Zealotic or Zesty?

 Zealotic as I used to live,

Though given often to misgive –

I’d hang with those

Who’d turn the nose,

But long would dawdle to forgive.

Bare truth can be a hazard deep,

As from compassion it can keep.

We may be right,

But wrongly bite,

If facts unchecked are all we heap.

I hope at last to hold my zeal,

And yet to sail more even keel.

A balance shift

Could be a gift,

If to the heart it does appeal.

c2018 by Linda Ann Nickerson

Image:

Theme art – adapted from public domain image

Still from The Dark Past, 1948

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Yea or Nay: A-Z verses from vintage visages

 Yea or Nay?

A poet’s case for saving grace

I used to link laws with beliefs

As metaphorical motifs.

Inside, I’d simmer, yelp, and yell

To ponder bliss and flee from hell.

I’d measure where I thought I stood

Between the camps of bad and good.

And maybe, if I did it right,

My steps would lead to endless light.

At last, I tumbled in the grass,

Regarded yonder, took a pass,

And yielded to the roar of grace.

‘Twas anything but commonplace.

Considering my former stance

I’ve stepped aside from duty’s dance.

Though truth may grade not on the curve,

To rule on others takes some nerve.

So thankful that I need not know

Who may belong above, below.

For that decision takes a crown.

My pay grade sits a long way down.

c2016 by Linda Ann Nickerson

This poem was posted for the April A to Z Blogging Challenge and National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo), as well as these prompts:

• Daily Post: “curve”
• Five Minute Friday: “pass”
• Meme Express: “yield” and “yell” 
• One-Minute Writer: “beliefs”
• Simply Snickers: “yell” and “yonder”

Image/s:

Public domain photo –
 vintage image

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Wrestling with Wonder

Wincing or convincing?

We wrestle wildly, watching winds.

We fluff our feathers, flap our fins,

And number woes –

God only knows

We fail to find when joy begins.

When wonder waits with every stride,

Why do we dare to be denied?

What vision vies

To catch our eyes,

While we whirl on, fit to be tied?

c2014 by Linda Ann Nickerson 

"And He said, 

'Let me go, for the day breaketh.'

and [Jacob] said, 
'I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.

(Genesis 32:26, KJV)

Nickers and Ink: Poetry and Humor is participating in the April A to Z Blogging Challenge and National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) again this year. Stop on back, so you don’t miss a single post!

Image/s:

Jacob Wrestling with the Angel of God

by Rembrandt

 c1659

Limericks and Whim-ericks artwork

created by this user on FlamingText

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