I miss you Mom it’s been so long
All through the years our bond was strong
Though you’ve been gone for quite a while
I still remember your sweet smile
And all the love you gave to me
When times were dark your torch was free.
Thanks for your help in those bleak days
Together while those boys were raised
You always shared that wise advice
You taught me how to compromise
I’m glad that I was there for you
Now you are gone, what shall I do ?
EXCUSE ME, here I am in my ageing wheelchair, at my really old kitchen farm table, 38″ x 26″, circa 1900, with its aproned multi-turned vintage legs and truly discreet 1+” rollers on a beautiful Sunday morning having my usual breakfast of juice, black coffee in an ironstone mug, half a sliced banana and exactly 10 mini wheat squares with fat-free half & half ! Precise, right ? It’s early AM, this room has 8 solarfilmed windows, each 3′ x 6′, all covered by beige old fashioned lace curtains. With windows all open, the curtains rising and fluttering in the breeze, I can hear the church bells in the distance, there are 4 churches within a 2 block radius of my current residence. It’s like a symphony in carillon ! Waves of nostalgia wash over me and I am transported to a place almost 80 years ago in the past ! All this time yet that destination is not a mile away from here nor a minute away from my dearest memories ! This is about one of those cardboard signs my nana had in a streetside window, CURTAINS STRETCHED, 25 cents a pair. My grandpop was an ironworker ( Fagan, Tietjen & Lang, Federal, Todd and Bethlehem Steel ) and he made her an adjustable curtain stretcher which my agile childsized fingers could manipulate with the help of a small stepstool, also homemade ! My job after school was to take that agate pan full of starchwater and soaking lace, layering on as many panels at a time to dry in the afternoon sun ! As my nana would say, “idle hands do the devil’s work”. Haha, I don’t think he ever had a chance with me ! How about you ? By the way, that half-banana is low on my fav list but high in potassium, or is that an old wives tale ? Sincerely, Claire B.
There is a longing in my heart
That has been forever there
I don’t know how it got its start
I can only guess from where.
I’ve begged the Lord to help me out
As oftentimes I feel lost
I find myself quite full of doubt
No way now to count the cost.
I am the sum of all my fears
In truth I possess a few
I’ve laughed and cried a million tears
All of them seemed overdue.
When lions roared throughout our past
The world they knew was wild and vast
But time and changes took a toll
Destroying them in their life role.
The king of beasts has lost his crown
His kingdom is all tumbling down
Will they survive, these strong and bold
While love lost pales and soon grows cold ?
The drums are throbbing, hear the sound
There is no silence to be found
With victims sobbing loud and strong
How do agressors still prolong ?
There is great danger in the air
The wolves have left their secret lair
They lie in wait with coats now shorn
Disguised with sheeplike woolen worn.
Oh sad the lies that we all hear
With foment manufactured near,
Proponents of “egality”
What happened to equality ?
I learned so many years ago
That love’s a part of God’s design,
That each of us needs time to know
Shall we accept His will divine ?
Within the heart exists this place
That lingers wistful ever long
For only God can fill its space
Because it’s where true love belongs !
I left my dreams at God’s front door
I cannot beg, no not once more,
Some will come true while others fade
I shall accept decisions made
For in the end when hope is not
The love of God is what I’ve got !
There is small consolation here
Among the bones all crushed and sere
The dead are much like ground-up dust
They cease to be as we all must.
I’ve wandered lost through life’s long corridors
Without one question or list of what-fors
Because my heart’s been laden with a trust
That I must perform the deeds I deem just.
It seems I have not found the circumstance
To change my ways or make a second glance
I heard the angels whisper in my ear
Follow your heart it’s no mistake my dear !
There is a place that I recall
Where visions wake when twilights fall
It isn’t very far from here
In fact, in time it’s very near.
I like to visit now and then
Because I need remember when
The price is right, an hour of sleep
To transpose dreams my heart will keep
While I return to yesterday
Before our love wasted away.
The world is knocking at my door
I wonder what they’re looking for
It can’t be peace for no one cares
It isn’t love as no one dares.
It can’t be lust there is no time
It sure ain’t “brother spare a dime”
Because most begging comes by mail
Or robo calls when all else fail,
Oh Lord protect us from the mass
Since when are we all “second class” ?
It is my wish to walk with God
And tred the path wherein He trod
I sacrificed all that I know
That I may follow where He’ll go.
I shadow Him because I must
Or I shall only turn to dust,
First man was formed of simple clay
God breathed in him His holy way
I will succeed I know I can
How wonderful He’s God not man !
There are some things I’d like to mend
While there’s still time left to defend
Without a drummer or a fife,
The broken pieces of my life
So I may rest before I’m done
To face God’s challenge soon to come.
Our Lord has made His presence known
With every breeze the wind has blown
He is the air which we all breathe
And every tear or sigh we heave.
Be not afraid there in the dark
Though night may seem still, chill and stark
Be glad that you are not alone
Upon the cliff or rock and stone.
God wills each tree to stand or fall
He is the master of them all
Rest easy as your time draws near
God shares with all His love not fear !
Tis harsh to think that all I’ve done
Returns to me as one by one
Each injured ligament or bone
Calls out to me and not by phone
But loud and clear I hear my name
I’d rather do without this fame.
My body creaks, each inch an ache
Sometimes I think I’m gonna’ break
Oh how I wish that I’d been smart
And taken care to do my part
To keep my body free from harm
Protect my shoulders, back and arms.
I wish I hadn’t fallen down
Thank God I managed not to drown
There is no message I can give
I can’t advise you how to live
Except to tell you this today
For what we’ve done we’re bound to pay !
There is this dream I’ve had before
Of some place where there is no war
Where men may thrive and bide content
Beneath God’s giant moonlit tent,
A world in which His word is law
Where no one questions or keeps score,
A place where peace and love abide
And all our needs, the Lord provide !
Sometimes I hear the echoes of
Old days that were consumed with love
When hearts were young and lacked the fears
That follow through life’s troubled years.
Why is it love can’t remain long
Why is it weak or seldom strong
There is a need for all to know
What does one do to make love glow ?
The war for peace goes on and on
There is no winning, no gladsong
The globe is shrinking, smaller now
Yet none can win, they don’t know how !
There’s a world that’s out there, one that I shall never see
With all its magic music and such happiness for free
It reaches now to touch me with sights I have never known
Though I shan’t live to see it for my time is not my own.
I can sight the lights afar and do hear the distant sound
Distinctly in the twilight as the darkness closes round
And I’m sure that someone else will be right there to share it
As for me the truth is this, I’ve no strength left to dare it !
Just close your eyes, what do you hear
The sound of chaos on your ear ?
Oh what a joy that it would be
To hear the surf beside the sea
Or deep within a leafy glade
To cherish sounds God’s creatures made
Or like the quiet of the air
You sense in fields as you stroll there.
But all that I can do today
Is shut the windows, run away !
A tiny craft upon the sea
To challenge private destiny
That faces forward to the sun
Before the close of day is done,
The will to live with honesty
Ambition and alacrity !
Oh ladybug where have you been
What kind of trouble are you in
I see you there upon the floor
How did you enter through my door ?
You must have hidden in the greens
Because my windows all have screens
There is a question I must ask
It will not keep you from your task.
Oh little bug you move so fast,
The good you do is great and vast
Your species spreads around the earth
When will we realise your worth ?
These tears are mine, they will not cease
Here in God’s world, there is no peace !
I’ve never been to Samarkand
Or toured the cities cross that land
But I have stood beside the sea
Where Mary sojourned to Turkey
To make her home in Ephesus
After the death of dear Jesus.
So many tales that did unfold
In ancient Corinth’s city old
I stood upon the bema where
Paul called his followers to prayer.
I’ve wandered round the isle of Crete
Where Titus preached in every street,
I’ve been to Michael’s Mount in France
Where history is my romance
Perhaps one day I’ll get to see
The hill they call Gethsemane !
What power on this earth enslaves
Their people from each birth to graves,
What ancient curse now here exists
With strengths increased and still persists ?
Oh Lamb of God when will it cease
How long must we thirst for Your peace,
Though blind we are and bullied too
Our faith remains steadfast and true !
I pull the words out of the air
There are so many words to share
Some words are good and kind and sweet
While some are mean, fierce, incomplete.
Of all the words I’ve ever used
I shy away from those confused
And try to stick to making sense
As nastiness has no defense.
I pray that God and I agree
Of all our words there are but three
That humans, angels, heaven too
All need to hear, that’s “I love you.”
When I was just a tiny child
There was this dish that drove me wild
My favorite soup, can you guess
With flying colors passed the test.
Carrots, celery and parsley too
Were cooked together in a brew
Of chicken stock all warm and bold
So good that I could eat it cold
But the best part, the noodles yet
Were letters of the alphabet.
I tell you now that I still store
A jar of noodles on the door
And when I feel I need a break
Those alphabets are what I make
I’m sure my love of words began
With this great soup homemade not canned !
There was a town I used to know
I was so small, it’s long ago
It bordered by the river there
The land was flat, sandy and bare
The pines, they grew so tall and strong
The nights were cool, the days were long.
And there beside the water’s edge
I made myself a solemn pledge
That one day when I was all grown
After my foolish deeds were sown
I would return to this sweet place
And once again true life embrace,
Alas for me now bides no chance
There’s no time left for this last dance !
Claire V. Bogdanos 