Rhyme and Reason
A Collection of Poetry and Short Stories
by
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Preface
There’s something about writing poetry that satisfies a creative sense in me. In 1993 I began to transfer all my scattered poetry into one book, so I wouldn’t lose it. I didn’t arrange them by date, but just wrote them down as I came across them. Sometimes the emotion of what I feel is best expressed in poetry rather than in prose. I hope you enjoy the variety of my poems.
Some are free verse, others rhyme;
Some were written at a time
Of deep emotion in my mind.
Some are happy, some are sad.
Some make you think, some make you glad.
Some are songs, or just for fun.
Some are sermons in a poem.
Some are short, some are long;
Some bare my soul when I felt wrong.
Please enjoy and pass this on!
Included in my collection of short stories is a piece of biblical fiction titled “Man of Honor” about what life could have been like for Joseph and Mary when she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. Joseph and Mary were real people, living in a community among family and friends. We tend to read the story in the Bible from a faraway perspective without imagining how things could very likely have been for them.
I didn’t realize until I had my manuscript done that I began my book with the free-verse poem “Paradise Lost,” and ended my book with a descriptive narrative titled “A Touch of Eden.” It’s like I came full circle and God tied my book with a bow.
Thank you for reading my collections, and may God bless you!
Paradise Lost
What spoiler of Eden
Still spoils today
As he did that day
Long ago?
From whence did evil spring?
What prompted pride—
That alien force in the heavenlies?
Sin was found in Lucifer
As he walked before his God.
What misery was wrought
In God’s beloved earth
As evil heart, in revenge,
Was set against God’s creation
By him who was cast
From heaven?
With hateful eye,
He viewed humankind,
Determined to wound
The heart of God
By enticing His creation
Into alliance against the truth.
“Did God really say?”
Is the arrow shot
At us today
As it was that day
Eden died.
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About the Book
There’s something about poetry that calls to the deepest part of the human soul. Thoughts such as wondering where God came from, developing a good self-image, struggling with family relationships, overcoming life’s experiences, nurturing spiritual health, caring about cultural issues, and more are subjects with which the reader will connect. Rhyme and Reason is the collection of seventy of Elaine’s poetry written since 1978 and offered here for your enjoyment. She has also included some of her short stories near the end of the book that make for interesting reading, including a biblical fiction piece about Joseph and Mary, as well as a true story of a miraculous healing, and a piece of fiction titled “House of Cards.” Curl up with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, and savor the experience.
About the Author
Elaine is a country girl of Mennonite parents and grew up on a farm in western Pennsylvania with four brothers. The Lord has led her on a journey of faith away from the Mennonite tradition and called her to write. She is the author of five other books: Biff and Becka’s Springtime Escapades, Biff and Becka’s Stupendous Vacation, Biff and Becka’s Splendiferous Christmas, and a cookbook, Elaine’s Kitchen, and Journal Gems: Nuggets from My Heart to Yours. The author is a member of the Northern Virginia Christian Writer’s Fellowship, has been happily married for fifty years to her husband, Dave, and lives in Manassas, Virginia. They have three children and four grandchildren and are active members of Living Faith Church in Manassas.