I was a thought
before my birth.
A dream He spun into the mathematics of time.
As the universe floats
in a consciousness beyond
human understanding,
He still dreams of me.
My days.
My ways.
For He loves all His dreams.
©2021 Mary Grace van der Kroef
Is it sinister? Or two sisters bearing their souls to one another?
Meetings that stretch out for hours.
Car discussions that don’t stop even when you reach the driveway.
Prayer meetings that last into the wee hours of the morning.
Band practices that don’t have an end time.
Yes, sinister things are planned under the cover of night. But evil doesn’t own the shadows. God lives there too.
©2021 Mary Grace van der Kroef
Photo sourced from unsplash.com
This one shrivelled.
That one plump.
In a rush as I sort the circles.
Pluck a stem,
one is smashed,
mold has grown.
Remove before decay infests
the rest.
Tip toeing through
my morning test of time economy.
Juice runs
purple and sweetness.
Marking the edge of fingerprints.
Box packed
with noon time edibles.
Ready for the day.
Wave goodbye.
The purple stain remains.
©2021 Mary Grace van der Kroef
It’s really happening! I am so excited to announce the final cover design for my upcoming chapbook.
The Editing process has stretched me. There were tears, and procrastination and frustration. But I am so thankful for the process. I have learned so much from working with an editor, and I am proud of what we have accomplished for my first release.
I don’t have a set release date yet as final formatting needs to take place, but look for it before a pre-sale date announced in the next few weeks, with a release date in early November. (That is the goal.)
You can expect this collection of 25 poems to be available in paperback and ebook versions.
Thank you for dropping in to celebrate with me!
Mary Grace van der Kroef
They are small, they are fierce. Why do we underestimate them so? Why do we deny they are reflections of what still lives deep inside of every adult heart?
Cherish those hearts, be they in the bodies of 2-year-olds, or in full-grown adults with all our learned coping mechanisms. It’s never too late to be brave.
©2021 Mary Grace van der Kroef
Photo sourced from unsplash.com
Locked,
in the safety
of grounding touch.
Warmth,
giving knowledge
of another’s life.
Accepted,
despite the flow
of wretched tears.
Sharing,
weights
without a word.
Intimate,
trust given
and received.
Released,
yet held in treasured
memory.
Lingering,
on skin
despite distance.
©2021 Mary Grace van der Kroef
(Hug, for my Words of Weight project. John’s word.)
Trembles only felt,
never seen by the world at large
have given roots strength.
©2021 Mary Grace van der Kroef
I am so small, and that climb is so high. There is no railing.
What makes the difference? A guiding hand to help me hold my balance and keep me from filling backyards while I take one step at a time.
What if I can not find that hand? What if I am alone? What if no one, will help me?
I still can, even if it’s on hands and knees. I won’t give up, I won’t turn back.
But how I pray for that one hand.
©2021 Mary Grace van der Kroef
Photo sourced from Unsplash.com
How do you catch a cloud
and pin it down?
Or corner a thing
that floats in wisps
ethereal wings?
Raise a hand and feel it weep,
cold drops to
spatter feet.
What heart could
pin it so,
speak the chastising word, no?
A nature not
made for earth.
Still waters hearts with tears of mirth.
Even when billows build,
muddled air, heated, then chilled.
Particles, a dancing clash
building energies full blast,
to strike the hand, pin poised.
A nature feared
also enjoyed.
You could never win.
©2021 Mary Grace van der Kroef
Inspiration by:
‘Maria’
by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers
