Jerusalem Ridge Farms
Welcome to The Ridge
My poetry certainly pales in comparison to my Henry County neighbor Wendell Berry, but I'm ocassionally struck by the muse and I'll use this space to share some of it with you.
Ray
photo: Wendell Berry and Hank checking Mr. Berry's sheep, the Kentucky River in the background
Mr. Berry's Cheviot sheep. Hank's Cheviot ram, Chuck, came from Mr. Berry.
Hummingbirds
Intricate
Delicate
defying human explanation
How anyone can watch a hummingbird
Then profess doubt of a Divine Presence
Is beyond my comprehension
Leaves
Once green
Now red and yellow and brown
They hang moist with dew and rain
Then fall
And begin their reconstruction
Undisturbed
They lie waiting
To become the very soil
That gave them life
I am of horses
their warm breath
sent from nostrils flaring
into the cool full moon evening air
first fogs, then falls as dew
at my feet
Promise
We turned from barn and bale
To venture out into the gentle mist
For a moment’s refreshing;
A welcomed respite from dust and sweat and straw
It’s brilliance made the first appearing
From the south just above the ridge
And then, in its own good time
Swept across the sky
Until horizons were connected
With warm rich hues
Painting dark, angry clouds
With tranquil beauty
Beyond knowledge of earthly things
Then, as if one weren’t enough
A second arc struck true and even
Just above the first
Not as vibrant, yet
Extraordinary in its uniqueness
A trick of the light?
More a manifestation of God’s Power and Grace
A suggestion of the beauty and magnificence
That someday will be fully revealed
To those who know Him
And love Him
And strive to do his will
A prayer of thanksgiving
For His life-giving
And a Covenant we treasure
As we watch it span
The doorstep of Heaven
