Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Two Poems worth Mentioning

Yesterday, A Motley Vision, was kind enough to let me post on their blog about my experience with the Church Cultural Arts committee and their yearly art contest. For the past three years I have entered pieces in the contest and found it to be a rewarding experience.

My first year (2005) I received an honorable mention for a play I wrote called Help Me Find My Way. Based on the true story of a friend's grandparents, it follows a young couple through World War II, their marriage, and conversion to the LDS Church. It is completely suitable for ward or stake use; if anyone wants to put it on I'd be happy to send you the script!

The second year (2006) I entered a poem entitled "Consecration" that received the Deseret Recognition award. And then in 2007 I submitted another poem entitled "Bread From Heaven" which also received the award. Since a couple people have requested those poems I decided to post them here!

"Consecration"

Sometimes Holiness has a smell.
Clean and fresh and calm—
Like laundry folded fresh from the dryer,
Like cookies left on a doorstep,
Like a blessed drop of oil.

Holiness also has a sound.
Serene and hushed and unique—
Like a small voice singing,
Like the rustle of scripture seeking,
Like the breath before a testimony.

Holiness has a taste, too.
Light and crisp and clear—
Like orange juice on a Saturday morning,
Like a bit of bread dissolved on the tongue,
Like a tear kissed from a cheek.

And Holiness has a look.
Composed and creative and gentle—
Like a hymn book on a piano,
Like a crayon smudged family “portrait,”
Like two mirrors each reflecting the other.

Of course Holiness has a feel.
Keen and quick and real—
Like the gush of water breaking,
Like a whispered prayer on the lips,
Like a heart that flutters and a chest that burns.

All of it Holiness
Surrounding and moving and being—

All of it
Holiness to the Lord.












"Bread From Heaven"

When the children of Israel
entered the wilderness of Sin
They were hungry—
Hungry,
like a bowl left in a cupboard,
like a dog shut out in the evening,
like a blanket without a bed.
The children of Israel were hungry
And in their hunger
They yearned for slavery.
They dreamed of Egypt
Remembering only its flesh-pots and bread.
They thought their hunger would kill them.
And the children of Israel
in that wilderness of Sin
Were thirsty—
Thirsty,
like a cup left in a cabinet,
like a bird without a bath,
like a garden without any rain.
The children of Israel were thirsty,
And in their thirst
They questioned the Lord.
They doubted the Lord
Asking is the Lord among us or not?
They thought they would die of their thirst.
The Lord answered them,
From without the wilderness of Sin
He answered them—
With bread from heaven
With water smote from a rock
And with a challenge.
The Lord gave them bread and water
Bread from Heaven
And Living Water
To prove them
To test them,
If they would walk in His law or no.
Hungry and thirsty, He could save them.
On Sundays when I enter
into my refuge from Sin
I am hungry and thirsty,
Hungry and Thirsty—
like a wandering spirit
like a sheep without a Shepherd
like a child lost in the desert
But I need to be hungry and thirsty
I need to condition my heart
To hunger for forgiveness
To thirst for righteousness
As I receive bread from heaven,
As I drink living water,
I see

Hungry and thirsty is the only way I will ever be saved.


(Both these poems are copyrighted by myself and by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If you are going to use one let me know!)

4 comments:

Sarah said...

Thanks for posting your poems. I'm excited that other people get to read them and enjoy them.

Heathie said...

You're so talented! I visited the other blog and read your article; it was a good one. Are you going to try to go to those luncheons every year?

Laura said...

Aw, thanks Heather! I am going to try to go. You only get invited to the luncheons if you have a winning submission so I'm working on my submission for this year. This time it's a reader's theater about the legacy of the early Relief Society. I have to finish it in the next couple weeks if I'm going to get it in on time! You guys should enter something too! Then we could all be winners together :)

Kelly said...

Hey there, I'll try to submit something too, so you can go with me...ha ha. If, of course, they like my stuff as much as yours, which I doubt.

Anyhow, just wanted to say good job on the poems. Jon's violin teacher loved the one about hunger and thirst -- so you have a winner on your hands, at least in her book.

We're proud to know you. Keep up the good work!