Life is always changing
It never stays the same
The rules keep mutating
It’s like a futile game.
We are growing older
But wiser every day
Bones are growing brittler
More fragile every way.
The story must soon end
It’s finish now quite clear
Come hold my hand dear friend
Let’s pray and have no fear !
I have seen the Magic Mountain
And embraced its snowy peaks
I have washed in Trevi’s Fountain
And have strolled her busy streets.
I have eaten in the Plaza
Where Bernadette met her Saint
And meandered through the vista
Where Monet did sit and paint.
I have been to London’s Tower
Where Anne Boleyn lost her head
And tred the hills of Gettysburg
Where fields are full of the dead.
I stood and watched the eastern sky
When the Challenger came down
And since that day I’ve wondered why
I still tremble with that sound.
But most of all I remember
Back when I was still a child
The seventh day of December
When all of the world went wild !
Somehow it seems along the way
I can’t say why we’ve gone astray
We’ve wandered far off of the road
And took on this excessive load
Who was it knew what this might be
A final act of heresy ?
Some were good men we know by name
Who tried to save us from this game
As others rushed headlong into
Lack of concern for what was true
They’ve lied and cheated on us all
And bear the blame for freedom’s fall !
The wings of war do sally round
While glory’s moment does astound
No one can know what heroes feel
Until they’ve tasted cold hard steel.
The battle doesn’t mean a thing
Unless you’ve felt the bullet’s sting
The weariness of fighting grows
It numbs the fingers and the toes.
The heart turns faint so full of fear
The end of life and time draws near !
You are the rain that gently falls
The summer breeze that softly calls
The robin high above the eaves
Playing I-see-you in the leaves.
The gull, the wren, the dove, the lark
All creatures moving in the dark
The water rushing rocks and rills
The wide expanse of fields and hills
This world that is Your vast domain
The gift You’ve promised will remain
You are the stars that shine above
You are the object of our love !
One fact I’ve learned
Respect is earned
The truth is just
And builds our trust
Deceit is cruel
And breaks the rule
A lie is worse
And brings a curse.
There is no honor in a war
That is not what the battle’s for
We fight to gain a victory
To bring us peace and set us free !
If I were a dinosaur
What is it that I would see
The world as it was before
In a place that used to be.
Dinosaurs lived long ago
When there was no one about
They roamed the earth to and fro
Free to screech and howl and shout !
They came in many sizes
Long and tall and short and fat
Ate each other, no surprises
I’m so glad I missed all that !
There must have been a reason
One that I cannot explain
Seems all died in one season
Never to be seen again !
I haven’t thought too much today
What my life will be tomorrow
I’ve no desire to find some way
Where moments beg, steal or borrow.
I have no dreams of afterlife
Or hope that soars to distant height
I search for peace absent of strife
A world bathed in God’s quiet light !
I thank You God for being there
You are my strength and loving care
In all the years that I have known
You have not failed, I’m not alone.
It is my wish to rest with You
After my life on earth is through
I know that there is room for me
I do not fear eternity !
EXCUSE me, have you noticed the motto on Canadian car plates, JE REVIENS ? I was reminded of same as the local ambulance returned me on a bodyboard to a familiar hospital about two months ago. Even the blaring siren did not interrupt my reverie ! Perhaps I was in a state of shock, lying there flat on my back in the middle of Washington Street across from City Hall at lunchtime in 26 degree weather. Imagine that ? I think the cold dulled all sensations ! Due to local construction there was a delay in the arrival of EMS. Between police, medics, onlookers, strangers and new friends, I toughed it out, not easy at 84 ! Thank you Martha for staying with me the entire time, I never saw your face but if we should passagain please tap me on the shoulder and introduce yourself. Well here I am, eyesight recovering and assorted parts of my limbs slowly returning to varying degrees of normalcy thanks to docs, treatments and rehab in that order ! As I was rolled into the ER that day, I saw my retired doctor and longtime friend, Y.Y. Lee, fresh from his condo in Miami visiting the facility’s staff, how great ! We go back almost 40 years, that’s some history ! There was Jennifer, Dan, Genesis, Lena, Vince and Dr. Safran and not one broken bone, a blessing ! For me this has been a time of miracles, thanks to my Pentecostal angels Ralph and Rosie, their congregations and many prayers along with all the others who have kept me in their daily thoughts and deeds ! With kudos to 7th floor rehab, Anna, Missy and the rest. God bless you all. I can still laugh at myself in spite of my frailties ! Sincerely, Claire B.
Of all the dreams I’ve ever dreamt
And all the wishes I have spent
Together with my best intent
Will this one be life’s last event ?
There was a story that I’d heard
So long ago it seems absurd
About a man who lost his way
He couldn’t tell his night from day.
He wandered far across the land
Through mountainpass and desert sand
He crossed the waters wide and deep
He travelled on without much sleep.
Until at last he stopped to rest
And found the object of his quest
An ancient town and tiny gem
By name it was called Bethlehem !
The snow still falls upon the ground
Is there a furnace to be found
We need to turn the heat up high
And bid the cold a quick goodbye !
Just as it was long time ago
We saw the beauty of the snow,
The time’s now past and all we’ve done
Is complicate what was great fun !
Tis sad to think there seems no way
For us to try to warmer stay
Where is it that we will belong
The freeze is here but much too long !
When I was but a child of three
I napped upon my mother’s knee
The time that I was turning five
Her stories made me feel alive
And as I reached the age of ten
She turned into my one best friend !
All through the years she held my hand
And showed me that life could be grand
When I arrived at sweet sixteen
She taught me how to be a queen !
Now I am old, I’ve lost my way
I wish I knew what she would say
I’d put myself into her place
If only I could see her face !
I’d like to think that there might be
A creature known as snow fairy
With streaming silver hair aglow
That blows and flows mid winter snow
And sails the clouds above the wind
Where storms and flurries do begin !
While frost that edges all around
And permeates most of the ground
Can have no mercy till the spring
When warming winds do comfort bring !
I must admit that I’ve not seen
Some cold and heartless icy queen
Clad in her cloak of ermine hue
It is no sight I’m psyched to view !
A gentle thought tugs at my mind
Where is the peace we’re meant to find
Where is the joy life promises
With love for all the reward is ?
Who makes the rules and carries out
The consequence of fear or doubt
Who rends the earth or tears apart
A mountain top or broken heart ?
While all of this continues on
Is there a force to wish upon
Perhaps a dream we’ll never see
Or paradise that cannot be ?
Oh little ones do you hear this song
If you know the words, please sing along
Greetings to you on this brand new day
How I wish that we could meet and play !
Do you think the morning sun will show
Or shall we have one more day of snow ?
Perhaps you might add an extra prayer
Please save us from this chill winter air !
We’ll be so grateful to greet the sun
And free at last as we gaily run,
We can stretch our legs and laugh out loud
And savor the joy of springtime’s cloud
If we are lucky the sun will shine
To leave the cold and our cares behind !
Life is a giant mystery
All twists and turns, no victory
A winding path that’s gone astray
And often seems it’s lost its way.
It prowls the street when darkness falls
And answers when each morning calls
It spins itself into the winds
To where all life again begins !
There are so many ways to say
Good Morning World, have a great day
Remember always to be kind
Never leave good manners behind.
Too often we are quite remiss
And bid farewell without a kiss
Or slam a door on the way out
With hurried gesture or a shout !
Please stop and think before you go
What kind of love is it you show
Can it be like care God gives you
Unselfish, fair both just and true ?
I’m guessing this is not the case
There are issues need be embraced
Solutions we are praying for
With caring hearts and open door !
Today’s a day that I recall
When I was young and oh so small
My father took me by the hand
He hoped that I would understand.
We talked of God and varied things
And whether angels do have wings
He had so very much to say
We walked and chatted all the way.
In those remaining years we knew
My dad and I much closer grew
He tutored me, I was his clone
That’s how I learned to stand alone.
I thank him now for lessons taught
And all the strength his wisdom bought
I miss him still and always will
The gap he left too huge to fill !
Among the wishes that I made
When I was young and unafraid
The one that I remember best
Is that I vowed to not possess
A jealous heart or unkind thought
In keeping with the lessons taught
Stick to the rules obey the Lord
Accept His grace with true accord !
The morning wakens with each dawn
And tiptoes round with trepid yawn
The air is chill and blows intense
Against this frost we’ve small defense.
When Mother Nature throws a fit
We always get the worst of it
She is a force beyond the will
Of those who fight her cold and chill.
I cannot wait till she moves on
And we succumb to springtime’s charm
A welcome change to all we’ve seen
This endless winter’s snowy scene !
If I were an angel above the world so high
I’d fly from cloud to cloud so I could learn to spy
And seek out all the secrets of the earth below
Searching rivers for their source watching how they flow.
To touch each mountain top where no one dares to live
See the ocean’s ebb and flow acting like a sieve,
Imagining what happens underneath the seas
Or hillsides by the millions lush with assorted trees.
God’s world is such perfection like a magic spell
All He does is perfect, this is His show and tell !
When I was small I was not tall
In school I placed the third of all
We had to stand up every day
Beside our desks to pledge and pray !
That’s how our schoolday would begin
“Stand up erect and do not grin”,
We wrote in ink with nib and pen
And studied with our texts open !
We raised our hands to speak out loud
There was no chaos in that crowd
For discipline was number one
We studied hard and still had fun !
I miss the ways we used to learn
Each grade we got, we truly earned
While now the grades have no import
They’re given as a last resort !
A crystal glaze now hugs the ground
And covers all the streets around
Each glossy surface seems to be
Surrounded by infinity.
It stretches out before the eyes
This world of white shines with surprise
One cannot see the end of it
No edge or seam, no not a whit !
Too soon today will greet the night
While morning will renew the sight,
The silence reigns with each new day
Oh winter freeze, please go away !
Why is this world so very blind
So anger filled and too unkind
A study that is worst of all
With joy when evil does befall ?
Is this the manner of our fate
And why our lives remain ingrate
Denied our human dignity
And bathed in man’s iniquity ?
What kind of life is left to us
Where God is deemed inglorious
How shallow is the purpose seen
It leaves this world without a dream !
When I was but a little girl
Each word I learned was like a pearl
Infused with wisdom I would learn
Throughout my life and in my turn.
The words were short and to the point
Have faith in truth don’t disappoint
Trust in the Lord with all your soul
And keep your eye upon the goal !
Now that was very long ago
Things haven’t changed that much you know
Sometimes I wish I weren’t grown
And that my seeds had not all flown
But this is true I can’t deny
God rules my life since I’m knee high !
Claire V. Bogdanos 