Thursday, June 30, 2016

Blame

                        Blame

I read a rant today,
Where everyone's to blame for them feeling enslaved.
Bitter with rage erupting in ink,
Not realizing the stench that wreaks.
No personal action to change out of love just victimized,
Spewing fear, anger, abuse an unholy trio stoking death.
Can't find abundant life and love when consumed with bitter victimhood.
Blame never brings permanent change,
Just leads to being insane.

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

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Light the Tinder

          Light the Tinder

Old things that hinder,
Light the tinder,
Burn it up,
Be abrupt.

Divorce self from that place,
Sever agreements turn towards truth to face,
Begin anew, repent and renounce,
Leave and cleave is announced.

Remarriage begins today,
Cross over and enter the fray,
Take action anew humble and bow,
Create a new marriage now.

Seeking and loving together,
Adventure and sharing forever.

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

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Only A Shadow

          Only A Shadow

Reframe the moment,
Step back and observe,
Take control of thoughts,
All is not lost.

Tossed about in grip of lion's jaws,
Entraps becoming a pawn.
Words wash over soaking all that I am,
Don't resist the rip tide.

There comes a time to break free,
Save energy and strength for battle to flee,
Wisdom knows when to fight,
Change terrain in favorable light.

May have been ugly,
Gratitude rearranges,
New response,
Give praise to God.

Out of the darkness,
First light of dawn breaks,
What seemed so big,
Only a shadow.

Roaring lion with his lies,
A weaselly deceiver casting a shadow,
Bluffs and blusters,
In light his strength has no luster.

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

Monday, June 27, 2016

Rise Up

               Rise Up

Rise up in the moment of decision,
Action even without clear vision,
Words may assault with derision,
May cut deep the incision.

Rise up above the collision,
Look for clarity and precision,
New outcomes envision,
Embrace energy of fission.

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

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Wake Up

"Tomorrow is only found in the calendar of fools." quote by Og Mandino - A quote Pastor Bob has used and stuck with me. Get life in order, relationships in order, give and receive love because no guarantees. A friend of mine came home from work yesterday and found his wife had passed away while he was at work.  A melancholy poem of reflection.

     Wake Up

You never know,
When it's time to go.
We make our plans,
Always tomorrow man.

No guarantee,
Life has no warranty.
Day of reckoning comes,
More quickly for some.

Death calls,
Tears fall.
Awash in grief,
Time passes brings relief.



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




Friday, June 24, 2016

Ashes Remain II

Ashes Remain II

What was spurned,
Completely burned,
Ashes remain.

Fire purged a path,
Sooty wrath,
Ashes remain.

Foundation cracked,
Heat broke its back,
Ashes remain.

Scar removed,
Cleared a view,
Ashes remain.

Confess the sin,
New life begins,
Ashes Remain.

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

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Shakespeare

    Shakespeare

His head held proud,
Conformation fine,
Presence loud,
Coat lathered and shines.

Stallion wild,
Mane and tail dance,
Temperament mild,
Rabicano's prance.

Contest entry on horses on All Poetry. About a rabicano Arabian stallion named Shakespeare we had for many years. Checkout Bucks Acres Arabians website or FB page for additional photos of him there. http://bucksacresarabians.weebly.com/sold.html look under sold in 2015.


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


Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Ashes Remain

Abandoned House with 20 Years of Hoarding Up in Smoke
Ashes Remain

Shift in the wind,
Fire cleansed,
Wood, hay, and stubble,
Ashes remain.

Dross removed,
Not how imagined,
Life is short,
Ashes remain.

Twenty years hoarded,
Twenty minutes consumed,
Fire tested,
Ashes remain.

Worthless treasures,
Weighed and measured,
Found wanting,
Ashes remain.

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


Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Contentment

               Contentment

Contentment of abundance,
Not in money or things,
Found in simple glance,
Relationship bound by rings.

All that family brings,
Memories made 'round table,
Vulnerability and love sings,
Connections solid and stable.

Empowers and enables,
Children to surpass parents,
Living beyond generational labels,
Basking in sacred moments.

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

Monday, June 20, 2016

Guardrails

Thoughts about staying between guardrails.  Heard the term many times applied to putting "guardrails" in place in your life.  The implication is to stay within the boundaries by using some physical device, devices of our strength, try harder, more discipline.  Perhaps there is even a better way.

I think about C.S. Lewis's book The Horse and His Boy in the Chronicle of Narnia series.  When Shasta is crossing in the fog over the mountains, Aslan puts himself between Shasta and the cliff, the unseen hazard.  Aslan always putting himself between the edge and Shasta.  Shasta never aware of the danger in the blinding fog.  After Shasta makes it down the mountain, then awareness of the hazard that he just traversed and the protection that was provided without a "guardrail."

That is a different type of guardrail! It's not a guardrail.  It is a person, a relationship that guides and directs, not follow this checklist, or do this.  Just a conversation that keeps forward movement, maintaining relationship and movement.

           Guardrails

Physical barriers,
Keeps on road,
More than this to life,
Not about rules and lists.

Move beyond the reflectors at the side of the road,
Attunement to voice of Spirit within,
Accepting internal guidance,
Path to deeper intimacy.

Shifts in relating,
No longer settle barriers,
Defined by connection,
Trust and freedom from within.

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

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls, Spearfish Canyon S.D.
Bridal Veil Falls 

Veil of water,
Wrapping stone face,
Shimmering in afternoon light,
Awaiting the groom.

As prism of color,
Lace the neck,
Transparent beauty,
Awaiting the moment.

Lift the veil,
Radiant expression,
Call heart deeper,
Nature arouses soul.

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

Friday, June 17, 2016

Rearrange

             Rearrange

Rearrange and realign,
Trace out the new design,
Humbleness of seeking change,
Outside looking in appears so strange.

Alone places each day,
No one else along the way,
Settle in to explore,
Drop what doesn't work anymore.

Season of grief must relent,
No more to repent,
New way to be,
A place where free.

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

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Celebrate

    For Alison's Birthday

A day to rejoice,
Celebrate and raise our voice,
Family a treasure,
One of life's pleasures.

Can remember the day,
New life displayed,
There for your first breathe,
Joy I confess.

A father's pride in his daughter,
To see her grown up and thriving,
Relationship tender and free,
Letting you mature and become all you can be.

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

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Brick Walls

                       Brick Walls

Pound your head against the brick wall,
Person chatters incessantly in hall,
Doesn't come up for air,
Goes on so long no one listens or cares.

Is he insane,
Or just in narcissist vein,
To him others invisible,
Insecurity so visible.

Fear driven chatter,
Nothing said in all the blather,
Another day solitude calls,
Pound your head against brick wall.

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

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Little Things

Little Things 

Little things, 
Reveal the heart. 
Anger rises, 
Over little things. 

Allow the little things, 
To place a wedge. 
Pride holds each tight, 
Risk relationship over little things. 

Let go of the little things, 
Let go of childish pride. 
Abundance shares, 
Starts with the little things. 

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

Monday, June 13, 2016

Rotting

Rotting

Dead irises, 
In the vase, 
Wilted and brown, 
Sit on the desk. 

Homage paid, 
Don't know why, 
Just throw them away, 
Yet there they sit. 

Carcass of what once was, 
Wonder why they stay, 
Not asking why, 
Don't want the lecture. 

State of being, 
What is rotting, 
Stays as memorial, 
To that which is gone. 

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

Sunday, June 12, 2016

June 12...

Round Bales Waiting To Be Picked Up














          June 12...

Smells of early morning,
Russian Olive tree aroma infuses,
Peaches forming on the tree,
Leaves spreading full.

Wind lightly rustling leaves,
Sounds as if quaking Aspen,
Heat leaves powdery earth,
Disked soil parched beneath feet.

Round bales waiting to be retrieved,
Sit as obelisks, Stonehenge like,
Perches for meadowlarks,
Offering their song to all who hear.

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





Saturday, June 11, 2016

Beauty of Evening

Sunset Last Night at Our Ranch

Beauty of Evening

Beauty of evening,
Sporadic storm clouds,
Softness of fiery light,
Surreal image as if "photo-shopped."

Cool brushes of wind,
Caresses my skin,
Heat of the day,
Blown away.

Mind drifts in solitude,
Peacefulness settles within,
Pause in activity of day,
Present in evening, open my soul.

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

Friday, June 10, 2016

Give Love Away

Give Love Away

Softness of sky,
In early morning,
Long season mourning,
Softness of sky.

Enough is enough,
Soul softened and tender,
Soul torn and rendered,
Enough is enough.

Shift in mind,
Letting memories go,
Drifted away ever so slow,
Shift in mind.

Wake up,
Congruency and aligned,
Stop wasting this time,
Wake up.

Courage is calling,
Seize the day,
Be malleable clay,
Courage is calling.

Give love away,
What seek from others,
Freely give to another,
Give love away.

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

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Gears and Sprokets

Slip Clutch on New Holland Baler

Gears and Sprockets

Gears and Sprockets,
Mechanical rockets.
Slip clutch slip'n,
Pocket book dip'n.

45 year old machine,
Not polished or clean.
Drinks high temperature grease,
Ale to age's crease.

More work to be done,
It can be fun.
Time presses to bale,
Neighbor does, our's failed.

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




Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Ode To Our Wendy 6/7/16

Our Wendy Dog
       Ode To Our Wendy 6/7/16

Goodbye my friend.
Four legged canine.
Always breathed with a funny snort.
You had a good run and a long life.
Mini Aussie loved the farm.
Sudden change.
Foreboding yesterday.
You came and stood in my lap while all the rest of dogs were away.
A moment with just us that caught my attention.
Interrupting me on the ground as worked on the baler.
Took a few minutes to love on you.
Then off on your way.
Didn't know that would be the memory.
A stroke and your eyes saying help me.
Struggle of doing what know right.
Call the vet and end your suffering.
Leaves a hole in heart to say good bye.
Grief will fade and memories remain.
Your goofy ways will always bring a smile.
Goodbye my four legged friend.

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

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Stillness

                Stillness

In the stillness of morning,
I walk with God,
Moments of gratitude and praise,
Moments of deep sorrow and pain.

Gratitude for the gift of life and a new day,
Sorrow for all that is yet to be made right,
Praise for hope new day brings,
Grief for emptiness of what has been.

A new opportunity to walk differently,
Walking out repentance with each breath,
Embracing humanity and all my desires,
Submitting all of me to all of Him.

An exchange of tears of sorrow,
For tears of joy and gladness.
That season of grief ends,
Hope returns with beauty of life.

Walking in place of authority,
Eden's bliss restored,
To walk in all the Second Adam,
Complete, redeemed, and restored.

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

Monday, June 6, 2016

Blown Bearings

The Mess of Bearing Failure on a 30+ Year Old Baler

Blown Bearings

Baler bearing blown,
Pickup won't turn.
Hay waits in the field,
Work to be done.

Mechanic hat on,
One of many I wear.
Teething each year,
Tests what sat.

When bearings fail,
Movement grinds to halt.
Forced repairs,
Mandatory down time.

As life wears,
Presence requires care.
Maintenance required,
Or seize up uninspired.

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

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Tall Grass

                Tall Grass

Wind breathes across the tall grass,
Air across its voice box,
Producing whispering praise to God.

Creation expressing gratitude,
Reminding me of simpleness,
I give breath and voice praise to God.

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

Saturday, June 4, 2016

New Day

           New Day

New day, new hope.
Sun rise, sun bright.
Align heart, align mind.
Abundant life, abundant relationship.

Anxiety release and be free.
Open heart, embrace love.
No quarters for fear.
Today I live.

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

Friday, June 3, 2016

Fast Food Counter Girl

             Fast Food Counter Girl

Shame resides behind the counter.
Do you want fries with that?
See the sorrow of can't believe I've come to this.
Hat pulled low so can't see face.

Each person asks what are you doing here?
Each time tell the story shrinks lower.
One day working there, the next day here.
Wondering how will I ever get ahead?

I want to say it is just a day.
Seasons change and so will this.
Better days will come.
Hope is new every morning.

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

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Binary Logic

    Binary Logic

Ones and zeros,
On or off,
Asserted or deasserted,
Binary logic.

Either or,
Black or white,
No gray in between,
Program change.

Password change,
Breaks the binary,
Remote access broken,
Hard reset only fix.

So secure,
No one can access,
Windshield time,
Pays well.

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

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Out in the Weeds

       Out In The Weeds

Air heavy on lungs,
Clinging to life's next rung.
In mind memories hung,
Baggage about shoulders slung.

Often find self out in the weeds,
Strayed from path now I bleed.
Wonder why I left,
In a place bereft.

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