Poems, Personal Stories, and Observations

Archive for the ‘Poems’ Category

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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It’s A Wonderful Life

[ This poem coincides with
the theme of the movie
“It’s a Wonderful Life”. ]

I wasn’t rich
Nor too well known;
Not many people
Knew my home.

Not stunning,
Nor too much to look at —
Might even say
I was a bit fat.

But should I say
I wasted time,
If for a while,
I made you smile?

If for a while
I eased your cares,
And let you know
Somebody cares?

If once
I made you laugh
And then,
We both began to laugh again?

No one’s a failure,
As they say,
If he has friends
Who by him stay.

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Ocean Fantasy

“Come down to the sea”,
The seagull cried —
And suddenly,
I’d shrunk in size!

I sat upon
The seagull’s back;
Clung to his feathers
Snow-white, flat.

We soared above
The teal-dark waves,
O’er foam that covered
Sailors’ graves.

O’er jagged cliffs,
He took me far;
Then took me low
To spy sea stars.

Oh, happy time
I spent that day —
Above the sea,
Above the waves.

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