Our hearts were filled with joy today,
We listened, heard our Prophet say,
The test we have to pass on earth
Is will we follow and obey.
We know what Christ would have us do,
He spoke and showed us the way through,
We learn this path as day by day,
We study scriptures and we pray.
May we as Nephi hear and know,
And answer willingly “we go!”
With this true faith in Christ we live,
Then all God’s blessings He will give.
Cerita M. Hewett
April 7, 2013
While we were eating a late breakfast,
And I mean a late breakfast because it was already
Ten-thirty in the morning,
Two lively red birds came to dine on seeds
Hidden in the winter rye outside our window.
Their glowing scarlet was highlighted in the
Bright green of the grass,
There was no camouflage
Possible for them.
We munched cold cereal,
And they pecked for ten long minutes,
Then they flitted off to the cedar.
How easily we observed their every detail
Of wing, and breast, and tail.
And yet today I mostly remember the
Delightful feeling of enjoying red birds
Yesterday, at breakfast.
Cerita M. Hewett
Feb. 25, 2013
Revised 2014
Poetry is the royalty of written language,
So it must be purple,
Purple circles strung together,
Like a tangled silver slinky
Stretched unintentionally by a young child,
Revealing itself over time
With repeated vocal readings,
Untangling line by line,
Giving a fresh display of insight,
Still depending on the eye that is searching,
The different ears seeking the pleasure of sound
Over time, over time, over time,
Unmasking views and truths,
May you find it every day,
Wherever you go!
Cerita M. Hewett
(Revised Oct. 2014)
A flock of robins
Invaded our woods today.
They must be on their way North
As we don’t see them
Here in the summer.
They went straight to work
Gleaning and cleaning the forest floor.
I couldn’t hear their chattering
From my upstairs window,
But I could see their hunger
As they pecked, pecked, pecked.
Heads down pecking
Heads up watching
Exposing their burnt orange
Breasts to cloud muted light,
Bringing the hope of Spring on a
Cold rainy day.
Cerita M. Hewett
February 2015
Heralded by the great flapping wings,
And the raucous calls of a fat black crow,
The long slim black snake,
In broad daylight,
Raising its head high up from the ground,
Looking left and right,
Surveying proudly his kingdom,
Slithered slowly down the path,
Across the sand and into the short grass.
He disappeared silently,
Arrogantly,
Into the tall weeds of the woods.
There to hide and lie in wait,
For some small, unaware, simple creature
To pass his coil and in an instant strike,
Causing a squeak and demise.
Cerita M. Hewett
May 26, 2013
(My five year old grandson was making Macaroni and Cheese with his Dad and we sat down afterward to write this poem. Sometimes you just can’t stop poetry from popping out!)
Macaroni
Cheesy – Easy
Chewing, Stretching, Sliding
It is drippy and sticky
But I like it every day anyway!
by the Hewett Family
March 2015
Young Chef
Powdered cheese on the stovetop
Silver moon noodles on the floor
Milk spots on the counter
Finger prints on the bathroom door
Empty bowls on the table. . .
May I please have some more?
by Ed Hewett
March 2015
Under the washer downstairs
Tugging at bolts,
Wiping grease, sweat, stale water
From your tired face,
While we watched Alaska,
And ate chocolate nut
Ice cream upstairs.
Checking on you,
Wishing you would come too,
But, you fixed and refixed,
Until the belt
Finally went on right,
And all the leaks were stopped,
Saturday night.
Cerita M. Hewett
March 7, 1997
Today I talked on the phone with Caroline twice,
A few minutes each time,
Her baby Sidney was starting Kindergarten,
A tender milestone in her family life.
I talked on the phone with Emily,
For a long time,
She is still losing about a pound a week,
Hooray for her!
I talked on the phone with Roger for about a minute,
He has the trailer loaded as he is
Bringing the big shed tin here,
To rebuild at the farm for storage.
I tried not to talk in person to the animals,
But alas, I talked to dancing bird dog Brandy,
She really had no news to report back,
Because the chickens are all still alive.
Cerita M. Hewett
August 7, 2013
In talking with my sister Sharon one recent afternoon, she used a phrase, ‘perfection paralyses’. Later in a conversation with our son Edward, I listened to him explain how people should start shipping what they have and not wait until everything is aligned and all the ducks are in a perfect row. Those conversations caused me to think, and wake up this morning, before it was light, to write.
I could not quietly find a sharp pencil in Raechel’s house where we were spending the night, so I wrote with several dull pencils on a sketch book pad that belonged to Sophie. I’ll need to get her a new one now. Acting imperfectly I scribbled out what you are reading now, actually producing something. Since no English Professor will be critiquing this I plan to blog it with few revisions.
Another example of this idea is my college life 1956-1960. I went to BYU unprepared, worked, attended classes, and finished. I certainly was not at the top of my class but I stayed the course. The result of that effort has been multiplied many times and like ‘bread upon the water’ come back a hundred fold to bless me personally, my family, and others. The Lord enlarged and ‘perfected’ the little bit that I began at seventeen.
Because we cannot do something perfectly we often do not act. Yet, if we did begin and do what we could, we and others would benefit. The Book of Mormon, a powerful life changing book, was translated in about sixty days and published as a running text. Later it was divided into chapters, verses, with an index and footnotes added. In its original form it began changing lives for the good and it continues to do so today in its more perfect form. Now it has been translated into many languages and is read throughout most of the world. But it began simply when Joseph Smith put it on paper, with the blessing and help of the Lord, and published it.
So it is with many poems, stories, pieces of art, acts of kindness, helpful ideas, and even our lives. We need to act as we can and go forward, remembering that Christ is the finisher of our faith (good actions). We begin doing what we can and He will through inspiration, grace, and the help of other people perfect our efforts.
This blog too, is an effort of thought and words not all perfectly formed or executed. It is my hope that someone, somewhere, will encounter these ideas and be encouraged or validated. Remember, if we cannot give a shiny apple to our teacher, a clean, washed potato will do!
The Artist sprinkled diamonds
Generously in our woods last night.
Each pine needle on the one foot trees,
And every bristle on the one hundred foot trees.
Amazingly He didn’t miss a single one,
As He tipped them individually with a silver sparkler,
Until the whole forest gleamed
Green and silver and
Radiated His light.
He did this all while
We slept warm and quiet,
Beneath a blue quilt,
And in the morning woke to a
World transfigured,
By His hand.
So shall it be one day,
When we shall rise
Triumphantly.
Cerita M. Hewett
February 2014