ABOUT THE BOOKThe Garden GateBy Ralph E. Wierenga
(FriesenPress, 2021) The Garden Gate is a gentle, nourishing collection of poetry that will feed the soul with ancient truths and fresh insights. When we step beyond the garden gate, we find a beautiful and illuminating world that will encourage, heal, and inspire all who enter. Wierenga’s poetry recognizes the sacredness of being present with a dying parent; revels in the freedom that comes from God; and invites you to slow down and notice the hidden world in nature. Here you’ll find poems of tenderness, love, and freedom. The Garden Gate guides you to a place of wonder and spiritual fulfillment. Buy your copy below... |
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What Readers Are Saying
"Knowing Ralph is an inspiration, reading his poetry is a revelation. He is sensitive to the nuances of life, and the Holy Spirit. The poems give insights into our relationships with each other and the Lord, stirring surprises of new ideas and deep emotions beyond words."
—L.M. Pierre (Retired Pastor)
—L.M. Pierre (Retired Pastor)
I am so pleased that you are here. Below are three samples of my poetry in book one The Garden Gate. May you be touched, encouraged, be filled with peace and contemplation along with healing as you reflect on my poetry through your personal journey of live's adventures.
1.) The following poem was taken from the Spiritual section on the book.
In A
Box
We like to put things in boxes
To store
To hold
To contain
To conceal
To forget
To treasure
To display
To set limits
To retain memories
To …
Boxes are often cardboard
But tin, plastic or wood can do
Better strong then weak
Before it’s on the floor
Some things don’t need boxes
To be stored
Their sizes to large to be contained
Or just an awkward shape
There are parts of our lives
That should never be contained
The first is love
The last relationships
When these are boxed
They confine and restrict
They cause limitations
Fear, frustrations and fatigue
There is one element in life
That can never be boxed
Though man sets limits
To restrict and hold back its freedom
Freedom to share – now
Freedom to be heard
Freedom to touch lives
Freedom to change souls
Many try to box the Holy Spirit
Resulting in limitations ineffectiveness
Because my time, my way, not now –
Are first considerations
No box can hold or contain
The Holy Spirit’s power
Or how it moves
Always outside the box with great surprize
Boxing efforts of the Holy Spirit
Sets limitations
For miracles
For growth
For friendships
For change
For encouragement
For lives renewed
For souls to be filled
For brokenness to be restored
For hope to be fulfilled
04/2019
2.) The following poem is taken from the Nature section of the book.
SILENCE
Have you stopped in the race of life
To listen for the silence that calms the soul?
Or is your mind humming at speeds uncontrolled
Accompanied by false pressures
Of go, go, go; hurry, hurry, hurry?
Take a moment or two and set aside
60 or 300 seconds or more
And hear the silence of the night,
Away from city life, traffic, people - and
Stuff that never rest - making noise.
Take a drive into the countryside
Find a darkened street
Absent of streetlights or artificial light
That fills the environment
With unnatural sounds and false daylight.
Did you observe the stars in their brilliant sparkle?
Or hear their song as they grace the sky
For us to enjoy and light our way?
Did you stop to hear the wind across the grass
Or through naked arms of the trees?
Did you hear the song of the winter wind
As it bellowed across the fields
Or howl around the corners?
The silence of nature surrounds us
Without a thought or aware.
To miss the voice of silence
To enrich the mind and our thoughts
As the busyness of life
Traps us in believing what is valuable and true.
In efforts to keep us blind and ignorant of what is real and pure.
Freedom to hear, freedom to see,
Freedom to experience,
Freedom to put down the traps
That occupies our time
To be replaced and hear the beauty of silence.
Have you heard the snowfall
So gently stacking one upon the other?
Have you heard the splash of a rain drop
As it lands from heavens heights
To grace the land round about?
Did you stop to hear the gurgling
Of a stream as it tumbles
Over rocks, logs or nothing
As it races to the ocean
To begin its journey once again?
Have you ever stopped to hear
The growth crackle snap
Of bamboo
Or the summer spurts of corn
During the August heat?
Have you taken a moment to stop and gaze
At trumpeter swans overhead
Gracing the heavens in flight
In a chorus of trumps
Or the slur of gliding feathers one against the other?
Have you heard the chorus of the amphibian,
The frog in a distant water hole?
Or the annoying leg-rubbing cricket
In the trees above?
All of nature’s songs a symphony.
Have you heard the tweet
Of a distinct hollow boned fowl,
The flutter of leaves
From an unseen gentle breeze
Or a rushing wind?
Come, join me in the silence
To hear a world
That most cannot hear
Be filled with a joy
Of unrecognized refreshment.
The silence is never silent
When we place our living
In the light of nature
As its voice calls in rhythms
To grace and bless our noisy busy lives.
01/12/20
3.) Below is a poem from the Life section of the book.
The Gravity Of Home
Walking down the sidewalk
Beside a white picket fence
Interweaved with climbing roses
Of pink, white, red, and yellow
The air was fresh
The shadows long
With the promise of a warm
Cloudless blue sky
The lawn was green
The maple trees tall
Arms spreading wide
Walking through the dappled shade.
The calm, the peace, the warmth
Entwined in all the senses
Always a smile when approaching the front door
Aahhh!
The gravity of home
04/2020
In A
Box
We like to put things in boxes
To store
To hold
To contain
To conceal
To forget
To treasure
To display
To set limits
To retain memories
To …
Boxes are often cardboard
But tin, plastic or wood can do
Better strong then weak
Before it’s on the floor
Some things don’t need boxes
To be stored
Their sizes to large to be contained
Or just an awkward shape
There are parts of our lives
That should never be contained
The first is love
The last relationships
When these are boxed
They confine and restrict
They cause limitations
Fear, frustrations and fatigue
There is one element in life
That can never be boxed
Though man sets limits
To restrict and hold back its freedom
Freedom to share – now
Freedom to be heard
Freedom to touch lives
Freedom to change souls
Many try to box the Holy Spirit
Resulting in limitations ineffectiveness
Because my time, my way, not now –
Are first considerations
No box can hold or contain
The Holy Spirit’s power
Or how it moves
Always outside the box with great surprize
Boxing efforts of the Holy Spirit
Sets limitations
For miracles
For growth
For friendships
For change
For encouragement
For lives renewed
For souls to be filled
For brokenness to be restored
For hope to be fulfilled
04/2019
2.) The following poem is taken from the Nature section of the book.
SILENCE
Have you stopped in the race of life
To listen for the silence that calms the soul?
Or is your mind humming at speeds uncontrolled
Accompanied by false pressures
Of go, go, go; hurry, hurry, hurry?
Take a moment or two and set aside
60 or 300 seconds or more
And hear the silence of the night,
Away from city life, traffic, people - and
Stuff that never rest - making noise.
Take a drive into the countryside
Find a darkened street
Absent of streetlights or artificial light
That fills the environment
With unnatural sounds and false daylight.
Did you observe the stars in their brilliant sparkle?
Or hear their song as they grace the sky
For us to enjoy and light our way?
Did you stop to hear the wind across the grass
Or through naked arms of the trees?
Did you hear the song of the winter wind
As it bellowed across the fields
Or howl around the corners?
The silence of nature surrounds us
Without a thought or aware.
To miss the voice of silence
To enrich the mind and our thoughts
As the busyness of life
Traps us in believing what is valuable and true.
In efforts to keep us blind and ignorant of what is real and pure.
Freedom to hear, freedom to see,
Freedom to experience,
Freedom to put down the traps
That occupies our time
To be replaced and hear the beauty of silence.
Have you heard the snowfall
So gently stacking one upon the other?
Have you heard the splash of a rain drop
As it lands from heavens heights
To grace the land round about?
Did you stop to hear the gurgling
Of a stream as it tumbles
Over rocks, logs or nothing
As it races to the ocean
To begin its journey once again?
Have you ever stopped to hear
The growth crackle snap
Of bamboo
Or the summer spurts of corn
During the August heat?
Have you taken a moment to stop and gaze
At trumpeter swans overhead
Gracing the heavens in flight
In a chorus of trumps
Or the slur of gliding feathers one against the other?
Have you heard the chorus of the amphibian,
The frog in a distant water hole?
Or the annoying leg-rubbing cricket
In the trees above?
All of nature’s songs a symphony.
Have you heard the tweet
Of a distinct hollow boned fowl,
The flutter of leaves
From an unseen gentle breeze
Or a rushing wind?
Come, join me in the silence
To hear a world
That most cannot hear
Be filled with a joy
Of unrecognized refreshment.
The silence is never silent
When we place our living
In the light of nature
As its voice calls in rhythms
To grace and bless our noisy busy lives.
01/12/20
3.) Below is a poem from the Life section of the book.
The Gravity Of Home
Walking down the sidewalk
Beside a white picket fence
Interweaved with climbing roses
Of pink, white, red, and yellow
The air was fresh
The shadows long
With the promise of a warm
Cloudless blue sky
The lawn was green
The maple trees tall
Arms spreading wide
Walking through the dappled shade.
The calm, the peace, the warmth
Entwined in all the senses
Always a smile when approaching the front door
Aahhh!
The gravity of home
04/2020
THE GARDEN GATE
Buy Your Copy
You can purchase your copy of Ralph E. Wierenga's The Garden Gate from most online book retailers.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORRalph E. WierengaRalph Wierenga has been a teacher for thirty years. He has travelled extensively and lived overseas. He loves reading, gardening, breeding specialty birds and serving others. Ralph lives in scenic Chilliwack, British Columbia.
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Contact the Author
For questions, reviews, or media enquiries, please submit your details below and Ralph E. Wierenga will get back to your soon. Thank you!
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