Silence Among the Lilies: A Summer Sonnet

Silence Among the Lilies:  A Summer Sonnet

She walks in silence among the lilies
dressed in white against the purple twilight
as verse and chapter fade into the night,
lost chords of song, unfinished symphonies,
jigsaw puzzles of life’s perplexities —
time to let go what once was held so tight
let darkest hours await for gleams of light
when morning breaks with possibilities.

I bask in the linen warmth of summer
rejoicing with the creatures of the field
on a warm July I will remember
when doors closed shut, familiar pathways sealed
I look to topaz days of November
to start anew, heart’s joy will I not yield.

D. G. Vachal © 2024

Image by Ox Coffe @pixabay

A Tale of the Lost Leather Wrist Bag

A Tale of the Lost Leather Wrist Bag

The air was a white, pearlescent haze as I walked upon the street cobblestones along some quaint shops in a New England village. A small leather bag hanged from my right wrist and in it were my credit cards, driver’s license, passport, and some dollar bills. I felt uncomfortable with the small bag as it was not the shoulder bag I usually carry around.

After walking a while, I sought refuge in a furniture store where I could rest my aching feet. It was then when I noticed that my little leather bag was no longer around my wrist. Suddenly I felt a whirlwind of panic — I have lost the objects of my identity!  In the midst of my bewilderment, a kind, middle-aged lady approached me and I told her my plight.  With a sweet, soothing voice she said, “My dear, everything can be replaced”.

I blinked and rubbed my eyes. It was all a dream.   

The leather wrist bag flashed in my mind and immediately I was smacked with a shock of recognition: it was the exact same bag my father had given me to hold my passport, plane ticket and three single dollar bills when I left home decades ago to pursue graduate studies in a foreign land.

All I owned when I embarked on the plane were three single dollar bills, a few clothes in a small suitcase, and my name.

In a faraway land, God has faithfully provided for me through the promise of each new day, especially through difficult circumstances, across the landscapes of the seasons and the years.

In this life I can easily misplace so many worldly “things” which can be replaced. What I cannot lose is the essence of who I am as a child of God. Though the seedling has grown into a strong, tall tree which blossoms every spring, I am that same young lady who left everything behind, flew towards the stars, crossed oceans and mountains, to pursue a dream.

D. G. Vachal © 2024

Image by Kanenori @ Pixabay

Emeralds and Sand


Emeralds and Sand

Upon the sand will I not build my house
for when rains descend and floods overflow,
the winds will howl and beat upon its walls
and it will crumble, great will be its fall

I need no chandeliers, nor porcelain
china, hand-painted with silver and gold,
no dinner dainties with a fattened ox,
content am I to dine on herbs with love.

I seek a shelter strong with warmth and light
where rains and winds and floods can’t topple down
and love burns bright in apple wood hearth fires
and nightingale songs fill the evening air —-

Upon solid rock will I build my house,
there will I find emeralds and rubies.

D. G. Vachal © 2024

Love Haiku 4:6

Love Haiku 4:6

1

still the tender gaze
after a thousand winters
eternal springtime

2

i walk in twilight
the rain and wind pelt my face
your footsteps draw near

3

your love the fragrance,
scarlet blood upon the rose
life everlasting


D. G. Vachal © 2024

Spring Song

Spring Song

suddenly daffodils,
tulip green lapels
under morning sunlight:

songbirds alight
leafless branches
bursting 
with tender tree-buds —

can you hear the voice
of the turtle dove?

my heart pirouettes
with gladness
because the promise remains
unbroken:

morning joy comes
after nighttime
weeping

winter’s dark despair 
once again
births a million
almond blossoms. 

D. G. Vachal © 2024

Imagery by Alexander Gresbek