Poetry

“A New Normal”

| Laura Lee Bonde

everyone has a different “normal”
what they’re raised in
what they’re used to
and I wonder
how much that “normal”
hangs on

if a child is raised around screaming all the time
will that child become an adult who screams?

if a child hears a lot of cussing
will it become part of their vocabulary?

it could
but it also doesn’t have to be

I believe parents
teachers
coaches
and the like
who are creating an environment for children
should carry themselves well

regardless of their past

growing up
involves learning the difference
between right and wrong
and choosing right
but then it comes back to “normals”
maybe wrong IS right

I used to cuss all the time
scream at my kids
slam doors through the frame
my kids’ “normal”
but I changed
I hope others change too

all it takes is for one to change
to make lifetimes of different

“Silence”

| Laura Lee Bonde

there’s a quiet place of the heart
unseen by man
but known by God

where requests are never made
but desires are known
and answered

where a thought becomes a prayer
because it came from the heart

when His Spirit lives in you
there’s always communion

know it
seek it
learn it
live it

“Speechless”

| Laura Lee Bonde

do you know what an honor it is
to be Scott’s wife?
what a privilege to be one
unto death?

a covenant
commitment
a lifetime of one

words swim in my heart
amongst the tears
as to what this means
to me
to God
to Scott

oh what a blessing
to be awake
to be alive
to love well
forever

“Dear Santa”

| Laura Lee Bonde

yesterday
cleaning the garage
I came across two letters
from my girls

one asking for twenty five minutes
the other asking for fifty nine minutes
of a loving family

that moment
when you feel your heart break
and drip

I began to cry
THIS is why I’m so grateful
THIS is why I write

do you have any idea what HE’s done?
do you even know how HE’s changed my life?

my grateful tears
ran into regret
and the sobbing began

regret
always referred to as bad
but how can one not

searching deeper within
I looked up regret’s definition

as a verb
feel sad
repentant
disappointment

as a noun
feeling of sadness
repentance
disappointment

I regret the damage I’ve caused others
I regret certain things from the past
but it’s not a verb I practice
and it’s not a noun I live in

I breathe
stand
and live
in joy

grateful that I’m
forgiven

“When Light is a Fire”

| Laura Lee Bonde

in His Heart
there is freedom
in His Heart
there is joy
in His Heart
there is company
of angels

where heaven breathes
and moves through you
when nature knows
where heaven breathes
and the world looks different
through change

when they learn about
this freedom
and learn about
this joy
and learn about
this company
and enter into His Heart