Mount Bental, Golan Heights

 If you attempted to visit my blog over the past few days, to receive a little poetic refreshment, you would've been unable to do so. I'm so sorry. My domain name expired and I hadn't received notification to renew. As soon as I discovered the problem, I got in touch with my service provider and am glad to report that as of today "Maude's Poems" is up and running again...

Mount Bental, Golan Heights, Israel

SOMETHING LIKE SCARECROWS

Israel Pilgrimage—2006

 

We drive up and up

to what seems to be

the top of the world

and when we can drive

no farther, we walk

to the observation deck

of an old bunker

atop Mount Bental

in the Golan

 

Black silhouettes—

metal die cut-outs

of armed soldiers

rifles cocked and ready

are strategically situated

at the summit

to warn of Israel’s surefire preparedness

against any who would attack

the apple of God’s eye

 

deterrents—

like those vigilant

floppy-hatted scarecrows

stuffed with straw

poised to protect our crops

like the flat black metal hound dogs

I’ve seen wired to fences

in cemeteries and parks

to chase the Canada geese

 

Col. Shalom tells us

when he was twenty

he was given command

of sixty-four men, his age

It was here—

It was 1967

It was the Six Day War

 

2000 tanks

from Syria, Jordan

Egypt and Iraq 

versus Israel’s 200

 

Israel was victorious

It was miraculous

 

…and yet

he still hears

haunting cries in the night

of a wounded brother soldier

 

Maude Carolan Pych

Would you like to read more of my poems?

For information about ordering 

"Wonderhoods" or

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

visit my website at

www.maudecarolanpych.net

Be in Awe...

 This weekend we celebrated Rosh Hoshanna

at Beth Israel Worship Center, Wayne, New Jersey.

We are Messianic believers. We gathered to observe the High Holy Days,

the "Yamim nora im," the Days of Awe.

Be in Awe...

AS THE FALL HOLIDAYS APPROACH

 

I reach for my sweater against the chill

The crickets are chittering

Sunflowers have shed their golden petals

and a few green tomatoes remain

abandoned on the vines

It’s September—

 

the High Holy Days are approaching

Soon I will gather with mishpoceh[1]

in the parking lot outside Beth Israel

We will observe Rosh Hoshanna

Rabbi Jonathan[2] will sound

his kudu shofar beneath the full moon—

Tekiah—Shevarim—Teruah—Tekiah Gedolah[3]

 

Sages tell us the first day of the month of Tishri

is the day God created the world

the world He so loved

the world He gave His only Son to save

The trumpeting reminds me

to reflect upon my relationship

with this God of my salvation

reminds me, humbly, to prepare for Yom Kippur

 

So I ponder the Day of Atonement

ponder the High Priest entering the Holy of Holies

sprinkling the blood of the sacrifice upon the Mercy Seat

ponder the sacrificed goat and the scapegoat

ponder forgiveness

ponder my sins, atoned for by Yeshua[4]

ponder my High Priest, the Perfect Sacrifice

Who offered His Very Own Blood

on my behalf

 

Next will be Sukkot

the Feast of Tabernacles—

From inside a leafy sukkah

I’ll be reminded of the sojourn of God’s people

to the Promised Land

reminded of my very own sojourn

toward God’s promise—

eternal life with Him

in Heaven

 

Maude Carolan Pych

---

[1] Mishpoceh is Hebrew for family.

[2] Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, worship leader of Beth Israel Worship Center, Wayne, NJ.

[3] These are the various sounds of the shofar (ram’s horn) on Rosh Hoshanna.

[4] Yeshua is Hebrew for Jesus.

Here I am, Maude Carolan Pych,

at the Totowa (NJ) Library

with my book, "Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

It is available online

at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, etc.

www.maudecarolanpych.net

Happy Birthday to Sam Iasso!

 Here's a poem, written to give honor to the man

who led the project to transform a big furniture warehouse 

into a little bit of Jerusalem in Wayne, New Jersey...

Sam Iasso

FOR SAM, OUR BEZALEL

 

I’ll never forget the day

I happened to notice a slight opening

in a partition where renovations

were steadily under way

at our congregation

Beth Israel, in Wayne, New Jersey

 

Since I’d been at Beth Israel

from its beginning and am always

enthusiastic about wherever

God’s sure hand

is leading us, I simply was

unable to resist the urge

to approach that opening—

 

Excitedly, I peered through the crack

and immediately gasped

 

Before my eyes

stood the Holy City

with its towering Western Wall—

a wee bit of Jerusalem

right here in Wayne

 

Tears immediately welled in my eyes

and tumbled down my cheeks

 

Our place of worship

was in the midst of transformation

from a sprawling furniture warehouse

into a magnificent place of worship

 

Sam Iasso, our humble master artisan

came out of retirement

as a project manager

for a large corporation

He volunteered to lead the operation

and was put in charge of a team of workers

 

I call Sam our Bezalel

after the God-appointed chief craftsman

of the Tabernacle in Exodus

Bezalel, who with his crew

directed all the diverse specifications

and intricate handiwork

according to God’s specific instructions

 

After seven years

six days a week

sometimes 12-hour days

and countless sleepless nights

day by day our Bezalel was mindful

 

This is for the Lord!

 

Sam faced serious health issues

but managed to complete his project

 

The partitions came down

 

Our dazzling new sanctuary

opened for worship

featuring a striking facsimile

of Israel’s ancient walls

as our backdrop

 

Replicas of Biblical columns

and city gates, stones

with Scriptures carved into them

presents those entering

with a sense of actually being

in the Middle East

standing on holy ground

 

Oh! Jerusalem of Gold!

 

Praise God—

we now have a hallowed sanctuary

and it’s beautiful

 

Thank You, Lord

for calling and equipping Sam

Thank you, Sam for saying Hineni

and thank you to your awesome team

 

To God be the glory!

 

Amen and amen

 

Maude Carolan Pych

Note: Hineni means "Here am I" in Hebrew.

Happy Birthday, Sam!

God bless you.

************

Would you like to read more poems?

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online

at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, etc.

www.maudecarolanpych.net

One, No, Two More Sunflower Poems

 

In My Sunflower Garden, 2018.

MY SUNFLOWER GARDEN

 

My sunflower garden is sheer delight

filling my backyard with beams of light

It’s where I find time to commune with God

amid gigantic blessings, sprung from sod

 

They sway in the breeze and make me smile

as I sit meditative, for awhile

Each luminous face is haloed gold

atop stalks like soldiers, straight and bold

 

They outshine all other blooms around

Each sunburst the buzzing bees surround

and butterflies come a-winging, too

I saw some Monarchs alight a few

 

After days of dazzle, they’ll bow their heads

Grown weary, their golden petals shed

presenting a somber prayerful stance

inspiring intercessions as I glance

 

I watch bees draw nectar, soon the birds

will feast upon their seeds, as spurred

This is nature’s way; how life goes on

It’s the Master plan we depend upon

 

I believe my garden is God’s gift

to empower my spirit to uplift

So much depends on these golden kings—

Beauty, sustenance…eternal things!

 

Maude Carolan Pych

Photo credit: thespruce.com

HAIKU

 

Lion of Judah

God’s Face in a sunflower

His mane is ablaze

 

Maude Carolan Pych

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBC, etc.

www.maudecarolanpych.net

"My Circumcised Heart"

 Let me tell you why I love Him...

MY CIRCUMCISED HEART

Deut 30:6; Rom 2:29

 

There was no mohel

no Bris Milah on my eighth day

and no visible drop of blood

from my cloven heart

during the years that followed

so, when and how it happened

cannot be pinpointed

Perhaps it occurred

when I read Moses’ face shone

after he was in the presence

of the Lord, on the mountain

or that David danced

uninhibitedly before the Ark

out of impassioned love for God

or perhaps when I heard Boaz

put his covering

over the gentile Ruth

and became her kinsman redeemer

Oh, it might have been

when I made aliyah[1] in ’86 or ‘87

or again in 2006

each time praying

at the Wall and the Tomb

or it may have happened

upon becoming utterly awestruck

at the Little Cupula of the Tablets

while considering Messiah’s return

or possibly it was the night we sang

every carol we knew

in the shepherd field of Bethlehem

It could even have been

when I drank water from

the ancient Jacob's Well

or the morning I experienced sunrise

over the Dead Sea

dreaming of the Great Day

when fish will thrive

and vegetation bloom, miraculously

in its healed waters

It may well have been

the sight and smell of the land

as I walked in the footsteps

of my Jewish Savior

or when my heart

caught fire while reading

the melodious Psalms

or Solomon's Song of Songs

or as I poured over the account

of Peter's prison praise

Actually it probably was when

I was born anew

and received blessed assurance

that I am eternally saved

by the precious Blood of the Lamb…

 

All I know is

some way, somehow

something happened

to spiritually circumcise

this gentile heart

making it echad[2]

with the Heart of the God

of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

and I haven’t for a single moment

been the same

since—

 

Maude Carolan Pych

---

[1] Aliyah means ascent in Hebrew.

[2] Echad means one in Hebrew.

Maude Carolan Pych

Here I am holding a copy of my book, "Behold the Lamb...poetically!" a compilation of poems I've written over a span of 30 years, about the Birth, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. The book is available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, etc.

www.maudecarolanpych.net

"Sunflowers in the Storm"

 

SUNFLOWERS IN THE STORM

 

My sunflowers lift their faces to the sky

Haloed in golden splendor

they imitate the great orb of light

that shines down upon them

and reflect back its glory

for all they’re worth

 

They stand stately and tall

Beautiful. Confident

swaying with grace

almost dancing in place

day after sunny day

 

and then a storm rolls in

 

Clouds emerge and darken

The rain lets go its fury

pelting them without mercy

The wind blows wildly

 

Pummeled to the ground

the sunflowers spring back

over and over again

They can take it

 

Watching, I wonder

that their slim stalks don’t snap

as they are knocked about

 

Next morning, the sky is blue

the sun shines brightly

and the recovered golden heads

smile at the orb again

 

 

and I know

sometimes I am a sunflower in the storm

sometimes I’m a sunflower in the sun

 

Maude Carolan Pych

More poems?

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online

at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, etc.

www.maudecarolanpych.net

Don't You Love Sunflowers?

 

I'm happy in my sunflower garden.

 

SUNFLOWERS

 

God’s abundance wows me

from a sprawling field of sunflowers

which tower above

on thick woody stalks

 

They lift great ochre heads

framed in ragged haloes

of yellow gold

to shine sunrays upon me

like God’s own radiant face

amid a communion of saints

and I must smile back

 

Their leaves

are big green hearts

In their midst

my own heart

grows and greens

 

How God loves me!

He astonishes His child

with wondrous whimsies

 

Soon, when the season ends

they’ll just nod their weary heads

and shed their golden haloes

on the ground

 

and bequeath their gift of seed

to ravens of the air

which will feast festively

upon God’s abundance

unto them

 

Maude Carolan

Here are Maude's books of poetry:

"Wonderhoods" a memoir

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

For ordering information, go to:

www.maudecarolanpych.net