Books I was given/2 women…

📚📚📚

Bartlett’s Quotations

gift from my mother…

who may have sensed

somewhere in the dark

recesses of cluttered heart

that someday I’d write

a million words she’d

never care to read–

~~*~~

And did She know…

my perfectly well-mannered

dignified grandmother

of very few words

(lest she be chastized

by my mother)…

did she suspect I’d be

the only grandchild who’d

hear the Lord’s voice

and follow His call?

she gave me the white

bible with Jesus’ words

in red letters–

I miss the time

the conversations we

were robbed of by

her jealous daughter–

but this I know

she waits for me, and

we’ll have all eternity–

~ Cale

https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2026/02/06/books-ive-been-given/

Flavor of Grief

Grief has a flavor…

burnt toast

(burnt everything)

and hostile aftertaste…

crushed by your departure

I’ve no appetite…

even chocolates

taste of ashes–

And mourning has

no sense of time

it resists scheduling

ignores seasons…

within heart perpetual

calendar pages turn, turn

as mourning wears a style

all its own, regardless

of fashion trend…

elaborate sighs of silk

in pale to pewter shadows gray…

that’s what you bequeathed to me–

~ Cale

https://thedailyspur.wordpress.com/2026/02/07/elaborate-2/

https://thedailyspur.wordpress.com/2026/01/27/sigh/

https://thedailyspur.wordpress.com/2026/01/26/style-4/

https://thedailyspur.wordpress.com/2026/02/05/hostile-2/

https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2026/02/07/rdp-saturday-time/

https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2026/01/31/rdp-saturday-crush/

https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2026/02/04/flavor/

 

Leaning

Now that I’m old, Age

is taking center stage

roles I’m allowed to play

bring due challenges

(but only every other day)–

no thank you, kind sir

don’t ask me to dance

it’s a tricky proposition

can’t trust my balance–

I’ve discovered one benefit

this perplexed-distressed season

(for in the Master’s plan

there’s always a blessed reason):

I’m learning

about LEANING–

when merely a youth, I was clueless

without a gentle person

on whom to depend…

but the Lord God of mercy

though His face be in shadow

promised to help me

all the way to the end–

He says, “lean on Me

and I’ll take you places

you never dreamed, imagined…

when you tire we’ll rest, never fret

Child, we’ve got time, and miles to go yet”đź’–

~ Cale

English Standard Version
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

New Living Translation

And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20

New International Version
Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isaiah 46:4

Psalm 92:12-15 Amplifed Bible

The righteous will flourish like the date palm [long-lived, upright and useful];

They will grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic and stable].

Planted in the house of the LORD,

They will flourish in the courts of our God.

[Growing in grace] they will still thrive and bear fruit and prosper in old age;

They will flourish and be [a]vital and fresh [rich in trust and love and contentment];

[They are living memorials] to declare that the LORD is upright and faithful [to His promises];

He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. 

 

https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2026/02/05/rdp-thursday-master/

Tell it to my heart…

Their marriage was nearly dead it seemed–

dry as autumn twigs after summer’s wildfire

cold as January ash on unused hearth–

they went about life in the wordless home

as though living on separate planets–

So, what had shifted, she didn’t know…

maybe it was the moon that waxed

 waned and winked now and then–

daylight had faded…too early for bed…

and suddenly he was standing in the doorway

staring at her with unreadable expression–

“Come out here,” he said–

saying nothing, she followed him

to the large kitchen they’d both

fallen in love with forever ago…

“dance with me”, he said softly

and pressing a button, their song

began playing: “tell it to my heart”…

https://pensitivity101.wordpress.com/2026/01/30/three-things-challenge-mm320/

A Valentine Story

It began with “hello”

just that

an ordinary greeting

ordinary day

ordinary-looking man–

no, not quite ordinary

he was helpful…

handy in ways

beyond her expertise

so, she thanked him

with her speciality…and

with every traded favor–

his chores, for her

tasty home-cooked meals–

he became more handsome

as she grew ever lovelier…

“hello” changed to

“I can help you with that”

and one day:

“how about we get married?”

she said, “yes”❣

~ Cale

https://pensitivity101.wordpress.com/2026/02/03/three-things-challenge-mm324/

https://thedailyspur.wordpress.com/2026/01/18/expertise-2/

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day:

every anniversary

(48 yrs)

failure’s reminder…

now I’m mildly amused

celebrating freedom

courage, strength to leave

abuse, shame behind–

forged new future, solo

(an underrated blessing)

bearing best fruit ever–

don’t need groundhog

to look for shadows

spring flowers early bloom

where once was marriage tomb–

~ Cale