Friday, November 26, 2010

Fear

A monster dwells in our home
And I know not who to tell
He steals from me my safeness
And lingers where no one sees
At night, alone, I hear his footsteps
Moving swiftly, softly, nearer my door
Slowly, silently the knob turns
A sound so often heard before
Locks are only for the grown
And I’m young and small
My darkened house is quiet
Most slumber under the angel’s dust
Tightly curled beneath my blanket
I cringe, cramped with such fear
For within this house,
A monster stalks…
Not all my family sleeps

~ p. thibodeau-baker ~

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Changed

Gladness,exuberance and joy pulsate in harmony
As God gently cradles my soul.
Can you not see, my friends, how
He saves me through His lovely grace,
How He forgives the messiness in my life?
Incrementally, slow,
Oh, so very slow at first,
As I learn to trust in Him.
He tills my heart,
And Love is seeded to grow.
Cynicism fades to nothingness,
Where softness and strength reside
Nailing truth to spirit and courage to my spine.
He teaches how to love a stranger
And He alone saves life from ruin.
All this when, out of my despair,
I shouted: can You really do all this for me?
Oh, friends, do you not remember how I was?
Do you not delight at what you see?
A shard of light shot from the depths of His universe
Carries upon its beam an answer to my prayer.
God’s words so softly spoken
Can easily go unheard
Until sometime later,
When I quiet my being and still my mind:
Ah yes! That is what You say…
Thank You.
Yes, now I see.
Now I understand.
~paulette thibodeau-baker~

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A Promise

if I give you a penny
what do you offer in return
do you hand to me your heart
to heat the passions of my soul
if I give you a penny
is there more to you I owe
an offering of my fidelity
that a mere lifetime cannot hold
and from the depth of my being
gift to you love, honor and kindness
with sweetness the cornerstone to our home
promise to me and I to you
violence our children will never see
nor feel…
nor hear…
and in your certitude
can you always protect them from fear
if I give you a penny
do you promise all this to me?

~ p. thibodeau-baker ~

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

A Congregation

we come to God one lamb at a time.
first there is one to be soon
joined by another,
then three of us, now four
and soon we are several.
protected by our Shepherd
we grow into a flock.
thank you Father,
for together we are safe.
now we can learn to love our neighbors,
the wolf and the fox.


~ p. thibodeau-baker ~

Monday, November 8, 2010

Personal Political Commentary

A friend recently emailed me her concern about our nation's troubles and her concern for our troubled moral path and future. This is my response to her email:

Thank you. We must ferret out truth. Many believe that truth is "relative". It appears many of us have accepted the proposition when one politician is caught telling lies: "Oh, they all do it."  If we as citizens buy into this, then we have reduced our own moral standards and succeeded in lowering our expectations for our politicians.  As a people we need to hold ourselves and our politicians to higher standards. 

One thing we can do as citizens is not to reward politicians who lie to us with our vote. Why do we bestow our elected political types with the honors of high office when they show us such disdain and contempt as to lie to us.  When we lower the bar by assuming "they all lie" then the ones caught in their lies win because they have managed to tarnish their opponents  who have shown nothing wrong.  

Sorry for saying so much, but I feel strongly about this. We are part of the problem when we vote for people who have lied to us, their constituents. Lying to  "we the people" is not ok. We, who have entrusted our elected persons with our political welfare and our nation's financial resources, deserve the respect a servant holds for his master. It's time, perhaps, for us to reclaim that respect. We can only do that if we ourselves hold truth as an important asset to our individual and to our nation's character.

Maybe we are asking the wrong question when we ask: "Do they not get it?" The more appropriate question we should be asking ourselves: "When will we get it?"

Paulette

Sunday, November 7, 2010

A Sunday Offering

thank you God for a cat’s soft paws,
the smile of a trusting child,
and fresh fallen snow
reflecting the beauty of an evening sky.
thank you for Your gracious gifts of
bountiful food, clothes, safe harbors,
books to read and time to grow,
and your divine inspiration to spiritual growth.
thank you Father,
for warm friendships that console
often transforming despair to joy,
for the twinkle in my lover’s eye
and the sweet smile upon his lips.
in return for the magnificence of our lives
we will attend one another:
clothing a naked child,
comforting a despairing widow,
and rescuing a lone girl prostitute
who only seeks her next meal.
we will place a plow in the hands
of a farmer to feed his family, his neighbors;
a sewing machine in the home of a woman to clothe
her family and her village.
we will speak the words of Your Son Jesus
to spread light and hope in corners of despair,
sharing our gifts, our love, our compassion.
we will offer our neighbors kindness, forgiveness
and care for their families when in trouble.
thank you God for a cat’s soft paws
the golden glory of a rising sun
and the far away smile of a mother
who can now feed her child

~ p. thibodeau-baker ~

Friday, November 5, 2010

HAIKU

An unkind remark
Your eyes fill with pain then tears 
My friend walks away

Furry pussycats
Tread silently on soft paws
Another mouse falls

Soldier do you cry?
A nation's conscience can't hear
We sent you away

Blood drips into sand
A doobell, a telegram
Your child served well

A soft little cat
A rainy day purrs and purrs
God is marvelous

A people are freed
Liberators assaulted
Truth holds no value

France's moral shame
No risk to a withered spine
A nation's parched soul

No, please, no goodbyes
You'll not come this way again
Steep is my sorrow

Head bowed, eyes lowered
I ask God to walk with me
Joy uplifts my soul

p. thibodeau-baker

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

A Soldier’s Night

This day is done
How cold the night is, so very cold
Huddled beneath my blanket, my hands tremble
When I think of what I’ve done
And of the things I’ve seen, and of the children...
The folks at home, if they knew
But how could they know
This is too different
To know people live this way
This dry encrusted dirt...
Soaked in my blood...
Will this help?
I must stay focused,
Though the reasons have become muddled
I must stay focused, 
If one day these people are to see the difference


p. thibodeau-baker

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Haiku

fear’s sweet sour smell
pop pop goes another gun
slip the bad man’s soul

stealth is your nature
aloofness your well-known mask
but I pet a cat

minds struggle to think
age hangs loose upon man’s frame
death just brushed my cheek

shifting dunes of time
tick tick until nothingness
life meets a locked door

chop those weeds chop chop
pretty flowers heaven’s gift
who would plant a weed

paulette thibodeau-baker

Monday, November 1, 2010

With Love to My Aunt

the dance is done and all have gone home.
what was life's theatre is now so quiet, so quiet.
life's frantic pace, what was that all about?
i'm so tired, maybe just a moment's rest in this empty seat.
lights now off, the stage stands cloaked in darkness.
looking about. no one there. all that noise that was my life.
i look past the stage, now i see...
they're all trying to look in, but they cannot see.
they cannot see me sitting here looking to them.
i love you all. all my family, all my friends.
i love you all, can you hear ?
no, they cannot...
this must be my time to reflect,
my time to think what my life really meant.
oh my God, what have i done.
all those choices made by me and not one can be undone.
do they know, God, how i loved them?
did i not tell them?
please, please tell me i did.
oh, dear ones, hear this if you never hear anything else...
i love you all, so very much...
please know this was what my noise was all about.
what is happening?
the lights above the stage...so bright...but who?..is it time?
yes, i'm ready. thank You.
Your Hand in mine...?
oh thank You.
yes, i love You too.

paulette thibodeau-baker