In this  hot and humid  night I doubt that  I am coherent.  Alone  in  bed  at two in the morning has teeth. When you leave I feel a visceral loneliness that I am certain is internal.  It always feels like April here.  I ramble on  about sunny meadows and how the wheat smells  of  lavender, tell you again about  the  painting that I am working on  and how it takes so long to dry.  I am acutely aware of the  momentum of  words and how I miss the  tender touch of your hand on my thigh.   My hands  are worn raw  in search of common ground but I haven’t the words to not betray myself after you have gifted me  your history.    Implicit trust frightens me.  I wonder how you  have such faith.   I consume all that you  give me  as though each secret could never be an infringement…

Living in the past,
is so easy to do . . .
it’s not hard to recall
the bad things done to you.

Letting go is not so simple,
there’s no effort in hanging on
and to forget the past images
takes an awful lot of brawn.

So, we live with the despair,
the heartaches and the pain
and the peace God promised
our misery will only drain.

It’s not until we come,
to a place where we forgive
that we find the tranquility
in which God wants us to live.

So, if you are in the shackles,
which bind you to the past
let Jesus release your burden
and you’ll be free at last!

~~~~~~~

Psalm 55:22

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord,
and he shall sustain thee:
he shall never suffer the
righteous to be moved.”

Copyright 2013 Revised 2019
Deborah Ann Belka

I saw this beauteous hour

when the sun burst through with wild abandon

merciful and golden

on a day when anything seemed possible

after the tortuous night

belching wind gales,

a night so dark, even the swallows refused to fly

we came hither from the madness

after night took a scalpel to the sky

and the fear that shattered us drove us

halfway between a plea and a prayer

the history of it all

traced in words of indigo and sorrow

Now this,

the sun at last

great, glimmering star

glowing through the first buds

of an old, hickory tree

who had long thought

its best days were behind

But this,

as it is now

emerging from

the wind-moaned sadness of it all

a promise unfurled in green leaves and twigs

in the shallow beating rhythm of dove wings

spring comes again

even with its beauty

even with its pain

Type 4 Ceramic Grenade

Grenades have long been used in warfare across the world. However, their manufacture requires certain industrial materials and production lines.

In the closing stages of WWII, strategic bombing had decimated Japanese industrial infrastructure, leading to the development of a last-ditch weapon: the Type 4 grenade.

The Type 4 is also known as the “ceramic grenade” because it was made of porcelain or terracotta. These were materials which could be found at the end of the war when more traditional grenade materials were in short supply.

The Imperial Japanese Navy Technical Bureau came up with the idea for this new weapon. It was easy to make and cheaper to produce than traditional grenades at the time. This new weapon was to be used by the general populace of the country in the event of an Allied invasion.

To mass produce these grenades, kilns which were normally used…