Something Beautiful

 I have always wanted to do something beautiful. You know...something that other people can enjoy, find beauty and pleasure in. Artists of all kinds have the satisfaction in knowing that they can inspire others, share beauty, and move people in the depths of their souls. I am passionate about veterinary medicine, but it fails to bring enjoyment and beauty to people in the same way that "the arts" do. Visual and preforming arts are far from my forte though.  However, I can write. Or at least I am learning to write creatively. And by creative writing, I really mean poetry. Writing poems helps me to process through things - whether amazingly wonderful or painfully frustrating - and get them out of my head. So this is a place where I can post "something beautiful". I do not know if you will find my poetry beautiful, enjoyable, or even interesting. But I hope it will bring beauty to some. As I am inspired to write, I will post them here. I hope they will help you to see who I am and maybe...just maybe...they will resonate inside you too.

Dec. 7th, 2011

Poetry. For me it’s something that just “happens”. In general, without inspiration it is difficult for me to write a quality poem unless it comes from the heart. I can’t just decide to write a poem about something. Rather, a poem comes to me when I almost usually have no pen or paper around. So. Therefore. I am finally happy to say that a poem has presented itself to me while in Mongolia.

Although. I’m not sure it’s actually a poem. Instead it’s some sort of creative expression that doesn’t have a category that I am yet aware of. There was something inside me that needed to be put into words on paper. That is the only explanation for it.

If any of you are “poetry people” or poets yourself, you can be the judges. Poem or some kind of creative expression? If it is merely a creative expression, I think it may also only be an outlet for excessively detailed description. So for a moment let me wax poetic like Charles Dickenson (who once described a room – or was it a chair? - for three pages in “A Tale of Two Cities”). The only improvement on Dickenson’s room/chair that I have to offer is that I have pictures to go with the words. Which may actually defeat the purpose of writing the description in the first place. But ah. The writing has been done. The pictures have been taken. May it at least be “something beautiful” that you can enjoy….

…for Arkhangai

for purple shadowed mountainsides

for clearest boundless skies

for glittering diamond snow

                                          in golden winter plains –

my soul gives thanks

refreshed by these

for white shining, sun-kissed peaks

for valley vista upon vista

for orange tinged fir trees

                               draping gently climbing summits –

my heart gives thanks

at home in these

for gentle yak and cattle herds

for cozy gers dotting fields

for quiet peaceful countrysides;

                                nature’s lands of vast freedom -

my spirit gives thanks

rested by these

for unsung silent beauty

for Your creative artistry

for perfect living colors

for Your whispers in all these –

Oh the many ways you love me!

  The picture doesn't do justice to the real colors...

 Wide open land as far as I could see...

 Bactrian Camels! (We had to stop and let them cross the road!)

 Driving through the forests...

 Sunshine on the trees as the sun set outside the little town of Jargalant...

 A herder bringing in his sheep and goats...

A typical ger in the countryside...

March 31st, 2011
Hey guys! So my first two posts are actually poems I wrote a couple springs ago. They help explain the title of my blog, so that's why they are listed on the home page and not here. The first , "Beloved's Nightmare" is based on the book "Song of Solomon"  in chapter 5 and verses 2-8. It's in the Bible and actually some pretty amazing ancient poetry in and of itself. The second poem, "The Seventh Man", is based on a story in the book "John" in chapter 4 and verses 4-26. It's in the Bible too and is a beautiful love story when you look beyond the surface. Definitely one of my favorites.