Saturday, April 30, 2016

Purity

Spring Snow Today
Lilac Blossoms Today

Purity

snow falls
white velcro
sticky clean
purity’s stickiness

landing on all
everyone, everything belongs
adorned in innocence
wedding day white

spring’s blossoms didn’t ask
yet cleanly coated
beauty to gaze upon
eyes drawn to heavy limbs
weighed with purity

walk among the sacred
allow self to be glazed
purity invites participation
engage in the joy and anticipation

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.


Bear Getting Glazed with Purity
And Wondering When Warmth Returns

Friday, April 29, 2016

Graduation Days

Our son's graduation from junior college in a few weeks has me musing about life's many graduations.

                 Graduation Days

Occasionally with cap and gown.
Most often just invisible crown.
Life is an education we all know.
Wrestling moments seem terribly slow.

Seasons transition.
Requires different position.
Endings happen sooner than think.
At new beginnings brink.

Some graduations accompanied with a diploma.
All accompanied by struggle.
The first breath and last breath.
Cycle of life and death.

Shedding of skin.
Shifting residence of eternity with grimace or grin.
Intentional and awake is our choice.
Steward your life and voice.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Curb Appeal

        Curb Appeal

Curb Appeal
Is what I see real?

Dressed up exterior.
Fascia covers crumbling interior.

Infrastructure waits repair.
So many years of lack of  care.

Buyer beware.
Open house exposes what's bare.

Fascia of soul.
Hiding holes.

Internal repair.
Work of self-care.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Ruts

Ruts After the Storm
                       Ruts

Sometimes ruts provide the only way forward.
Sometimes trailblazing and leaving ruts.
Sometimes praying please don't let me be first.
Sometimes path is treacherous when first.
Sometimes ruts are the only thing keeping me on the road.
Can't follow ruts blindly or may end up in ditch.
Slogging through mud and standing water.
Ruts give courage to keep going, if stop stuck.
Stuck in rut when stop, no traction - lots of motion, no movement.
When weather is fair curse the ruts, makes journey rough.
When weather is foul embrace the ruts, makes journey viable.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Not Just

           Not Just

All that envelops.
Crispy and burn.
Sunburned skin peels.
New garment adorns.
Clean, fresh, born again.
Not just a moment.
New way of life.
Each day begin anew.
Simple and complex.
Paradox of spirit, soul, mind, and heart.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

What If

  
Sunset Sunday Evening
       What If?

Discovering power.
Recreate memory.
Different outcome.

What if?

What if?
Love expressed
     instead of abuse?

What if?
Imagination plays
     recreates what could be?

What if?
Truth exchanged
     for lies.

What if?
God's interpretation
     a peripety for mine?

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Monday, April 25, 2016

Milestones

           Milestones

A milestone reached today.
25 years of service belayed.
Career never foreseen.
Journey wildly careened.
Rare to work one place.
Stress weathered face.
Regrets exchanged for peace.
Gratitude lubricates life with grease.
Rural place a family grew.
Past season fades as dew.
All launching out to explore.
Adventures await on new shores.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Jarring of Journey

Sunlight on Amir Today

Jarring of Journey

Jarring of journey awakens from slumber.
A matter of time before life has your number.
Hitting the wall in similar ways.
Breaks down pride, now so frayed.
Rattled and shaken.
There is no mistaken.
Suffering plays a part.
Restarting the heart.
Avoid the truth averting pain.
Wasting your story and all that can gain.
Agreeing with Truth, a way to start.
Courage to leave old, depart.
Mental gyrations as struggle and strive.
Sorrow and grief boil alive.
Dividing dross from gold.
Chapters in your story yet to be told.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.


Saturday, April 23, 2016

Floating

Floating


As bounce up and down the field hawk nearby.
Hovers above hunting, so still could be a kite.
As he watches from the old bales we eye each other.
Each trip down the field he stays a little longer.
Stays until close enough to use phone to catch pictures.
Finally I get to close and takes flight.
As return back down the field there he sits again.
I disturb mice and gophers, opportunities for a snack.
Simple things remind of earthiness of life.



About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Highway 26

            Highway 26

Turkeys everywhere today.
Darting out on the road.
Tom's strutting in full display.
Eyes roam as drive.
Creation pulls vision.
River valley full of life.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Full Faced

                Full Faced

Moon rises full faced,
Crests the hill, sun wanes.
Sounds of dusk.
Pheasants call, owl hoots.
Pack of coyotes yelping in glee.
A type of peace radiates from creation.
His presence is evident.
Warmth of favorite sweatshirt.
Surrounds, envelopes in peace.
Finally the resting place after four and half years.
Grueling journey with sweetness at the pause.
Not the same person started as.
Started as two dimensional cutout.
Now three dimensional and alive.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Pushing Pebbles

Pushing Pebbles

Memories surge pushing each pebble.
Polished and smooth in wash of life.
Past, present, future caught in current of time.
Sharp edges of past worn.
No cut to "it" anymore.
Congruence of beginning, middle, end.
Past resides in the past.
Previous chapter of story complete.
Consequences impact the present.
New beginnings are possible today.
Story's plot changes radically starting today.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.


Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Gray Light

Gray Light of Dawn in Shroud of Fog
This Morning in Western Nebraska's North Platte Valley
Gray Light of Dawn

Fog and frost paint the air.
Filtered gray light of dawn.
Yields to brilliant sun.

Another morning to empty cares.
By nature's beauty drawn.
Another day's race to run.

Discover new depth of relationship share.
Live in the moment before it's gone.
Live in awe, allow it to stun.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Buzzword Bingo

               Buzzword Bingo

What once enjoyed as a profession,
Lost interest, no longer interested in the confession.
Removed from work by bureaucratic minutia,
Hours spent bleeding ink color of fuchsia.
So many hands in the pie,
Not even a scrap for mice, just left to die.
Resources drained before actual work starts,
All the hubbub without any heart.
Buzzword bingo fills the air,
Sounds really good, nobody cares.
Can smile at the use of lingo,
Exposes not as smart as a dingo.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Spring Snow

Plum Blossoms Adorned in Snow
Image taken this morning.
                     Spring Snow

Snow falls heavily from sky,
Thick and wet drifting down.
Leaving trees and blossoms coated,
White frosting with coconut sprinkled on it.
Fluffy looking, pure whiteness,
Devoid of violation or touch.
Left in awe of beauty as intended,
Unspoiled and holy to the eye.

Molly in the Snow This Morning
Running Free Off of the Leash
Later I will go out and walk Molly,
We will tromp through the snow.
She will be a puppy again,
Renewed by fresh purity.

I will watch and be present,
Pure covering changes context.
Birds will sound different,
Green of alfalfa and grass,
Accentuated by several inches of snow.

Horses huddled together,
Damp as snow melts against their shedding winter coats.
Perhaps little drifts collecting on the ridge of their backs.

Be present, moment won't last long.
In a day all will be melted.
Just a faint memory left.
Beauty remembered as life expressed.

Words just spill out easy this morning,
Taken with creation's ecstasy.
Passion awoke in young feeling.
All created by early Spring snow.
Friskiness of being alive,
Memories of seasons past.
Snow draws them to mind just as a song or smell.
Draws the past into the present.
Integrating the moments together,
Bringing a sense of wholeness. 

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.



End of Day

               End of Day

End of the day and wind must howl,
One's spirit grows foul.
All of the wind tests one's nerve,
Easy to distract, redirect and swerve.

Push and gust makes one huff,
Become agitated and gruff.
Such a beautiful morning at the start,
Each hour that passes mind pricked with dart.

Wind in the ear,
Draws up boiling fear.
Constant gnawing of the bone,
Exposing heart of stone.

Face the wind,
Allow its bend.
Tumbleweeds of soul,
Blown away, uprooted path to whole.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.




Saturday, April 16, 2016

The Stare


Our Playful Border Collie Katie with Zeke.
Photo from many years ago.




















                          The Stare

With my eyes I can change the momentum.
Crouching I redirect the herd with a stare.
Intensity personified thriving in job created for.
Playful passion expressed.
Always feel young.
Fierce wildness of loyalty.
Attunement to relationship of pack and herd.
Affirmation of a soft rub around neck.
Eyes pierce into being, man-canine connection.
Senses the joy in expression of face.
Brings Frisbee to draw me into young playful place.
Present in the moment, experiencing life.
I am the Border Collie.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Friday, April 15, 2016

Navigate

Horses Navigating Our Pasture This Morning

           Navigate

Navigate the terrain,
Singing a new refrain.
New imprint on the brain,
Healthy now, no longer profane.

Utterly awakened,
No Mistake'n.
An endurance race,
New pace to embrace.

New skills and tools,
True North of soul precious jewel.
Confound the keepers of secrets,
Freedoms torrents, wept.

Lost no more,
Landmarks galore.
Explore familiar venues,
Satisfying new menus.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.


Thursday, April 14, 2016

Stew

Stew

Internal places brew,
Tenderized meaty stew.
Heat turned up,
Seasoning cooking interrupts.

Stir and taste,
Simmers into spicy paste.
Crispness fails with time ,
Flavor leaks out as slime.

Soul tested in the flame,
Learn to drop the shame.
Allow the marination,
Embrace the consternation.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Spring in Nebraska is
Burning Ditches

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Evoking

                Evoking

All that is buried,
'Cause no longer can carry.
Deeper into soul dig each spade of dirt,
Mistakenly believe can bury the hurt.

Reaching up from that grave,
Longings and desires crawl out of that cave.
What's been buried isn't dead,
Hibernating in thoughts deep in head.

Voice slowly returns,
Anger at self that is spurned.
Fury and rage crescendo,
Soul reluctantly opens window.

Evoking a frown,
Burdens laid down.
Lazarus of soul called from tomb,
Grave clothes wrapped tightly, a womb.

Can't believe how long persisted,
Debris of life resisted.
Out of darkness new life,
Peace replaces internal strife.

His voice calls forth,
That which was dead to live again.
Unburied each shovel of dirt,
Painful healing of places been hurt.

Joy evoked,
Where once it was choked,
Hope again,
Reconciliation with who I've been.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.
Sunrise this morning at the ranch.... horses hiding in the foreground.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Dependency

           Dependency

What am I dependent on?
Who am do I look to?
Why do I choose those people or things?
If I'm honest how much is idolatrous?

Filling an empty place.
Not leaving room for God's grace.
My gaze fixed on another.
Missing all He longs to uncover.

What do I gain by filling that space,
With all that numbs instead of His embrace?
Freedom in acknowledging truth,
Worship given to "idols."

That is a start,
Of uncovering my heart.
Discovering what can be,
Live in the present and freshly see.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Beautiful morning in North Platte River Valley this morning.
Draws thoughts to dependency and beauty of God.


Monday, April 11, 2016

Give and Take

        Give and Take

I give you take,
Not balanced just fake.
One sided relationships break,
Robs soul, being leaks.
Made for community,
Narcissism feeds disunity.
Searching for like-minded ones,
New relationships begun.
Mutual give and take,
From this healthy make.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Eternity to Eternity

Eternity to Eternity

From eternity to eternity,
With a stop at humanity.
Remember from where we came,
One day we return re-framed.
The good, the bad, and the ugly,
Woven together in beauty.
Each strand by itself isn't whole,
So much story knitted in soul.
Integrated into the present,
Let go of interpretation and resentment.
The future and all yet to be,
Past, present, future formed into one from three.
Redemption, restoration, reconciliation,
Bind together in eternity's present station.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.
Chalk art from journal sketch during worship today.

Saturday, April 9, 2016

That Time Again

         Time Again

It's time again,
Spring spurts sublime.
From bud to blossom,
Resurrection so awesome.
In matter of days,
Dormant now alive and gay.
Being filled with redolence,
No longer Winter's snow fence.
Wild plums burst with life,
White purity of petals rife.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Image is of the first day of blossoms (yesterday) on the wild plum trees.

Friday, April 8, 2016

Gift of Day

Gift of day,
Brisk air opens to play.
See herd of deer,
Senses become clear.
Eyes open to what fear,
Open ears to what hear.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Gratitude

               Gratitude

Many things to be grateful for,
As explore find so much more.
Gift of life to live,
No longer bound so much to give.
Imagination pushes doors,
Opening up hidden stores.
Stronger than ever knew,
Giants melted just left a dew.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Gusts

                        Gusts

Invisible gusts push van around,
Sways and rocks losing attachment to ground.
Dirt paints invisible,
Makes day miserable.
Western Nebraska's radical temperature shifts,
Carves out landscapes - explore the gifts.
Barren vistas funnel the wind,
Blowing past far behind.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Great Poets

               Great Poets

Find myself in the library.
Across from great poets.
Contained in the books.
Though long dead words still live.
Reminding me that voice has eternal element.
In university far from home.
Western edge of South Dakota voices still speak.
Thoreau and Angelou stare at me from the shelf.
Coincidence I sit at the table and look up?
Having to pick the book off the shelf.
Feel the paper and see their voice.
Beckoning for the thirsty to drink.
Awakens the sleepy soul.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Image is from the library at Black Hills State University.

Technology

              Technology

Engineering, nerding out.
Complicated control systems touted.
Reality of reliability and security compromised.
Technology doesn't always improve our lives.
Decision makers sold snake oil.
Promises that make knowledgeable recoil.
Doing more with less is fallacy.
Drank the kool-aid self inflicted malady.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Bear

                     Bear

A faithful friend over the years,
Always greets me, bringing cheer.
Many seasons have sped by,
He's slowed down yet not shy.
To see him basking in the sun,
Warmth of Spring limberly runs.
Many memories come to mind,
Just an echo faintly find.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Image is of our dog Bear yesterday.  A rescue dog to the ranch.  It is always a question of who rescues who.

Saturday, April 2, 2016

Rusted

                Rusted

Internal course change,
Integration everything rearranged.
Happiness found,
New peace abounds.
Interior logjam busted,
Oil loosens all that's rusted.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Happy

            Happy

An internal job,
External seeking robs.
Places once numb,
Treated self as bum.
Pain as awaken and come alive,
What once was dead now thrives.
Happiness wells up inside,
Free of shame and need to hide.
Energy of secrets liberated,
Chain reaction created.
Awakened places of coma of soul,
Journey challenging, emptying yet full.
Meshing together places that grind,
Joy in integration of body, soul, and mind.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Trickle

       Trickle

Sound of water
Just a trickle
Snow melts into gutter
Sounds refreshing
Spring is here

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.

Barriers

                          Barriers

Each day a new barrier to get work done,
One more person demanding a change work no longer fun.
Bureaucrats who don't want confused with the facts,
Becomes a power trip for all their hacks.
Process not vetted by end-users so broken at the start,
See life of worker sink and lose heart.

About the Author:  Brian Bucks lives on a small horse ranch in Western Nebraska and is a husband, father, electrical engineer, and poet.