Sandra Heska King

daring to open doors

  • Home
  • About
  • DISCLOSURES
    • Amazon Affiliate
    • Book Reviews
  • Published
  • Contact
  • Blog
    • Commit Poetry
    • Dared

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

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

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.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Meet Sandra

I’m Sandra, a camera-toting, recovering doer who’s learning to be. still. Read more…

Get updates from the stillness by email

Your personal information is safe and will never be shared.

Archives

Categories

Instagram Inspiration

sandraheskaking

Talking with D about his grandfather. One of the f Talking with D about his grandfather. One of the farmhands said Grandpa King was one of the toughest men he ever knew. In the dead of a Michigan winter, he wore a baseball cap instead of a knit hat. In April through October he never wore a shirt.
.
Once he was raking hay and while trying to get the rake in gear, he fell against the tractor fender. He finished raking hay. Then for the next two days, he rode on a combine bagging oats, bouncing and breathing in dust and lifting bags. After 3 days, he said, “I don’t feel very good. I’m gonna go to the doctor snd see what’s wrong.” He had two or three broken ribs, a punctured lung, and pneumonia.
.
D said he only saw him tear up three times.
.
1. When his 19-year-old grandson died from a heart condition.
.
2. When D said, “ Goodbye Grandpa. I’ll see you in the spring.” ( D was maybe 11 or 12. ) Grandpa was on his way to FL for the winter and knew he probably wouldn’t be back. He died about a month later.
.
3. When he talked about the fact that the hotels in FL would not let black baseball players stay there. That was in the 50s.
“Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop.” “Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop.” -Rumi
.
Even if it’s spring.
.
This evening’s walk.
Happy place. Happy place.
E.T. phone home. E.T. phone home.
Side effects update - 50 hours post Covid vaccine Side effects update - 50 hours post Covid vaccine #2...
🌒
Zip. Zilch. Nada. Nope. None. Not even a sliver.
No chocolate this year. Besides, the neighborhood No chocolate this year. Besides, the neighborhood raccoon we saw up the tree the other night has (had?) a sweet tooth and stole the box the next-door hubby had delivered--took it around the side of their house and ate it all.

Also no flowers or cards. 

Just this. And her name shall be called... drum roll...

We loved all the suggestions. But we also wanted to keep the love connection--and I wanted to let D finally get to choose a name for our 13th (if I've remembered all of them) cat. The rescue named her Valentine, so since she's the only Valentine either of us are getting today, we decided to keep that name--but as a middle name. D has been calling her "Lucy Vallie."

Lucy--for Lucille Ball (I Love Lucy) and her mischief and troublemaking. We've already seen signs of mischief in the shattered antique bottle we'd discovered next to our farmhouse in Michigan. It sat on the windowsill over the bathtub--silly me in having neglected to totally cat-proof--and in the missing top to my contact lens case--that D finally found next to the litter box. 

Also, there's the light-shedding Luci Shaw... whose poetry I love. 

And Lucy Pevensie from the Chronicles of Narnia who superly loved Aslan.

So now we have Lucy the Goose and Lucy Valentine whom we already love and expect lots of love and light and laughs from. And probably lots of mischief. She also has trouble staying still long enough for pictures.

How is Sophie taking to her? Well, they are still pretty much separated. This morning there were some barks and squeals and hisses and growls. But we will get there.

Happy Valentine's Day to us. And to you from all of us. ❤️
Peekaboo... I see you little cutie in the next doo Peekaboo... I see you little cutie in the next door neighbor’s tree. (I’ve got to start carrying the camera at all times.) #eveningwalk
Trees are confused. #fallingcolor #notfall Trees are confused. #fallingcolor #notfall
It’s that time of year again. #bufoserenade It’s that time of year again. #bufoserenade
I’m a sucker for a rainbow. I’m also now very I’m a sucker for a rainbow. I’m also now very wet.
“There’s no knowing. But courage, child: we ar “There’s no knowing. But courage, child: we are all between the paws of the true Aslan.” ~ King Tirian in The Last Battle”
🌱
In other news, since I was able to hike last night, I’ve been cleaning up my “nest” where I’ve hung out for the last month—elevating, icing, snoozing, reading, watching more movies than I’ve watched in a year. I’m happy to report that during this time I’ve read every book in The Chronicles of Narnia, including The Magician’s Nephew that I had to get from the library cuz I don’t know what happened to my copy. First time. Don’t judge. Though I *did* see the LWW when the movie first came out if that counts.
Saw this beauty on our hike last night. Check out Saw this beauty on our hike last night. Check out those feet. And it moved more gracefully than I did. #purplegallinule
And that’s a wrap. Furthest I’ve walked in a m And that’s a wrap. Furthest I’ve walked in a month. I might feel it tomorrow, but it feels so good today. No broken ankle is gonna keep me down for long.
Here. On a whim. No crutches. No boot. No scooter. Here. On a whim. No crutches. No boot. No scooter. Walking slow.
“alert as an admiral” ~ Mary Oliver in “Hawk “alert as an admiral” ~ Mary Oliver in “Hawk”
Thursday, my ortho told me I could start weaning m Thursday, my ortho told me I could start weaning my ankle from the boot and crutches on Saturday--which would have been 3 weeks from injury. So I went home that same day and discontinued the boot. The next day I hung up the sticks. Today I canceled PT. I know what to do, and I will do it cuz you can't keep an adventure girl down for long. But I suppose that means the days of being waited on are over. I may have just sabotaged myself.

Also, my FB memories told me I canceled PT for something (I can't even remember what) 11 years ago this day. I took both cheers and jeers for that in the comments. 😂
He thinks I can’t see him. He’s wrong. Camoufl He thinks I can’t see him. He’s wrong. Camouflaged but not concealed. #kingofthehedge
Breakfast. Not sharing. Breakfast. Not sharing.
Time out for a little #berniememes fun. Time out for a little #berniememes fun.
“We don’t know when he will act. In his time, “We don’t know when he will act. In his time, no doubt, not ours.” ~ Peter in Prince Caspian
🌱
It’s Inauguration Morning. Prayers for the incoming and the outgoing. Prayers for all of us because we are all exhausted. Prayers for peace and patience and safety and wisdom and more compassion and more kindness and more love and unity. And, please Lord, no more virus.
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Get the Mug

Embrace the life you have t s poetry mug

Privacy Policy

Full privacy policy is available HERE.

I Read Light

TSP-Red button

bibledude-net



Sponsor a Child

Join the Compassion Blogger Network

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2021 Sandra Heska King · Site by The Willingham Enterprise, LLC on the Genesis Framework by StudioPress · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.