Sandra Heska King

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Behold the Dawn After All – A Book Spine Poem

August 15, 2012 By Sandra Heska King

Behold the dawn

a sound among the trees

through open windows.

Hear the applause of heaven

in a syllable of water.

God is closer than you think,

and there is gaining through losing

with absolute surrender.

Abba’s child

is walking on water

in the eye of the storm

traveling light

fearless

walking sacred pathways

bringing one thousand gifts

and the rest of God

to stained glass hearts

with an everlasting love.

For to love is Christ

after all.

Behold the dawn.

Offering this spiney poem for Tweetspeak’s August Rain Project

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Filed Under: poetry, stories and reflections

Comments

  1. Megan Willome says

    August 15, 2012 at 9:59 am

    This poem, made from this stack of books, says so much about you.

    And yes, I recommend adding “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” to your stack. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. It also helped me to figure out some stuff in my life that I couldn’t get any other way than in novel form.

    • Sandra says

      August 15, 2012 at 10:08 am

      I’ve added Harold to my wish list. 🙂

      I could probably spend days creating poems from my books. I note this one’s a little Lucado heavy. 🙂

  2. Jillie says

    August 15, 2012 at 9:59 am

    Sandra! How very clever! How very true.
    All that we glean from all the great authors we are drawn to.

    “Everywhere I have sought rest and not found it,
    except sitting in a corner by myself
    with a book.”
    -Thomas a Kempis

    • Sandra says

      August 15, 2012 at 10:09 am

      Love, love, love that quote, Jillie. Thank you.

  3. Ellen Grace Olinger says

    August 15, 2012 at 12:55 pm

    Dear Sandra, Wonderful poem! Thank you, Ellen

    • Sandra says

      August 15, 2012 at 2:27 pm

      Thank you so much, Ellen. I appreciate you.

  4. Linda says

    August 15, 2012 at 6:52 pm

    Absolutely brilliant Sandy! One would thing with the shelves and shelves of books I have I could do this. I doubt it.
    Great job!

    • Sandra says

      August 15, 2012 at 8:29 pm

      I have no doubt that you could do this, Linda. In fact, I’ll bet you could write a hymn…

  5. bluecottonmemory says

    August 15, 2012 at 11:01 pm

    I love.love.love how you did this! I did one with quilt names last year – and it was so fun. THis line caught my heart: “there is gaining through losing with absolute surrender.”

    Beautiful poetry! Beautiful message! So fun, too!

    • Sandra says

      August 16, 2012 at 10:50 pm

      Quilt names! Oh, that would be fun, too. 🙂

  6. JB Wood says

    August 16, 2012 at 6:10 am

    “God is closer than you think…”
    Yes. Thanks, Sandra.

    • Sandra says

      August 16, 2012 at 10:51 pm

      Always. Yes.

  7. Martha Orlando says

    August 16, 2012 at 7:16 am

    Excellent poem and so creative! Definitely appeals to this book love!
    Blessings, Sandy!

    • Sandra says

      August 16, 2012 at 10:51 pm

      Waiting for yours now, Martha.

  8. Jean Wise says

    August 16, 2012 at 8:07 am

    wow what a creative neat idea. I am going to try this, too. Thanks for sharing.

    • Sandra says

      August 16, 2012 at 10:51 pm

      Oh good! I’ll love reading it.

  9. K.M. Weiland says

    August 16, 2012 at 11:33 am

    I just love this! What a super cool idea. And I’m super tickled that Behold got to be included. Thanks so much for sharing, Snady! I’m tempted to start pulling books from my shelf and try it myself.

    • Sandra says

      August 16, 2012 at 10:52 pm

      Oh do it, Katie! And Behold was the first title that leaped out. 🙂

  10. Jessica McCann (@JMcCannWriter) says

    August 16, 2012 at 11:34 am

    What a lovely poem. I recently took a crack at book spine poetry, too. It’s a fun way to stretch your mind. Like piecing together a puzzle. Thanks for sharing this!

    • Sandra says

      August 16, 2012 at 10:53 pm

      And so many different poems to come up with. I want to try it with the grand girl’s books.

  11. KATHY says

    August 16, 2012 at 4:09 pm

    The way you tied the titles to express a complete thought is amazing and also great revelations of how much your reading can become cohesive. I’m sure you have done this before but it is a revelation to me. The photos of books with their titled spines support the wonderful poem you created. You are a very talented and creative writer.

    • Sandra says

      August 16, 2012 at 11:04 pm

      Awww, thanks, Kathy. I love the idea of cohesive reading. That’s a very cool thought.

      And this is the first time I’ve tried this.

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