Janet Is Grace Riehl-ly!

It's always great to think about friends. They come in so many wonderful packages; each bring a new energy to my life; each offer themselves to me in extraordinary ways, filled with grace and love. Friendship finds the port of joy within me and docks its vessel in my heart. I feel and remember them all; they are a part of me and I am a part of them. That unity is the connection of spirit that awakens my senses and enlightens my mind, so I smile in wholeness.

Janet Grace Riehl is a friend. I've never met her physically, but we have known each other forever. She is a poet, author, and teacher, who practices the art of living creatively. Her book, "Sightlines A Poet's Diary," is a beautiful work that explains the essence of who she is both physically and spiritually. Her love is expressed in every poem and in every photo; this down home history of a Mid-Western family is a treasure for all of us.

Janet's book is filled with so many things to think about, but I picked two of them that hit a nerve of remembering within me. The first one is, "Grace," it speaks for itself, and " Knick-Knacks," which reminds me of mother and me, in our quest to acquire silly things to display all over our homes in order to express our feelings for life.

GRACE
for four generations of Graces
******

Amazing, isn't it, grace?
Praising.
Blessing.
Raising.
Hearts lifted in thanks.
How sweet the sound.

The Greeks named three Graces.
Joy.
Charm.
Beauty.

Grace, a Lost and Found Department.
Finding our ground
Within the surround sound.

Grace cares-

Cares for.
Cares about.
Searches out the heart of the other.

Grace dignifies-

The smallest loaf.
The least fishes.
The blending flash of a moment.

Grace extends-

Myself to ourselves.
A due date that crept up
without notice.

Grace clothes-

In beauty.
In kindness.

Grace attracts-

Good fortune.
Good will.
Good music.
Good merit.

Grace moves-

In comfort.
In elegance.
In gladness.

Grace-

Glides.
Yields.
Takes in.
Embraces.

Grace-

Lifts the veil
Finds our hiding places.

With Grace-

We were blind,
but now we see.
*******************

Knick-Knacks
******

"knick-knack, paddy-wack give- a- dog-bone.
This old man came rolling home."

The house is filled with them.
Knick-Knacks.
They are driving me crazy.
Why didn't Mom know that the more stuff
crammed into the room, the less you see?

Wherever they roamed, they collected them.
As soon as she came home, she hung them'
stacked them, and packed them.

The house is decorated in late Victorian revival.
All over the house, I find them.
Covered in dust and mold.
Eaten by mice and moths and weavils.
My favorite things ruined.

This morning, I've had enough!
I declare this a Knick-Knack Free Zone.
*****************

You can visit Janet and read her wisdom now. Her website site is: www.riehlife.com/ I know she would be happy to hear from you.