Poems, Personal Stories, and Observations

Archive for the ‘Poems’ Category

Broken Sidewalks

[Memories from my teenage years…
I hope people can relate it to their own unique identity struggles,
whatever your ethnicity, religion, or other unique characteristics.
We all have them, and they are all valuable.]

Playing hooky from Biology class,
I walked on broken sidewalks,
The weeds poking through the cracks.

I passed white picket fences
And Victorian houses.
The old immigrants lived there —
the Portuguese, the Italians.
I felt the oldness of it all,
The vines growing on creaky fences.

The sidewalks broken —
like my old life.

I confessed to the Biology teacher.
He forgave me; he was a kindly man.

It was a town of immigrants —
But not my own people —  then.
(Didn’t realize I was an American!)
I spoke Hungarian —
not Italian, nor Portuguese, nor Gaelic —
No other Hungarians in town.

Lord, where do I belong?

You are my Rock and my Anchor;
You knew me all the time.

I’ll forever be an exile on earth —
But I’ll come home to You.

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Happy New Year

May all the old become like new.
May all the things that make you blue
Become the things that make you strong,
Finding the Love for which you long …

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Christmas Cards

On my wall I tape the cards
Sent thoughtfully at Christmas time,
Or letters / emails printed out,
With lines of news, with lines of grief.

The people whom my path has crossed,
The people thought of, long ago,
Who made a difference in my life
Who eased my lonely heart somehow.

The people who have sculpted me;
They didn’t know it at the time.
They made a difference, then went on.
They changed my patterns, changing me.

Perhaps I do not see them now —
They’ve gone away, or I from them.
And, still, they are a part of me.
And I, perhaps, a part of them.

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The Quiet King

Do you ever feel like the Drummer Boy?
Nothing to bring to the quiet King.
Nothing to give, except your sin.

Do you ever look inside yourself,
But empty finding, look above.
It’s only there, that there is Love.

And then open your heart to let Him in.

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Embrace the Unknown

 

Embrace lengthy darkness;
Embrace the unknown.
‘Til darkness is faced,
You’ll never come home.

Accept all the sadness,
Worry and fear,
As if but a step
‘Till all becomes clear.

You’ll persevere through it;
You’ll take each road’s twists.
Plod on, ever trusting,
‘Til fog fin’ly lifts.

The clouds they are lifting;
Horizons appear.
Embrace the uncertainty;
Make friends with your fear.

Discomfort won’t kill you;
Disorder won’t crush.
Life sometimes is messy –
March on; so we must.

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I Live in a Dream

I LIVE IN A DREAM

I live in a dream …

I live in a little English village
Where everyone knows each other.

I go to the butcher shop
And meet Rev. Franklin Graham and Pope Francis.
At the tea shop,
I enjoy tea and tisane with Agatha Christie,
Hercule Poirot, and Miss Marple.
I also see J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis,
G. K. Chesterton, and Dorothy Sayers there.

I say hello to John Henry Newman,
Martin Luther, and St. Francis on the street.
———————

I take a trip to the United States…

I meet Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump –
Through a series of misfortunes,
They have lost most of their money
And have become very humble people;
They regularly meet for coffee at their local coffee house.

I go to a poor section of town.
The unemployed people are busy
Keeping their neighborhood clean,
Working in the community garden,
And going to school part of the day to better their lives.

I go to a rich neighborhood …
No one is home because they are in the poor neighborhood
Distributing clothing, helping in the community garden,
And teaching English to immigrants.

———————

This is my dream …

I no longer worry what you think of me;
I focus on Jesus and try to do His will.

I no longer try to prove I’m right and you’re wrong;
I respect your opinion and will state mine if you’re willing to listen.

I have peace in my heart
Because I have let go,
And given everything to God.

[Reconciling different elements in my life: Christians
with differing viewpoints, political factions, the rich
and the poor, and my own inner conflicts.]

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I’ll Make You a Garden

I’ll make you a garden,
In which you can tread
On green things that aromas send.

In which you’ll find refreshing shade
Amidst life’s burdens heavy laid.

You’ll see abundant birds and bees,
And squirrels skittering up the trees.

The flowers glorious will be there,
Their fragrance hanging in the air.

The fruits and vegetables will grow —
Might be a few weeds; I don’t know.

There’ll be a bench where you can sit,
And rest your weary bones a bit.

The wind will rustle through your hair;
Accept its presence, if you dare.

You’ll take deep breaths and drink the air —
Finding yourself, you’ll have no care.

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Dry Bones

(Inspired by Ezekiel 37:1-14)

Dry bones, dry bones–
Lord, take dry bones
And bring them back to life.

Stale prayers, stale prayers —
Infuse them, Lord
With Holy Spirit life.

Big fears, small fears;
Take all these, Lord;
Bring peace from inner strife.

These graves, these graves —
Lord, take dead souls
And raise them back to life.

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I Can’t Make You

I can’t make you change,
I can’t make you see what I see,
But I can love you.

We don’t see eye to eye,
Sometimes you make me cry;
But I can love you.

I’ve given up the fight
Of trying to prove I’m right –
But still I love you.

Don’t have to have my way,
And maybe I can stay,
And learn to love you.

I can’t make you love me,
I can’t make you like me,
I can’t make you understand me,
I can’t make you agree with me;
But I can accept you.

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Transition

A new day is dawning;
Transition begins.
The bright butterfly
From chrysalis transcends.

What once upon
The earth did crawl,
Spreads glorious wings,
Though frail and small.

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