“I. The Burial of the Dead
April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain….”
- The Wasteland , T.S. Eliot
I came for inspiration
I came looking for grace
And found my reflection
In every passing face
- Jackson Browne
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish
so that it yields seed
for the sower and bread for the eater
so is my word
that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose
- Is 55:10-11
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The April Fool’s Blues
Knocked down, locked down
Splendidly isolated, the row desolated
Retreated, self-defeated
Solitude , nourishing gratitude
Humbled, mumbled and rumbled
Clouds hiding sun , no more fun
Raining, pouring, old men snoring
Rivers flowing, no more flowers growing
Voices blaming , fingers pointing
Faded passion, waning compassion
Hear the weeping , eternal sleeping
They’re counting cases , faceless faces
Churches emptied, Souls in need
Finding grace, in a stranger’s face
Songs sung solo, no where to go
More time in bed, prayers being said and said
Social with distance, gone in an instant
Children lost in wondering, parents shuddering
Politicians stuttering , experts muttering
Worried about the lack, everything that dies comes back
No fields of dreams , athletes losing track of schemes
Graduates stranded, employment demanded
First responders , first line servers falling
Ghosts television watching, book reading
Couch napping, puzzle assembling
Music making , more napping
Empty street walking, meal eating
Heads humbly bowing
Face timing, phone calling
Connections being made, trying not to be afraid
Always wearing a mask, this too will pass
Look a lotus flower grows in the mud
…And the morning bird’s healing song can be heard
- JF Sobecki
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Healing Rain
Healing rain is coming down
It's coming nearer to this old town.
Rich and poor, weak and strong
It's bringing mercy, it won't be long.
Healing rain is coming down
It's coming closer to the lost and found.
Tears of joy and tears of shame
Are washed forever in Jesus' name.
Healing rain, it comes with fire
So let it fall and take us higher.
Healing rain, I'm not afraid
To be washed in Heaven's rain.
Lift your heads, let us return
To the mercy seat where time began.
And in your eyes I see the pain.
Come soak this dry heart with healing rain.
And only you, the Son of Man
Can take a leper and let him stand.
So lift your hands, they can be held
By someone greater, the Great I Am.
Healing rain, it comes with fire
So let it fall and take us higher.
Healing rain, I'm not afraid
To be washed in Heaven's rain.
To be washed in Heaven's rain.
Healing rain is falling down,
Healing rain is falling down,
I'm not afraid.
I'm not afraid.
“Sweet April showers
Do spring May flowers”
- 1157, by Thomas Tusser.
Video Poems: ( since it is the last day of National Poetry Month)
Not Spring - Elizabeth Metzger
Obit Caretakers - Victoria Chang
https://youtu.be/DUtL9X3n-UU
Your End of April and Hope for May Playlist
Land of Hopes and Dreams - B and P Springsteen
April Showers - Frank Sinatra (* for my morristown friend)
A Little Soon To Say - J. Browne
Splendid Isolation - W. Zevon
A Need for Solitude - MC Carpenter
Ghost in a Ghost Town - Rolling Stones
https://youtu.be/LNNPNweSbp8
How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live - R. Cooder
Hard Times come again No More - J. Taylor w Yo Yo Ma
Tears Of Healing Rain - Mark Simos, Lissa Shneckenburger, Aoife O'Donovan, Keith Murphy , and Ari Friedman on cello
Shelter Me From The Storm - Bob Dylan
Human Touch - J. Browne & Leslie Mendelson
Windfall- Son Volt
Live Forever - Drew Holcombe
Amdg
Copyright All Rights Reserved J F Sobecki LLC
