Above:  Chalfont Drive, Athens, Georgia, December 8, 2013

Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On a cold, wet, and gray day,

after having attended church and

consumed the body and blood of Christ,

there did commence, I am glad to say,

a quiet, studious time, one easy to stand,

but indoors, which, I do surmise,

+++++

was proper, given the weather.

It was a time to study and to grade,

as well as to make family history

inquiries.  These quiet behaviors

near lamps were for today made,

given the outdoor cold, wet, gray misery.

+++++

It was an indoor kind of day

on which to do little–and that

at a leisurely pace–and to consume

caffeine and well-lit to stay,

for such weather affects me bad-

ly; outside felt like doom.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 8, 2013 COMMON ERA

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Above:  Chalfont Drive, Athens-Clarke County, December 3, 2013

Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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On a late afternoon

in early December,

rain falls, uttering

“pitter, patter,”

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hoping, perhaps, that I will swoon

and not, as I collect the mail, shiver,

in the wet and the temperatures cooling,

then return home, water splatter-

+++++

ing until, quite soon,

my home I re-enter,

mail delivering

into dry shelter.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 3, 2013 COMMON ERA

Above:  Part of the Second Draft of the Poem

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A tree in Americus woods grows upward

then back to the ground, forming an arch

of wood and bark unbroken–not severed–

through which one might even march.

+++++

Why did the tree grow this way?

It is a good question, I propose.

Pondering such things, I do say,

regarding how Mother Nature goes,

+++++

is a helpful spiritual exercise,

for to look around and pay attention–

really to open one’s eyes–

is to notice what God has done.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 29, 2013 COMMON ERA

Above:  The Second Draft of the Poem

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bird seed and deer corn–

quite a feast for neighborhood wildlife–

birds, squirrels, and deer–

who gather in a backyard in the morn

and the afternoon with hunger rife.

Yet of humans they have a fear

proper for creatures wild born;

it probably preserves their life

elsewhere and just continues here.

Their presence I will not scorn,

for it proves soothing amid strife

caused by someone near.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 28, 2013 COMMON ERA

Above:  The Beginning of My Draft

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On a late October day,

in Athens-Clarke County,

Georgia, turtles did, I say,

sun themselves quite nicely

—–

on rocks in the Middle Oconee River.

Some of them, upon noticing the presence

of interested human observers

on the land, dove into the river, hence

—-

leaving empty, large rocks behind.

Others, however, remained where they were

and continued to absorb heat so kind

on a cool day with a brrr.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 25, 2013 COMMON ERA

Above:  Peach Blossoms, Between 1900 and 1906

Image Source = Library of Congress

(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994009098/PP/)

Reproduction Number = LC-D4-16304

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

God’s garden is a wondrous thing,

It covers all the world.

‘Tis filled with blossoms of all kinds,

Wee birds, and flow’rs unfurled.

There are beautiful ponds all thro’ it,

Larger than any of ours;

But they’re there, and are of His making,

Objects of infinite pow’rs.

—–

At night He sends refreshing sleep,

Like dew upon wild flowers,

To cool and res them after day’s

Hot sun and trying hours.

With gentle, warming rays;

He sends the rain to give them drink

And food, thro’ all their days.

—–

God doesn’t want His gard’n abused

At any time or place;

He wants each flow’r to bloom for Himself

In beauty and with grace.

For each beautiful life, seen by all,

Helps each of us, no matter how weak;

May work in God’s garden some.

RANDOLPH WINBURN BARRETT

AUGUST 5, 1932 COMMON ERA

Above:  Nocturne (1878), by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

Image Source = Library of Congress

(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/90713302/)

Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-100648

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When Winter’s dark’ning sky

Draws twilight to its close,

When lights glow soft and warm,

And shadows round us lie;

When fires burn bright and true,

And all within is cheer;

While joy and love await,

Then comes the night–and you.

—–

When birds their springtime call

Send trilling through the air;

When Spring’s first flowers bloom,

And shadows gently fall;

When stars, set in the blue,

Shine softly up above;

When breezes gently blow,

Then comes the night–and you.

—–

When Summer days are long,

And daylight slowly fades,

When lights first burn at dusk,

And every bird’s in song;

When sunset’s crimson hue

Is swiftly turned to gold;

When shines the moon above,

Then comes the night–and you!

RANDOLPH WINBURN BARRETT

JULY 22, 1932 COMMON ERA