Poetry by Rose Marie Sarlo
(To
Kassie & Sierra)
All
alone in the stillness and silence of midnight,
He
slips through the shadows of slumbering trees,
Led
by patience and passion, he fearlessly follows
The
wild scent of roses unbound in the breeze.
Little
hill, happy arbor, surrounded by flowers
Uplifted
by earth and enfolded in sky,
Where
his heart learns to dream of the pure and the holy,
His
future seems sweet and his Father close by.
All
the stars press their faces up close to the window
That
looks on the world and its longing and tears,
As
he nears and he softly abandons his sandals
And
climbs to the top where the dark disappears.
Dancing
heather, aglow with the moon’s gentle kisses,
Lies
down as the boy kneels to offer his prayer:
To
be loved by a lassie as lovely as Kassie,
As
smiling and wise as Sierra the Fair.
As
the wind whispers joy through the innocent evening,
A
miracle seems like a natural thing,
The
petition is wistful with wide-eyed presumption
But
brought by a child whose Father is King.
Purest
Lord, sweetest Giver, Who glories in mercy,
Whose
love dreamed the moon and imagined the blue,
Who
can tell what mysterious beauties He’s weaving
Or
guess all the fantasies soon to come true!
“If
your son ask a fish, would you give him a serpent?
Or
asking for bread, would you give him a stone?”
How
much more shall your mighty, compassionate Father
Fulfill
beyond hope the desires of His own!
5-3-2000
by Rose Marie Sarlo
Afternoon Reflections
Heaven’s pelting yellow petals
Through the blue of afternoon;
Sadness gazes from the shadows,
Saves her weeping for the moon.
A million gilded leaves are dancing
Up the branches to the sky;
Sadness trembles at their singing,
Half forgetting how to cry.
Amber-crested clouds are racing,
Chasing breezes, sweet and wild;
Sadness lays aside her sorrows,
Lost in wonder like a child.
Suddenly, the sun’s descending,
Calling all her glory back;
Sadness fills with bitter longing
As the world grows cold and black.
Swiftly flies the summer sunset,
Long and lonely lies the night;
But sadness and the stars remember
Afternoon’s enchanted light.
Whispers of eternal morning
Haunt the darkness and despair;
Sadness waits her new adorning,
Robes of praise, immortal fair.
All creation stills to listen
For the holy Prince of Light;
Fears will vanish at His smile,
Love will swallow up the night.
By Rose Marie Sarlo 9-24-99
ONCE UPON A MOMENT
Nature cried out in its fresh anguish as tears splashed at the foot of God’s throne. Adam swallowed and felt death creep through his body, clinging to every part of him and claiming his very soul. Eve shuddered as the perfect man before her transformed into a pale, lifeless, and nauseating form, cowering and clutching at his new nakedness. Nearby, venomous fangs glittered into a smile, and a ghastly whisper slinked through the air, "Mine now, all mine." Innocence fled in terror. Beauty gasped desperately for air, but collapsed in suffocation. The light faltered; the atmosphere chilled. Man had fallen; and the following moment brought separation, fear, and horror into paradise.
For Adam, the moment seemed an eternity. He gazed down at the glossy but sticky remains of his gluttonous act. The bleeding teethmarks in the small piece of fruit gaped at him—screamed at him. The sweet, scarlet juice trickled down his wrist and arm leaving permanent stains. It dripped like poison from the corners of his mouth onto his chin and neck. Adam trembled as he discovered an unknown force plunging him into an unbearable emptiness. He cringed as he sensed lidless eyes staring at him, devouring him. He flung the fruit into the grass and moaned as the green blades withered and twisted into deformed shapes. Glancing down at his bare flesh, which mortality had now grasped in its cruel claws, Adam choked in despair and helplessly lunged toward a soft shroud of trees to hide himself in their inviting darkness. The moment had passed; but its effects would linger for hours, weeks, and millennia to come.
But the same moment for Satan held victory and fulfillment. Squeezed into the gilded body of a serpent, he foamed in a silent but delirious craze as he relished the results of his triumph. His narrow form rippled with excitement as he felt death seeping into the air around him. He had won! With his own luring lies, he had succeeded in completely corrupting the seed of all men. He had subtly snatched the role of "Head," and "Lord," and "Master"; and he would keep it. In evil ecstasy, he lurched forward to gloat at his miserable captives. He sneered at their pathetic attempts to conceal their disobedience and left the moment with a horrifying and hideous laugh that would echo throughout the ages.
Yet, somewhere beyond man’s tiny perspective, the Creator Himself bent a little from His throne and watched the moment, too. For the first time, He saw fear and guilt tormenting His children. He wept as they willfully rejected Him and allowed sin to overpower and destroy them. He beheld the serpent greedily drooling over his unhappy victims and ruthlessly scheming his anticipated reign. But God saw something else, too—His Son, His only Son… torn… bleeding… dying… dying and crying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!" Now, great scarlet drops flowed from the scarred hands of obedience and stained the parched lips of mercy. The Son of God emptied Himself for man. He traded His glory for our mortality and separated Himself from His own Father to gain us eternal access. And God watched. In the moment after the Fall, He saw each man who would turn from Him and each man who would turn towards Him. He saw me. He saw you. He gazed tearfully at the flames of Hell, but joyfully at the brightness of Heaven. Then, He wiped His eyes and dove between the stars to visit his lost creatures. The moment had ended, but His plan had just begun; and good would come even of this—the saddest moment in history.
Rose Marie Sarlo 1995
Where Joys Begin
Dream of stars and purple evenings
Painted ‘round a fairy moon,
Hear the river hum and murmur
Sweet and strange, familiar tunes.
Drift asleep upon the water
Underneath the moonlit boughs,
Soft and shy, the wind caresses,
Like a mother, comes and goes.
Somewhere standing near the river
In the forest’s silver mist,
Waits a lady, still and gentle,
Dressed in love and crowned in trust.
From the shore, her voice arises
Clear as water, deep as blue,
Singing hope into the midnight,
Hope that smiles and longs for you.
White she shimmers in the starlight,
Arms like heaven, eyes like home,
Bright and warm with quiet passion,
Sworn in joy to you alone.
Quickly, while the vision lingers,
Kiss her eyes and catch her hands,
Race together through the shadows,
Dance upon the sleepy sand.
Slumber sweet beneath the willows
Lost in oneness, wrapped in peace,
All enfolded in the moonlight,
Bound and blessed in love’s embrace.
Waking, we draw near to dying,
Dreaming, we remember Home!
Wisdom’s eyes are other-worldly,
Dreamers see, and children know.
Silent, soft, the gentle Father
Scatters through the wind and sky
Broken bits of ageless beauty,
Breaths of love that cannot die.
Dream, though dreams seem faint and fleeting,
Hope, though love looks far away,
Wish for all that’s fair and holy,
Time is but a short delay.
Dreams are hints of Heaven’s sweetness,
Tastes of uncorrupted love,
Echoes of immortal music,
Glimpses of the Face of God!
He whose glory lights the darkness
Calls your heart to dream of Him,
He will fill your deepest longings,
In His Presence, joys begin.
By Rose Marie Sarlo 12-99
SEE MY GOD!
See His Hands
In the sands
Write that Truth and Mercy meet.
Watch them bleed
For my need
To make me holy, strong, and sweet.
See His Feet
Walk the street
Seeking blind and burdened men.
Up and down
Through each town
Goes my God, the sinner’s Friend.
See His Eyes
How He cries
For Jerusalem the proud.
Watch Him weep
While they sleep
Behold with love the jeering crowd.
See His Face
Towards the place
They would beat and bruise it so.
They’d adorn
Thorn by thorn
Till its form no man could know.
See his Back
Like the track
Of a plow upon the earth.
How it bears
All my cares
And my cross, my shame and curse.
See His Heart
Torn apart
From His Father and His Home.
Watch it break
For my sake
Lost in darkness all alone.
See His Ears
How He hears
Every heartbeat, every sigh.
Will not despise
Humble cries
Or ever pass His children by.
See my God
See His Love
In the Person of His Son!
Christ reveals
How God feels
And reaches down to everyone.
Rose Marie Sarlo - Sept. 23, 1998