Winter Aylin

Winter Aylin

Winter Aylin* arrives

The longest night- her hair is raven black 

yet the Moon was bright 

Borrowed light and a halo around 

God formed her beating heart

Breathing life into her spirit 

Today she breathes for the first time 

And gives us life as well 

Beautiful days

Grateful lives 

The journey, the joys 

A glimpse of love that bonds sisters' hearts and father and mother to daughter 

The family, a starling now flying as part of a murmuration- together 

Dad and mom look on the sweet loves

Bonds that only grow more secure

All encircled by radiance of Winter Aylin

Oh, what love, oh what a love 

“Just how deep and just how high”

The love 

Winter - your mother loved you first - soon you will see "summer's light" in December

About this poem: Winter Aylin is a poem about our youngest granddaughter's birth on 12/22/25 during the longest night on the year. She breathed life - so very quickly this night. A dream few weeks before that the baby had very dark hair- and she does. We are so grateful for Winter and look forward to many, many, beautiful times together. Her family  and her cousins will be sure that she enjoys this "one beautiful, amazing life" we have to live. - Joe Holuta

*Aylin is a popular Turkish girl's name meaning "moon halo" or "one who belongs to the moon," derived from the Turkish word "ay" (moon) with a feminine suffix. It evokes poetic imagery of the night sky, symbolizing femininity and intuition.

Lay It all Down

 

Lay it all down 

Lay it all down 

      Under the 🌲 tree

       Gifts wrapped 

             Anxious thoughts

                   Dreams and forgotten ones

Lay it all down 

        Your burdens, your questions

               And rest, quietly, softly 

                   Like the shelter

                 At the base of a towering pine 

Lay it all down

          Yet wanting to pick it up time and

                  time again

                        Blue sky, pines wavering         

                             Wind blowing the trees

                                Waiting, waiting,     

                                  trusting timing is 

                                          Right

   

About this poem: Lay It All Down is a poem about waiting and when we don’t see the full picture to wait with hope.“Waiting is part of the human experience. We wait for healing, for answers, for breakthroughs. But Christmas shows us that God doesn’t waste the wait. He is near in it. And his timing, though mysterious, is always right. God will be faithful to you.” - Joe Holuta

Portraits

Portraits 

Walls of honor and legacy

Shadows and portraits 

Days that have past and dreams to come

Ancestors from years and years and years ago 

Children, and children’s children of today 

I scan the wall and am revived by their memory and  their portraits 

“What is my life?”

“What is your life? 

a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” 1

If a portrait made eye contact somehow 

Oh to see the Joy and Life in their eyes?

Or feel their touch or see warmth of expression

Or hear that encouraging voice

A shadow surely of the people that came before and now heard after them

At first glance, you think those in the  portraits are still

But they continue to narrate life

“We really did have everything, didn’t we? When you think about it.” 2

We will see one another again in such vivid color and expression

O, Ancient of Days 3

Overwhelming at times, the love and joy 

And the experience and recollection of family 

Portraits hang in grand galleries, and the grandest homes and ornate buildings 

But none so beautiful as those I see so closely

A wall or honor, a family's heirloom without question 

About this poem:Portraits is a poem about the experience felt inward when you see portraits of family that meant so much to you or current photographs of family that are living today within the shadow of the ancestors that came before us. 

The voices, gestures, and love still narrate our lives behind the scenes in many ways. So grateful for family!  - Joe Holuta 

1 “..yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

James 4:14 ESV

2 "We really did have everything, didn't we? When you think about it."

Leonardo DiCaprio in movie Look Up.

3 The Ancient of Days Reigns

 “As I looked,

thrones were placed,
    and the Ancient of Days took his seat;
his clothing was white as snow,
    and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames;
    its wheels were burning fire.

A stream of fire issued
    and came out from before him;
a thousand thousands served him,
    and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;
the court sat in judgment,
    and the books were opened.”

(Daniel 7:9-10 ESV)

Last Glimpse of Autumn 🍂 in a November Sky

Last Glimpse of Autumn 🍂 in a November Sky

Sunshine burst through the last few minutes of the daylight

A cold November day, a windchill,

telling of the season ahead

Bright orange leaves in the treetops

Last glimpse of Autumn embers,

glowing coals in the sky

Years passing, change, reflection and

gratitude  

Regret and fear fade as the gold gilding lines the way

Life is fleeting like the autumn leaves

Yet reminded of the permanence, 

beauty, the passion, and character of generations that lit the way 

The Pond is filled with color today

Reflection and last glimpse of Autumn leaves

in the November sky 

About this poem: Last Glimpse of Autumn 🍂 in a November Sky is a poem about a cold November day when sunshine burst through at the end of day. The leaves in the treetops were bright with light- on fire orange. The colors of the sky and leaves reflected in the pond. I was also reminded that life is fleeting. We remember our ancestor's passion and character as we grapple with the change of seasons ahead. - Joe Holuta