With Hearts Flung Wide
©2003 Susan Noyes Anderson
Image by Anita Schiller from His Children
We make of Life an enemy or friend,
depending on our hospitality…
our choice to welcome Her or let Her be,
our right to denigrate or to defend.
We make of Life an enemy or friend,
depending on our hospitality…
our choice to welcome Her or let Her be,
our right to denigrate or to defend.
A merry heart will not be bound
by winter snow or frozen earth.
No weathered brow or soil-stained cheek
can quell the buoyant lines of mirth.
A river flows around the bend;
no man can see what lies ahead.
What mysteries does this portend
to fill my heart with hope or dread?
On a quiet summer morning,
after night’s unbroken rest,
I look past the tree-framed window
and discover I am blessed.
Declaration of Independence.
Pilgrims’ feet, well-planted.
Heritage and brave forefathers:
all taken for granted.
My life is hard; she likes to say.
In fact, she says it every day.
Reliably and without fail,
Poor me has been her holy grail.
Collecting is a testament
to life already lived –
a witness of the future
still in store.
My friend and I go all around;
together we are always found.
Sometimes we run and shout and play;
sometimes we sit upon the ground.