(Original poem) The Gift, by Ed Ringer, from Mature Living/June 2019:
The ocean has a job to do,
Pushing toward its goal.
It moves at God’s direction
To wash my mind and soul.
The sand that sweeps between my toes,
The roaring in my ears–
The simple message from my God
That erases all my fears.
Each wave that rolls upon the shore
Rolls out with parts of me.
It slowly cleanses to my core
All of life’s impurity.
Foolish man, O foolish man,
I seldom heed the call
To just give up my problems
To the One who solves them all.
I must come back; I must come back
Each day to walk its shore
To take advantage of this gift
To love the Giver more.
My Erasures of “The Gift” by Ed Ringer from Mature Living/June 2019:
The green tree has a job to do,
Important for our health.
It was taught by God above
To fix our air as wealth.
The breeze that flows upon my brow
Full of oxygen I need,
Is given off from his green trees
For breath, for life, indeed.
And just as we are partners
In this game of life,
We also help the trees
Exhaling wasted blight.
The trees need carbon dioxide
To keep their system strong,
So God devised the plan
To work together, long.
Foolish man, O foolish man,
Could never have devised
A plan so unbelievable
In God’s thoughts, very wise.
I must take care; I must take care
Of earth, and all He made,
For He made everything with care
And care by me, he bade.