I wish I were a mockingbird so I could sing the whole day long
I’d fill my time with happiness and live a lifetime full of song !
I wish I were a robin red who sings a flutelike warbling tune
That echoes after eventide and carries on under the moon !
If I could be a whippoorwill I’d roam the forest late at night
The song I chant you’d recognize, I sing, but always out of sight !
There is a stillness in the air
I sense the chill invade my lair
It seeps into each lonely space
Hoping to find a resting place !
The altered times are yet to be
One needs to listen, watch and see
Keep vigilant and wide awake
There are no shortcuts safe to take !
With God’s vast wisdom as our guide
His patient silence at our side
We bide our time in hopeful prayer
Assured the Lord is always there !
We search around, what do we see
A world wrapt in fragility
This paradise with dreams delayed
Is where you’ll find courage displayed !
The knowledge that the years have taught
This history for which we’ve fought
To live our faith, bide by its word
And heed God’s call that we have heard !
Prepare to gird for grievous aim
Know in the end we shall acclaim
The strength of our great Lord above
Who feels our grief and sends His love !
Our children small
Have questions all,
The simplest one
Will we have fun ?
The answer is
We’ll have a quiz,
I don’t think so
What do we know ?
Let’s play a game
What is my name ?
One wish you get
Are we there yet ?
Ends with a nod
And thank you God !
The childhood dreams we tuck away
To wait upon a latter day
When life and time will both comply
Enables us to make a try !
While seeming lost a way was found
To keep our feet upon the ground
There learn to seek a worthy cause
That earns results and not applause !
The simple fact that we shall find
It does not help to act unkind,
And in the end as time runs out
There is no sense to cry or shout,
For who can hear the silent scream
Of one who lusted for a dream ?
If honor lies beyond one’s reach
What are the lessons we need teach
Which qualities should we demand
Of one who sits tall in command ?
How much or little should there be
Of sense and sensibility ?
And if we share the mighty seat
What can we do to void defeat ?
Both truth and courage come to mind
Where is the hero we need find ?
In time teardrops blend with the rain
Flushing emotions down life’s drain
So much alike they shall remain !
Those raindrops falling from the sky
God’s cleansing force here rushing by
This separation won’t defy !
Thus tears and rain can sisters be
And blend together silently
While each retains identity !
True tears much softer surely are
Engendering those near and far
To welcome wind and greet each star !
All history is long and bold
As destinies do here unfold,
My forebears came in ‘forty-six
Over the sea to join the mix
And oh, how fast this nation grew
From far and wide by crowd or few !
There is a story I’ve been told
By great grandma when she was old,
About the three mast ship they caught
While fleeing from the nearest port
And leaving all they owned behind
Except mementoes they could find !
That voyage to the promised land
Was long and harsh and out of hand,
No Lady in the Harbor stood
Just dreams of hope and common good !
The men who die to keep us free
And give their lives for victory,
They’ll never see the war’s ending
Or hear the peal of freedom ring !
They sacrifice all that could be
Without a thought or guarantee,
There was a chance they knew darn well
They could be caught and sent to hell !
Some would survive another day
While others meant to turn away,
How sad that their reward is small
For death in war rates no recall !
The oil no longer fills the lamp
The air without is stale and damp
The waiting world sits in the dark
For none can trade without the mark !
This earth now serves another god,
With numbers all even and odd,
How shall we greet the bridegroom now,
Where are the virgins to endow ?
With open mind and begging heart
I choose the path to God’s new start !
The days are charged with fiery speech
But soon we shall an ending reach
What do we need that can’t be sought
With weakness and our wealth be bought ?
The time for courage has emerged
Though we are bankrupt and submerged,
Our ruling class is self-embraced
And few are left without disgrace !
So this is how our story ends
There’s little left, not even friends !
The blue and gold or red and black
Would they were here now looking back,
The bonnet or the checkered cap
The bicorne or the shakoes snap
Such uniforms would crack the whip
Both here ashore or board a ship !
The men who fought that very day
They won or lost, some ran away,
Which country were they fighting for
It was two hundred years before,
There to become the last of all
As citizens answered the call !
Judge Samson was a man quite strong
With curly locks ever so long,
His hair should never feel a knife
As he was raised a Nazirite !
Tis said he was a foolish man
Preferring pagans to his clan,
Delilah she became his wife
And knew the secret of his life !
She cut his hair a shorter length
To steal away his godly strength,
His enemies they made him blind
Chained him to posts to be unkind !
He begged God’s help, his final plea
Destroy this temple ! Set me free !
The world is watching while madness reigns
We’re powerless like opposing trains
That run upon an unmanned track
And cannot take their actions back !
This revolution has been inflamed
To feed the egos of those to blame
Who dine upon the loss and fears
Of victims who are brought to tears !
To be so callow and insincere
Speak words too intense and most unclear,
To understand what’s really meant
Is to relinquish our consent !
Where is it that our faith has been
We seem so weak, so pale, so thin,
So lost and truly out of sorts
Here in this land of last resorts !
We need to take a second glance
Perhaps to seek another chance
On what went wrong along the way
So we won’t have one more delay !
This we have learned, that God is there
He reaches out He hears our prayer,
And each performance that we give
Helps us to breathe and hope and live !
I’m not so sure that I know where
My next stop is till I get there
How will I travel I can’t say
Will it be night or early day ?
Too many questions on my mind
Who has the answers I must find,
How can I seek my destiny
If I don’t know what will it be ?
I seem quite lost and cast adrift
In need of hugs, a smile, a lift,
And question if it’s right for me
To keep chasing life’s long journey ?
The children play down in the street
I hear the sound of running feet
Their laughter rises in the air
Oh how I wish that I were there !
But I’m contented just to see
Their happy faces filled with glee
They chase each other round the park
It’s summer, they will play till dark !
Then when the games have tired all
And early stars signal nightfall
One recollects it’s time to say
Sleep tight, it’s been a precious day !
I wonder if the angels weep
For those who have no place to sleep
Or cry for those who writhe in pain
With nothing left to lose or gain ?
Can it be so that we are meant
To never know where honor went
Or why our lives are meaningless
With naught to rise to our defense ?
My heart is sad it wants to smile
I’m tired of the fractious guile
I beg the Lord open our eyes
That we may greet a new sunrise !
For some strange reason I awoke this AM with the name NORMANDIE in my head and began a mental odyssey of a cold and windy day in February 1942. It was quite personal because the husband of my old Aunt Rose was the chief engineer of that incredible former French great lady, his name was George Clow. He left his home, his mom and sisters in Glascow, Scotland at age 14 to join the Royal Navy in the 1800’s to see the world ! Which he truly did until he retired at age 75, hash marks on his uniform clear up to his elbows ! He looked quite heroic with a chest full of medals. His tanned leathery face with laughing green eyes and rugged chiseled profile, mouth full of gold and ivory teeth, cut an impressive figure of a man not quite 5′ 6″, not to mention those colorful tattoos that wiggled ! A lovable pixie was he ! Times he would be gone for 2 years, but oh, the ecstasy as he returned laden with gifts for all, from darkest Africa to the mysterious Orient. He enthralled us with the tales of his adventures with that heavy Scottish brogue he never did lose. By the time I was 12 he had traveled the entire world nine times, sending cards from each port including Fiji and the Pitcairn Isles ! It was the 9th day of the month that this noble ship, rechristened the Lafayette, met her fate, sinking on the 10th, the death of an era and tragedy beyond belief ! We watched that NY harbor blaze from the Heights cliffs above HOBOKEN for hours, believing it was sabotage ! Today I still wonder why no one has ever attempted to tell the whole story of her life and death ! Aren’t you curious ? I am ! Sincerely, Claire B.
Now long ago there was a man
He ran away from Pharaoh land
A fugitive from death was he
Demanding all his brethren free !
Well Pharaoh was a stubborn sort
His men searched hard but never caught
This man who started on his way
Babe in reed basket swept away !
A story told through ages past
Ten plagues that left the world aghast
To show the power that God must be
And how He shapes our history !
I do believe God’s on my side
He knows my heart, my fear, my pride
There are no secrets we can’t share
He fills our lives with love and care !
Those moments when I’m feeling down
I know He will not let me drown
I wear His life-vest every day
And all that I must do is pray !
For me this life’s a blessed gift
No burden is too much to lift
I laugh because God’s love is free
He shares with us eternally !
This world is full of tears and joy
And things to mock and to employ
The least of these seems to be love
Not carnal, but the one above !
I’m saddened when I think about
The lack of trust, the fear, the doubt
That follows in the path of man
Who sows this seed where’er he can !
You’d think the world would tired be
And search for ways to set us free
To bring us hope, help hate relent
Find peace beneath God’s giant tent !
The cards we’re dealt may often be
A symbol of adversity
Into this world I came unclothed
My exit should be just as bold !
I cried aloud to be myself
But lingered long upon the shelf
Truly I am depression’s child
Who’s taught to think and act worthwhile !
I saw the pain and wriggled free
But failed to find my destiny !
The air is sweet the birds are free
To sing their song, God’s symphony
The leaves that rustle in the trees
Play melodies upon the breeze !
The crickets in the bush keep time
While buzzing insects hum a rhyme
Now if it rains the pitter-pat
Of falling drops could be B flat !
Such marvels that our God will bring
It seems He thinks of everything !
I hear the hands upon the clock
They tick away, tick-tock, tick-tock
The minutes and the seconds pass
So quickly there beyond the glass !
The days and hours do swiftly fly
While in our lives time passes by
I cannot recognize the sound
As human clocks spin round and round !
I’m not quite sure this is okay
How shall we make it through each day ?
Winds of fate at the edge of space
Whisper sounds that are out of place
They signal all that we are lost
With none to count the total cost !
We need renew our faith again
Or find a path to where and when
This chore appears to be a task
Perhaps too much for us to ask!
The raindrops trickle down the pane
To leave a wet and foggy stain
Upon the windows of my room
That sometimes seem so full of gloom !
I glance around this world we know
And tremble as the terrors grow
What shall we do when we awake
How can we halt the coming quake ?
It’s sad that we have failed our friends
There’s no way left to make amends
And through the windows of my mind
There’s no solution I can find !
My memories of childhood sing
They have that old familiar ring
Just kids trying to kick-the-can
Come see how fast that they all ran !
Or five-ten-ring-a-levio
Show me how far that you will go
Hear now red-rover, red-rover
Calling let Annie come-over !
But best of all, hop-scotch for two
That’s followed by the game Statue
Oh for those past and happy days
When life was sweet and children played !
Claire V. Bogdanos 