Poems, Personal Stories, and Observations

Archive for April, 2025

Fairy Tale Dream

I lived in a fairy tale dream 
Of mostly sunny days —
Little disease and little pain —
Then reality came. 

I felt accused of misplaced trust,
Defensive, and defend I must.
The hopes of wanting to believe,
The criticisms ill conceived.

And cancer struck, not once, but twice.
These unexpected enemies caused
A leeriness, and gave me pause.

Life wouldn’t go on as I had thought —
Events could happen, unannounced,
Nothing seemed safe; nothing sound.

The sunny days had turned to dark,
The world, instead, became more stark.
I had to be ready; I had to be armed.

And then to move o’er 2,000 miles,
Uprooted, after 67 years –
Somehow, that caused a lot of tears.

Each day that passes, I come aware
Of tragedies, of people’s cares —
That lead some people to despair.

Evil spreads, or so it seems,
Yet parallel, a good perceived —
Incomprehensible battle screams.

And then He said, “Take up your cross,”
“With Me,” He said, “Must count the cost.”
“Without the cross you will be lost.”

I learn to hear His voice each day,
And trust He’s with me in the fray,
And good, o’er evil, wins the day.

Marriage Prayer

Dear God,

Thank you for the gift of marriage.

We ask you to please be the Lord of our marriage. Help us to love you more than each other.

Help us to love You and each other more every day.

Help us to appreciate each other’s gifts, talents, and virtues.

Help us to overlook each other’s faults and forgive each other’s sins.

Amen.

Necessary Storm

A poet wrote that ships must go
Upon the rough or glassy sea —
Not for the harbor always meant,
Not always safe a ship can be.

The times of calm — they do not last;
The tensions slowly build.
The heat, the cold, the rising wind,
The air with turmoil filled.

And so, in life, do not expect
Peace, tranquility, forever calm.
A balancing, a reckoning,
Is necessary as the dawn.

A storm in life, between two souls,
Can happen, just to clear the air.
Imperfect people, inevitably,
Will find they can’t always agree.

So do not ask for constant calm,
Nor constant storm, if that’s your joy,
But grace to bear whate’er may come —
The heat, the cold, and sometimes storm.