minutes he holds a steaming cup of coffee in his hands, thankful for the modern ingenuity of his trusty K-cup coffee machine. After opening the sunroom and living room drapes, the old man moves to his favorite glider chair and sits to relish his coffee, meditate and pray, and consider the new day ahead.
In the stillness, he becomes aware of the endless ticking of the old wall clock, a sound that has become quite familiar and, perhaps, even friendly for the last six months. It has been that long since the old man and his wife of fifty plus years decided to self-quarantine themselves against the deadly coronavirus mercilessly ravaging the whole world. If it was solitude they wanted, they have it now in abundance! But he also thinks how blessed they and their family have been so far and gratefully thanks God again. Next, reflecting on the day ahead, he accepts the inevitable again: that this day will be much like all the other ‘pandemic’ yesterdays. It is like being in a submarine, he smiles, with the hatch closed and afraid to open it! Reciting the Serenity Prayer, he then takes a savoring sip of coffee, inhales the wafting aroma, and opens his daily haiku notebook…
tick tock tick tock…
the old clock taps out
another Covid day
©Al W Gallia 2020
Searching for Serendipity 