The world is a very serious place to me now. I wrote that on my blog over 11 years ago.
And, as you might imagine, it’s an even more serious place now.
But I don’t wanna finish this last Tuesday of September 2024 all dreary on ya. I’ll just share the little story and explanation from back in 2013. Oh yeah, there’s also a rhyme and a reason for it, too.
I know my writing and songwriting reflect this serious perspective, but they didn’t always. And I don’t wanna let the doom and gloom dominate my thoughts. So I figured I’d just start tossing in a bunch of my carefree writing from recent days and yesterdays. I came across a little poem I wrote way back in April of 1974 called “Tiny Boat”, and as I read it, I began to see some of the same word pictures I saw the day I wrote it.
I remembered how one day in the spring of that year I had been lying down on some very soft meadow grass in East central Kansas. A feathery wind had whisked across my face, through my hair, and tickled my ears all afternoon. As fate (the fate I created each time I went out) would have it…I had my trusty 19 cent Bic pen and spiral notebook with me.
For some reason, I closed my eyes to think.
And I remembered a Sunday drive with my Grandparents and Uncle and Aunt. I’ve shared a bit of that story on a podcast episode. On that drive we went out into the countryside in rural Oklahoma. We crossed a large steel spanned bridge. And I looked down through the metal beams where I could swear I saw a tiny boat with tiny people on it.
Well, my family had quite a laugh out of it. But I knew what I saw. Fast forward about 20 years to 1974. And there I was lying on the grass with a poem forming in my head. It’s not an awesome poem. It’s a simple collection of thoughts from that more carefree time. And I thought I’d share it with you here, today. If you have thoughts from a more carefree time, I invite you to share them with me in the comments section below.
Tiny Boat
I laid in the meadow grass soft as feathers.
I let the wind blow through my hair,
And I didn’t try to get my thoughts together.
I whistled a song called “Tiny Boat”
A pretty, little melody.
And then I remembered the words to it
And I sang it cheerfully:
“With sails so white…and wood so strong
You let the wind help you along.
Is it my love that makes you float?
If so, I love you Tiny Boat.
Tiny Boat, sailing rivers by the trees.
Pretty, tiny boat…
Take me with you please.”
Ok, that helped make the serious place just a little more bearable. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programs.
By the way, maybe you don’t know me well enough to buy something from me, yet. Ok, let’s change that. Get to know more about me and my worldview. Join the growing body of believers who’ve signed up for the FunderFlash Journal. And bask in daily, delightful flashes of light from the power of God’s love.
Stay tuned…
