“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Revelation 22:13 ESV)
Please welcome, my friend, Lynn on this first day of the New Year! Enjoy her poetic reflections, and consider her challenge to pen your own acrostic poem. Here you go!
New Beginnings
by Lynn D. Morrissey
Now, as I
Emerge from my chrysalis,
Wings still wet and weighted, still needing to be primed and pumped and filled
with life and
Blood and strength, before I rise air-borne, I
Envision possibilities—what shape dried wings will take when lifted up with air,
what horizons eyes will see when searching high above the
Ground, high above outmoded patterns, ways of being.
I take time now to picture and plan, practice and prepare,
Not taking to the skies before my time,
Not aborting my flight through over-eagerness, unsteadiness. Only
In patience, in measured waiting and pulsèd stillness, my
New beginning will come—suddenly,
with a rush of wind, a whirl of wonder, in God’s own
Good and perfect time. And because I will be ready, I will
Soar!
Greetings in the Lord, and Happy New Year! I posted this acrostic poem on my Facebook page recently, and author Elizabeth Stewart loved the idea and said we should challenge other writers to flesh out a poem of their own, using the same New Beginnings “spine.” I love what she wrote at her Just Following Jesus blog. Click here to read.
I teach this poetry technique to my journaling students, and they are always amazed by what they write (especially since many have never tackled poetry before). It’s called the alpha poem (or the abecedarian), because originally, one penned the poem from A-Z, having each line begin with the next letter of the alphabet; but one can also use an acrostic phrase, song title, name, etc., which is written in bold and vertically on the left. The poem wraps around horizontally to the right. You’ll find yourself spinning a poem amazingly quickly, as each new letter pulls you forward to new observations and words you wouldn’t customarily have used. I often give alpha poems in pretty frames as gifts for birthdays, graduations, retirements, and memorials. Because they are so personal, I can’t tell you how much they are treasured by their recipients. Consider giving them as gifts of your own in the New Year.
With the bright dawning of 2016, why not try your hand at a NEW BEGINNINGS alpha poem of your own, and see what unexpected and profound insights God gives you to capture in such a small, precise container. Watch the magic of the acrostic unspool, pulling you into new insights, a new year, and a fresh start. Be sure to share with us on your own blog or Facebook page! Happy 2016, friends, and never forget that Jesus alone is the Alpha and Omega!
Lynn D. Morrissey is a Certified Journal Facilitator (CJF), founder of Sacred Journaling, a ministry for reflective journal-writing, author of Love Letters to God: Deeper Intimacy through Written Prayer and other books, contributor to numerous bestsellers, an AWSA and CLASS speaker, and professional soloist. She and her beloved husband, Michael, have been married since 1975 and have a college-age daughter, Sheridan. They live in St. Louis, Missouri.
Poem and other text by Lynn D. Morrisey (Copyright 2015. All Rights Reserved.)
Butterfly photos by Sheridan (Copyright 2015. All Rights Reserved.)
souldare 
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