Choose Joy: Poems, Prayers and Prose

Awed by joy

Pretty pink blossoms

I watch you bloom, awed by joy –

blessed by your beauty.

Kwanzan Cherry tree
Woodbury, New Jersey
(photo credit: Carla Romarate-Knipel)

dance of the daffodils

By Carla A. Romarate-Knipel

your yellow bonnets

nod shyly as the breeze kiss

your radiant faces.

sleeping through winter

you are awake, in full bloom

yearning for the sun.

in awe, I watch you

with joy and delight, my lips

curved into a smile.

this almost-spring-day

you bend and sway, while birds sing

songs that warm my heart.

Carla A. Romarate-Knipel,

Table napkin haikus

#1 Hot Latte

“Extra hot,” I asked,

“coconut milk, vanilla –

one sip, “ouch!” burned tongue!

#2 Rainy Wednesday

cold, damp rainy day

somewhere it’s nice and sunny –

not in Woodbury.

A rainy Wednesday
Woodbury, New Jersey, U.S.A.

#3 Sermon prep

scribble the Gospel

not on paper but your heart

wait for it to speak.

Table Napkin Haikus

#1 Avocado in chicken wrap

Hidden deep in lush

greenness, chunks of white chicken,

meshed in sweet goodness.

#2 Iced Vanilla Latte

Bitter at first sip

delightful ‘dulce-ness,’ glides

down my eager tongue!

#3 Coffee shop vibes

Feeling the rhythm –

the music of energy

shared humanity.

Give Love. Give Life.

Heart song

You make my heart sing

songs of joy, gladness and bliss –

on this day of love.

Snow Haiku 3

I gaze at the trees

Their branches covered with snow –

I shiver, in awe.

Prayer Haiku

Still in bed, praying —

taking deep breaths, reflecting

on God’s faithfulness.

Early Morning Prayer

Gracious, loving God,

On this cold, wintry day

I thank you for the warmth of your love

that covers me like a blanket,

keeping me safe and secure.

As the snow lays on the ground.

I am comforted by your words through the prophet Isaiah,

that though my “sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow.”

Thank you for your grace and forgiveness.

Help me to fall asleep again, and in the darkness breathe

deeply and close my eyes.

Watch over me and all I love until I awaken to the dawning

of a new day.

Snow Haiku

Soft, white cold icing

laying on bare tree branches –

newly-fallen snow.