KAREN HESSLER

There is healing power in the beauty of nature.

Month: January 2022

A Prayer For Peace

By

On January 25, 2022

In Prayers

On those misty gray days, I offer a prayer for peace.

Prayer for Peace




Dear Lord,
on this misty
rainy morning

I feel so tired,
my eyes want
to close, my thoughts

want to drift away
sinking into oblivious
rest, quiet breaths

letting the world
go by with its
struggles and war

with its hunger
and demands,
with its oppression

and obsession
for more, more,
more, never sated

this angry world
with spittle flying,
launching insults
like missiles.

Gather this world
in Your arms
like a feral cat

softly stroking her raised fur
until her throat relaxes
with a sigh and a purr

and her claws retract,
the arch leaves her back
as her eyes quietly close

a kitten in repose

A Prayer For Those In Battle

By

On January 19, 2022

In Prayers





Take these bones
and rebuild my life,
renew my vigor
and let me survive.

Take this heartbeat
and pay the price,
renew my strength
   with Your breath of life.

Grounded: A Poem

By

On January 18, 2022

In Poems

This is a poem for when the world feels too big. May you always be grounded in love.

Grounded in Love




"Grounded"


when the winds of terror
threaten to sweep me
out to space

let me remember gravity
let my feet embrace
solid ground

when the world feels too big
and the vastness of the sky
pulls me too far beyond

let my feet remind me
I am stable where I stand
I am safe and down to earth
I am grounded in love

Living With Limitations

By

On January 14, 2022

In Poems

We Still Have Goodness To Offer

Limitations

This is for all of us who have to live with personal limitations, who have to say no to so many things due to the way we are made, who can’t change our fingerprints but still have the urge to try, and who feel bad when we can’t keep up with others.

May we remember we still have goodness to offer in this life. 



"Limitations"


sometimes I have to disappoint 
people

but there is none more disappointed 
than I am in myself

I'm weary of all these flaws and
weaknesses that stick like glue

these anxieties and limits that
cannot be overcome

every "no" is soaked in sorrow, rued
in regret

my past is littered with failed
attempts to be something I'm not

acceptance has a hefty price

it costs me the belief that if only I try
harder, I will win

is it the world who demands too
much, or am I the one at fault?

I can tell of all the things I am not,
but I don't know who or what I am

oh, give me strength for daily living

let me find gifts for loving and giving

let my "no" and my limits fall softly
without hurting the ones I love

let me live according to design

and have the courage to say it's
enough

it's enough to be myself

Longings

By

On January 11, 2022

In Poems

A poem for all of those longings that seem ready to burst at the beginning of a new year.

Longings



They are there
I can feel them quiver
with anticipation
those nameless wants
so tired of being pushed down
pricked like bubbles caught
on thorns
swatted like pesky mosquitoes
that cannot stop buzzing
buried under blankets
locked within a chest
as far from the heart as possible
within the human frame
while attention is splintered
like sawdust and scattered among
a million pressing demands
and hunger is suppressed by
distraction
our longings go unfed.


I can hear them singing
those hidden hopes
covered in neglect
the day has come
they'll be silent no more
our dreams are rising
like stars in the night
their light is glowing
a new day is dawning
when our eyes lift upward
and we finally see
they are there, our secret longings
bursting like fireworks
at the first of the year
we see and we hear them
we can make them come true
we can let them run loose
let them fly to the sky
let us follow our dreams
across the new year
let them lead the way
to a glorious new day.

A Prayer For Those In Need

By

On January 5, 2022

In Prayers

This prayer is written in haiku format to express heartfelt need.

Heartfelt Prayer

Oh Maker of all
things, my greatest need is You.
Answer when I call.

Respond when I reach 
out, reply when I pour out
my heart full of need.

As You scroll through my
messages, don't discard them
like yesterday's mail.

See my face, look at
my heart and know that I am
nothing without you.

Let me see Your face
let me look at Your heart and 
know that You are God.

Let me receive Your
grace, let me feel Your love, let
Your healing touch come.

For You are my God,
Oh Maker of all things, my
greatest need is You.

Black and White Days

By

On January 2, 2022

In Poems

A poem for those colorless days when the world looks like a black and white photograph.

black and white days




The world is etched in black-and-white

a charcoal painting, an old-time movie

of simpler days

The streets are empty, the houses asleep

The trees watch in silence as time passes by

unmarked by clocks and schedules

Time is released from her boundaries

free to roam untethered

on this black and white day

where winter has come to play

Songbird

By

On January 1, 2022

In Poems

May the New Year find you singing, like the Songbird! 



The songbird sings her
song this morn; she does
not know about the
new month, the new year,
she simply sings, for
a new day is here.

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