Month: December 2022

Six Word Story (97)

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Life is a grinding down of moments, of mass.

Nature takes those fragments and transforms them into something new.

This happens with people too, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

It’s so hard to see past the decay, the destruction.

But if we are brave enough to try, if we trust God has a plan in the middle of grief, we will be shown immeasurable beauty and potential.

He made nature this way for a reason after all.

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

Photo sourced from unsplash.com

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December Night

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Mantle of lights above my head
fixed on a map of midnight blue
shining silver blue and red
so close, yet eons overhead.

They only wink with my own blink
a steady stream of glistening
shining bright, yet light, I see
is all ancient history.

A vastness more than mind can hold
yet I behold December’s night
stand on my globe of living rock
that spins with the celestial clock.

Count the numbers, multiply,
as the universe flies by,
here I stand a single speck
in heaven’s sum.

December night, clear, bright,
gifted glimpse of creations might
never a doubt in my mind
stargazing, meant to remind.

©Mary Grace van der Kroef 2020

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Six Word Story (96)

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I am a woman who deals in words and I know their power.

Do you?

They have the power to heal and hurt.

Sometimes they stick like tar that creeps into every crevice, becoming impossible to wash away.

What do we do with such words?

I wash with prayer.

What do you do?

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

Photo sourced from unsplash.com

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Morning Snow

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Morning Snow by Mary Grace van der Kroef

It may be dark inside,
but without it’s strangely light.
As the world lay sleeping,
nature donned a blanket, white

Though the sky is thick,
with heavy clouds of gray.
The early morning darkness,
is lightened by winter’s play.

I sit in my dark room,
watch the lights return.
Black to gray, with blue and white.
the seasons complete a turn.

Off in the distance,
past trees and lake, there’s more.
Under clouds horizon peaks
a glimmer over the far shore.

It was white and bright but brief
as if the sun is shy.
It’s been a while since winter played
beneath a sun-filled sky.

So she’ll stay behind her clouds,
soften down her light.
This first encounter, not the time,
she’ll savour her delight.

©Mary Grace van der Kroef 2019

Written at Falcon Trails Resort on October 12, 2019. The morning after the first snowstorm of the year.

The photo is the sunrise view from the chickadee suite.

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Six Word Story (95)

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Have you ever felt the wind beneath your wings?

Those moments in life when things are going well and the momentum lifts you high above the twisting paths and stones that trip others up?

Have you ever felt tired in those moments of success?

In those highs, we are still working.

The blessing in them is that if we spread out wings of trust they can carry us far while preserving our stamina.

But…

Holding wings open requires strength.

Ride the updrafts, but be vigilant in watching for those places of pause you still need.

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

Photo sourced from unsplash.com

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Threads End

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Spooled thread
Pulled
Schooled by a needle’s eye
Guided on a waltz
Of piercing lessons
That transform
Until the line is spent

A knot of resistance
Acknowledgement
of an end

Then a slip
Release
Somehow the spool still gives

Fibres hid within the spine
Of structure
Only released when force
Finds forgiveness

When my loves thread ends
He begins

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (94)

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Control.

How often do we reach for its illusion, holding on to shadows without mass?

Control.

How often do we abuse its power when entrusted with its care?

Control.

How often is it a burden that slowly crushes us?

Control.

It’s one of those things that many of us long for in aspects of our lives that it’s just not possible to attain. Still, we strive.

Control can be necessary. It can be a blessing. But the need to hold it ‘always’ can be a slow death.

Control.

How do you learn when to hold on and when to let go?

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

Photo sourced from unsplash.com

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Underground United/Off Topic Publishing

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I have been waiting for months to be able to share this publication with you. I am so thrilled and excited to announce that on October 31st my short story ‘Underground United’ was published in the Wayward and Upward anthology of stories and poems.

I am honoured to stand alongside so many other talented and hard-working writers and poets. The diverse backgrounds of the writers who were selected is exciting, the content is stunning, and the hard work by the publishers to make this project happen will not be forgotten.

The forty pieces in this book unite two creative endeavours at the heart of humanity: making music and telling stories. Each writer took inspiration from one of the ten tracks on the Wayward & Upward album by Spinoza Gambit. This anthology collects one short story and three poems for each track, showcasing the variety of interpretations a single piece of music can evoke.

– Wayward and Upward description –

Off Topic Publishing has played an important role in my personal growth as a writer, and now as well in my published career. The staff and Editor are all amazing individuals and I am so grateful to them for their hard work, and dedication to Canadian literature and excellence. I encourage any writers out there to connect with them and enjoy the community they are growing around the written word.

They have a monthly contest that is worth checking out and entering if you are a growing writer. The entry fee continues to be affordable and each entry receives feedback from the judges. I have never won this contest but several of the pieces I entered have gone on to see publication elsewhere. The feedback I received was encouraging, as well as important to my later success. Thank you to those judges!

Wayward and Upward is available for purchase directly from the publisher, as an ebook or in print form. Find it by clicking one of the links above or by visiting my own bookshop and following the links provided there.

Mary Grace van der Kroef

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Six Word Story (93)

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Fruit that is not harvested will fall.

Produce that is not consumed, will spoil.

This is natural.

Not evil.

When they fall they feed the earth by nourishing its smallest creatures.

It’s not their fault if we didn’t have space, time, or the desire to make use of them first.

But…

What about when people fall?

Decay kisses everyone.

Still, it’s not evil. But maybe it is wasteful.

Have you harvested yourself? Used your potential?

I may not be to everyone’s taste, but I am worth harvesting.

©2022 Mary Grace van der Kroef

Photo sourced from unsplash.com

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