Month: September 2020

Morning Love, The Mourning Dove

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Original painting by Mary Grace van der Kroef.

Hear his whooing coo
Calling out for you
The safety of his perch
With earnestness his search
Colours softest hues
Browns, with pink and blues
He seeks his lady fair
Will she make a pair?
–
She chooses carefully
Softest brown her artistry
Weaves a bed of love
Soft as a velvet glove
To hold her clutch of two
Cover them from view
They sit together well
Despite the storms that swell
–
Together love as one
Until their brood has won
With milk their squabs they raise
Within their infant phase
When the seasons done
Goodbye to summer sun
Come again next spring
Together on the wing

© Mary Grace van der Kroef 2020

Red-Winged Knight, Red-Winged Blackbird

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He wears a cloak of night
Despite his elbows bright

They flash a vivid red
By them, love is led

She is demure in brown
Stripped is her gown

A mother through and through
To her clutch she’s true

Song of silver notes
In the air, it floats

Then of shrill intent
On defence, it’s bent

A knight in crimson ash
Not afraid to clash

His own he will protect
Demanding all respect

Red-Winged Bird in black
I’ll heed your swift attack

This marsh is where you’ve grown
Amid the reeds, you make a throne

©Mary Grace van der Kroef 2020

Water Painting

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Original Photo by Mary Grace van der Kroef

The colours in her mind
by them, she’s not defined
vision unrefined
but still a mastermind


Look! The way she moves
painting through the groves
uncaring who approves
every step limits disproves


Just water on the ground
to her, colours abound
spreads it round and round
make believe so profound


Footprints in her wake
dreaming while awake
unafraid, never fake
as they fade, just more to make


When the fun is done
water drys in sun
tears? Not a one
for she’s the one who’s won

© Mary Grace van der Kroef 2020

Hummingbird of Green, Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

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Original painting by Mary Grace van der Kroef.

Do you hear the hum?
Do you see them come?
Darting here and there
Flitting everywhere

Figure eight in flight
Flashing feathers, bright
Tantalizing hover
Then darting off for cover

Tinny glory beam
A mesmerizing seen
Living dancing jewel
Fed by natures fuel

Hummingbird of green
Ruby Throated sheen
The glimmer of your hue
Beauty that is true

©Mary Grace van der Kroef 2020

Raptor King, The Bald Eagle

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Simple practice drawing. By Mary Grace van der Kroef.

Feathered glory
talons tight
wingspan stretched
ready for flight

A power house
the Raptor King
awe inspired
words you bring

Confidence
through every pore
predator
to your core

Using winds
heights to soar
gliding close
to sea and shore

Eagle Master
of the sky
no need to ask
the rhyme of why

©Mary Grace van der Kroef 2020

This week marks a new chapter in the life of my family. We have started homeschooling. We have chosen a unit study on North American Birds. Mothers can learn too! So I have stretched my artistic wings while teaching for the first time.

I rarely start my writing with a set theme. But here is to trying new things and learning alongside my children. Baby steps, my friends. Simple beginnings, better endings.

Isaiah 40:31 – But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Whispers of Always

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In the quiet of the night
A whisper that brings light
Not light to show a room
But lighten loneliness and gloom

Now blackness doesn’t press
Instead, it’s a caress
A weighted blankets hold
Within a safety fold

A single word of care
Reveals that you are there
Now eyes can close in sleep
No longer will they weep

With a single touch
You have said so much
In a simple phrase
I hear our always blaze

©Mary Grace van der Kroef 2020