The Cross on the Cove
The Cross on the Cove
My mind goes back to a Forest Cove in a canoe…
I see it there…just like when this Vision was new.
The mist was all around me…the fish in the morning…were jumping…
I hadn’t slept through the night…Waking to the Sun pushing the night away…bumping.
Hardly ready to face this day…My canoe effortlessly glides a hundred feet with one stroke…
No wakes or waves ahead to slow me down…No sound of a splash…and not even a word spoke.
It was there…above the mist…for only me to see…
And I needed to see it…the Cross…look down on me.
Speak to Me: “Cross on the Cove”…There is nothing else to hear…Not even a song…
Teach me what I am missing…What I can’t figure out…What is gone.
Why am I here…Lord…better yet…what lies ahead…?
I lay my fishing pole down…and turn towards the Cross instead.
With a lean back of the flat blade…I come about and stare at this thing made of wood…
How…can I possibly be closer to You than right now…so I’m asking: “What good is it to be good?”
A few tiny waves roll under my canoe…as the light of the dawn…takes over more of the dark…
I remember how hard it was to carry that Cross and lift it into the ground…after shaving off all of its bark.
I know “Jesus” put something on my heart right then…Why else would one float in front of a Cross near misty water banks…
It was a quiet message downloaded for a future day…He carried that Cross…which by itself…is plenty reason for “Thanks”.
It is said that He was punished for our iniquities…though he knew no sin…
It is said that they mocked and whipped him…over and over again.
I can’t imagine what you must have gone through…
Because one man…lifting that Cross of Pine…is impossible to do.
Took Four Men and Three boys…to carry it 70 yards…on level ground…
I’m not going to try to count the many times…we had to stop and lay it down.
Why did you pick up that Cross for me?
You did not deserve to go to the Cross…Can’t anyone see?
But…like everything it was according to a much bigger plan…
It’s hard to carry a Cross…The Vertical Part doesn’t fit in your hand.
Much less even begin to Make it up a Hill…
I guess you find the strength…when you know it’s your Father’s Will.
I see this Cross towering over the mist…Over the Cove…Over the Lake…
And can’t imagine what it felt like…What it had to take.
To hang there with stakes through your hands and feet…not able to breathe….
To know they hung you there with stakes…making sure you would never leave.
Taking control of your Earthly Body…to pin it there…Everyone wanted you dead…
They flogged you with a whip with sharp ends…They made a crown of long thorns for your head.
They hung you on a Cross…Blood oozing from your wounds…They wanted you gone…
But they couldn’t see the Master Plan…That Man on the Cross walked away from the worst they gave…and lives on.
I sit here with a slow paddle moving me right up to the shore…
That Canoe and this Cove…live on in my memories…now even more.
That Cross in the Cove didn’t last for even a year…before trespassers used it for firewood…
Kind of symbolic that the Cross was taken down…and removed…when it was something meant to be good.
I will never forget the morning I couldn’t sleep…so I thought I would grab a few fish…
Now…Like many things of old…Me and that Lake…I hope to re-unite someday…It’s a pretty good wish.
To paddle out into the Forest Cove covered in mist…in the early morning sun…
And remember the Cross that Jesus hung on…of heavy wood…and see once again…that his teachings for me aren’t done!
~~~
For more great works like this one…keep an eye on Steve Walters’ author page to see what’s next for The Creative Exiles:
https://www.creativeexiles.com/author/stevew/
You can also find works by Steve Walters who uses the pen name of ManlyPoetryMan on HubPages.
https://hubpages.com/@manlypoetryman
https://hubpages.com/@me-steve-walters
Or at Home | Manly Poetry Man
https://youtube.com/shorts/owrnbWjoHVc?feature=share
Enough of that intro. It is really great to be writing here on: "The Creative Exiles". I am lining up some of my best writings for this website. Going to "Bring-it" with a variety of "Poetic-able" Topics. So just kick back and enjoy some of the Poetry I send out to you. It’s all for “Entertainment” purposes only…so all you will have to do is read and enjoy my writings.
And, I really hope you do!
Now, it is time for me to go and write in a "Poet-icized" manner like those long ago “Men of Old” Poets would’ve once long ago done it. They have primarily inspired me to write Poems in a manner that is “Manly” like how they use to write Poetry.
Please stay tuned for more of my Poetry works.
Best and Humble Regards, Steve Walters
(Or the Artist still known as: Manlypoetryman)
- Unwritten Words in the Sky - April 11, 2025
- A Postcard for the Moment - February 28, 2025
- A Whisper…From Above - February 28, 2025
What a wonderful story, Steve. a totally enjoyable read.
John…Thank you for reading this one. Glad it was enjoyable. Thank you also for your comment on this one and for always commenting and reading my works. Just to add a little supplementary comment of my own to the bottom of this Poem. Be it noted: “A Cross is very hard to bear!” Peace to you, my friend!
Great story Steve! Once again you work your line with such finesse (Maybe finesse is not the right word) but where ever your poetic chops have led you it is paying off. Jamie
Jamie…Thanks for the comment on each line having “finesse” with poetic chops! “Poetic chops”…I like how you phrased that. (Seems like a good title idea for a future Poem!?) For me and my humble little Poems…I am just trying to let the rhyming words do the talking…with my favorite style of Poetry…the “Rhyming” kind. Throwing the rhymes out there and hoping they land near the center of the proverbial dart board…so to say. I really appreciate you taking the time to read and comment on this Poem: “The Cross on the Cove”.
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