Rejoice: Poems for Renewal and Reflection

By Colleen Adele Kelly

Rejoice is a poetic reflection upon all aspects of life. It combines a variety of topics finding inspiration and humor within nature, human experience and recent history. The five sections relate to everyday occurrences, as well as world and American events.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Dec 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9781665754590

Colleen Adele Kelly

Colleen Adele Kelly, Ph.D. is a retired teacher of Asian, International Studies and Comparative Education, who taught in Fairfield, Connecticut. She was also an adjunct professor at Central Connecticut State University. Dr. Kelly received two Fulbright grants to India and was a Pier Fellow at Yale University in both Asian and International Studies. She also worked on several projects with the Asia Society. Colleen has lectured widely on India. China, Russia, and the Middle East. She is an active member of Sacred Heart Church in Southbury, Connecticut. Since childhood she has indulged her inclination to memorialize special events with poems. Dr. Kelly is the author of an intellectual biography of Welthy Honsinger Fisher, and with M. Foster Farley Indian Summer. Since retiring she has published seven volumes of poetry; As I Was Saying, I’ve Been Thinking, Observations, Dancing for Joy and Sing a New Song. Her last collection of poems was Becoming, Poems of Pandemic, Protest, Prayer and More. This latest volume, Rejoice, is a celebration of endings and beginnings, seasons, political events, beliefs, and humanity. She lives in in Southbury, Connecticut and is an active member of Delta Kappa Gamma, Gamma Alpha, NYSO.

Book preview

Copyright © 2023 Colleen Adele Kelly.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Archway Publishing

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

844-669-3957

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-5458-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-5459-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023923832

Archway Publishing rev. date: 12/19/2023

Contents

Dedication

Preface

Refuge, Refugee

Part I – Rejoice

Rejoice

Hear, Heal

New View

Vienna

Chinese Folk Songs

Birthday Blessing

Birthday Thought

Muse

Clay

Future Times Past

Holiday

Everyday Extraordinary People

Can I See Eternity?

From Dark to Light

Covid’s Cost

Anniversary

Longed For?

Things Fall Apart

Tread Carefully

Solace in Silence

A Year

Not Yet

Loss

Part II – Renew

Blank Slate

January

Winter’s Wonders

Footprints

Snowy Mystery

Paw Prints

Transcendent Time

Signs of Spring

Take Wing

Last of Snow

Early Spring

Like Flags Furled

Wildflowers

Season’s Signs

Remember Me

Seasonal Beauty

Awake, Arise

The Garden

Morning Sounds

Glimpse of Eternity

Thunderous Night

Choices

With Dante, Down, then Up

Night to Day

Nor’easter

Storm

Aftermath of Storm

Spring’s Song

Trilling

April’s Flowers

Sublime

No Matter

Daybreak

Revelry

Ruminations

Hope’s Song

May

Shared Space

Shared Nest

Summer has Come

June

Lovely Day

Earthrise

July

Fire Fourth

Impressions

Precious Water

Mother Earth

Splendid Summer Night

Sleep-in-day

Morning Meditations

Dawn this Day

Labor Day

Can You Believe September?

Autumn’s Sights

Not Sudden

Time Passes

Equinox

Phoenix

Fly Time Once More

Another Thought on Fall

Fury

World on Fire

Seasons Slip Past

November Comes

Fall to Spring

Part III – Reckoning

America’s Future

Vision, Division

Betsy’s Flag

Poor Great Lafayette

Theory or Reality

Sedition, Insurrection

Strange Times

Silo Speech

Voice of the people, WOW!

Incredible, indelible

One Body Politic

Veteran’s Day

Travesty

My Nation, Ever New

Huddled Masses

Pay Heed!

Humdrum Horror

Leadership Observed

On the Move

Definitions

Broad Brush

Putin, Xi and Me

Divided, United

Sing Cuckoo

A Knock Upon the Door

Hidden

Dance with the Devil

Taliban

Justice Denied

Mourn our Martyrs

Peacemaker, Pacemaker

Powerful Words

Forgive

Apathy and Empathy

Mixed Memories

Honor

Founders. Lawmakers

Dystopia

Your Truth and Mine

War’s Horrors

War

Tiananmen Remembered

Taps

Red, Blue?

Nine Eleven Memorialized

Migrations Past

Extremists

Part IV – Reliance and Reward

Celebrate

Shalom

Evangelize

Is Hell a Black Hole?

Prodigal

A Church of Surprises

Chat Room

Restless and Relentless

OH MY GOD!

OMG!

Whatever Became of Sin?

Wood

Wondering

Spread the Word

Communion

Hope Again

Free Will

Cleansing Waters

This Moment

Speak Lord

Enlightening

Salve

It is Enough

Pardon

Judge Not

Gift Given, Give

Oh, So Literal

Identity

Faith

Quietly

Rich Man Poor Man

Thank You

Dependency

Miraculous?

Ten Talents

Evil or Good

Daughter of Wisdom

End of Days?

Metamorphosis

Job’s Times

Wired, Fired

Command, Cure

Truly Blessed

Solomon

Are You the Christ?

Salvation

On the Death of a Genius

A Miracle

Take Up Your Cross

Resurrection

Eucharist Most Holy

Bethany’s Best

A Sinner, Me

Angelic Hosts Resound

You Dear Friend

Living in Faith Together

Keep it Simple

But I Say

Compassion Not Hate

Dig Deep

Reflection Education

Ashes to Ashes

Part V – Reflect and Remember

Shalom, Peace

How do we see?

Yes, or No?

Timely Symbols

Poor Pollyanna

Milestones

Words Matter

Star Struck

Astronaut? Naught

Order

Ageism

A Queen Dies

Deserve

Again, Never Again

Joined in Grief

Culture of Violence

Customer Service

No Face

Transition

Funerals

Love’s Loss

Honoring a Labor Leader Lost

Compute, Conjure, Conquer

Tax Time Cometh

Neighbor

Obscure

One Mile, Then Two

Lemons

Piler? Stacker? Which?

Rainbows

Obituaries

Hear the Birds Sing

Listen Carefully

For Carol

In Memoriam

Truth

Mosaic

Blinders as Blessings

Nancy

Deanna

Me or We

Kind

Michael

Armistice

About the Author

Also by Colleen A. Kelly

As I was Saying

I’ve Been Thinking

Observations

Dancing For Joy

Sing a New Song

Becoming: Poems of Pandemic, Protest, Prayer and More

Indian Summer with M. Foster Farley

Dedication

This collection of poems is dedicated to friends and family as well as the people of Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and all who are suffering war and deprivation.

Preface

Rejoice may seem a strange choice of title for this collection, but it fits. Consider, contemplate; is the choice to rejoice or despair? To my mind always rejoice, rejoice in the Lord always. Life is clearly composed of so many choices, deliberate and inadvertent. I choose to be as deliberate as possible, yet at peace with the unforeseen. Why waste time on worry? Consider, cultivate wisdom, hope, relax, rely upon God, even when you doubt, but work to achieve virtuous goals.

Rejoice, remember, resurrect, reflect.

Rejoice!

Refuge, Refugee

Lost, all lost

Home, familiarity, language, place

Sudden, catastrophe, war, hate

Reason, no reason at all

Sheer luck, determination

Determines fate, escape.

So many cast adrift, bereft

Open seas, skies

Escape lies close or far

Negotiate cross barriers.

Where find again self?

Rent from all past, what aspect lasts?

Refuge, refugees, we

Open hearts and arms

To vulnerable, embrace

Invite, accept

Find, hope, honor, space

Some place, this place on earth,

Hope for return, learn again.

PART I

Rejoice

"God loves each of us as if there

were only one of us."

ST. AUGUSTINE

Rejoice

Marvel, rejoice

The voice of diversity speaks

Loud, clear

All we hold dear

May differ in time and space

The face of America

Clearly, dearly embraced

Across the cities, the plains

Over the mountains and gorges

The face of America

Still gorgeous

Black, white, red, yellow,

All shades in-between

All and none

Human! Marvel, rejoice

The voice of the nation

Sometimes clear

Sometimes not

Struggles to know what truth is

What is not.

That struggle is history

Herstory, right and wrong

Records of good and ill

Still being written, inscribed

Transcribed minds and hearts

The records kept

When we wept, when in awe

At heroes and villains alike.

Hear what we say

Marvel, rejoice.

Hear, Heal

The healing power of music

Yo-Yo Ma

We thank you

And all those souls who

Instrument in hand

Raise us aloft

In melody grand

Ancient, new

Spirit torn

Reborn

Symphony of sound

And silence

Compositions blend

Lend imagination

Narration of unspoken thought

Hope rhapsodic

Caught,

Hear, heal.

New View

Press mute

The blather of it all

Just too much

Step back

Reflect, recall

The joy of touch

In time perhaps

Our interactions

Spontaneous

May 2020 be a lapse

Transactions

Actions friendly

For now in transit

Mute says it all

Reflect, recall.

Vienna

A New