The men who died on that first day,
Our heroes who did lead the way
They won the field in spite of fear,
Though lack of powder cost them dear.
Those patriots did do their best
And tried to scatter all the rest,
It took five years to end that war
So many lives and too much more.
Now once again we face a fight
To conquer dark, embrace the light,
As evil does lay siege our door
And aims to crush us evermore !
There is this message I’d like to send
Across the land to both foe and friend
There is a God and He loves us all
Size matters not, whether great or small
He doesn’t care if we’re fat or thin
It’s the condition our heart is in.
It has to do with the way we think
Are we satisfied or on the brink
It’s the simple things that rate us all
Not the obvious, like short and tall.
It’s the kindness and the depth of love
It’s the hopes that we are dreaming of
It’s the job we do from day to day
To comport ourselves in every way.
There’s a world out there waiting for us
To join our God in His grand chorus
Won’t you stand up now and make a choice
And pledge to Him the power of your voice !
Oh blessed Lord how the heart does sing
With all the bliss of remembering
The sweetest song of each nesting bird
That even angels in heaven heard,
As the hopeful times of yesterday
Merge hearts that are free to laugh and play
Ere the dark descends from up above
To scatter dreams of remembered love !
When the battle’s over and the fighting done
With God’s will the healing process has begun !
There is a light that burns so bright
Its luminescence floods the night
It is the light that knowledge brings
Into our lives where freedom rings.
The song we hear is incomplete
Its notes sing out both clear and sweet
All promising that we shall learn
How to address one great concern.
Our safety lies within that glow
Where wisdom’s power does constant grow
Else who is left to keep the lights
Forever burning through our nights ?
While winter winds do snow and blow
And springtime rains make all things grow
While summer sun warms all we’ve got
And autumn crops do fill the pot
We need to say our thanks once more
Before we exit life’s back door.
How marvelous our God must be
He did all this for you and me
There is no way we can repay
What He has done in one short day !
There is a garden in the mist
Where hopes and dreams by chance exist
Just close your eyes and be prepared
Perhaps one day you’ll visit there
And if you do, remember me
Say one small prayer in memory !
I thank You Lord for all You’ve done
For everything and everyone,
I beg You please desert us not
For in the end You’re all we’ve got
I cannot bear the pain I see
Your children know such misery.
This world is fighting to survive
Help us to keep our faith alive
Speed love upon its magic wings
And share the joy of life it brings !
There are those sounds heard in the fog
That to my mind do give a jog
Returning me to the high cliffs
O’erlooking down upon the ships
When youth did rule my growing years
As World War Two increased my fears.
I heard the buoys’ bells awake
Midst all the noises shipyards make
The fog was thick, the air intense
While all around signs of defense.
It was that time too many knew
When all our hopes seemed overdue
Though in the end our loss was great
Peace came at last and not too late !
All deeds once hid deep in the dark
Will come to light under the sun
While God sees all and strikes His mark
And patient waits till all has done !
I have wandered lost near my journey’s end
In the search to find my forever friend
And as time has passed I am sure that I
Have met many that were but passing by.
There is one I’ll miss to my final day
Aft the angels came and took her away
Twas my true buddy, my mom and my friend
All her love bides with me until my end !
Now who are we to judgement make
While this whole world does shake and quake
The time has come for all to see
The price of peace is never free !
For every single tear we’ve shed
Like pools of blood that we have bled
Our God has all His mercy shown
And makes His purpose clearly known.
We are His children one and all
And meant to answer to His call
It matters not if night or day
He summons us, we must obey !
Each dawn awakens with a smile
And bides with us for but awhile
While night does close with leaden heart
To quiet wait for morn’s restart !
When we were young and loved so true
The words we whispered were “I do”
To swear the truth or honor still
The vows we’ve pledged is that “I will”.
To do our duty, follow through
The words “I can” belong there too
And when the cause is fair and just
The answer should be this “I must”
Thus those statements we’ve said or heard
Become part of our sacred word !
To the youth it is invincibility
To the student, academic scrutiny
To the homeless, it’s acceptability
To the wiseman it is probability
To the aged inevitability
And to God, it is infallibility !
I hear Your voice in the rhythm of trees
Your smile persists in the sigh of each breeze
The glow of Your love heals the ailing heart
The strength of Your presence gave life its start !
Oh blessed Lord give my heart wings
To fly away above the crowd
To where the sweetest angel sings
With voice that’s been by God endowed.
This tiny star that shines so bright
It’s luminescence fills the sky
No matter if it’s day or night
We know that He will be close by !
I feel the mist that covers all
While winding through the shades of fall
Seems life survives beneath this tent
Of autumn days that God has sent.
The leaves that fly along the street
Now dog the foosteps of our feet,
Ambitious winds that heave and sigh
Impatient now await goodbye.
The seasons come, the seasons go
This is the pattern that we know
So little changes as we pass
Our lives before God’s looking glass !
To all the men who fought that day
And those that have since passed away
The thanks of us all should convey
Tales of your sacrifice, we pray
God bless us all and vow to say
We’ll never fight again that way !
On the cliffs above that sandy beach
Learn a lesson only sight can teach
It’s a vast stretch of a foreign land
That belongs to us, in our command
And each time I’m there my heart does cry
For buried men who cannot reply.
Ten thousand erect markers still stand
So faraway from their own homeland
On American soil by that beach
That’s as far as they would ever reach !
Oh those men who took the hill that day
In a foreign land so far away,
Too many died as they gained the beach
A thousand drowned weighted in the breach.
Who knew what strengths would fill all these men
When courage chose to inspire again
And charge the hill filled with fire and brim
Like hell’s front gate at volcano rim ?
While the memories still haunt their nights
With death’s dark vision midst blinding lights,
What’s wrong with this world in which we live
When is time ripe to learn to forgive ?
There was a boy twas just a youth
Who in his life did honor truth
Integrity was his true bag
He loved his country and its flag.
They told him he was needed so
It’s off to war that he must go
And there was he, he went to war
He’d never held a gun before.
Since neither kith nor kin had he
The service was his family
His honor served him through those years
He did his duty without fears.
In one last charge as lives were lost
These men all shared the final cost
Broken bones in a tomb of stone
Engraved thereon one word, unknown !
Let us take the time to thank God above
For His constant care and abiding love
For the stars that shine and the winds that blow
For the rains that fall and those things that grow
For the oceans’ roar and the fish that swim
Are the gifts to us that come straight from Him.
There is no time left for us to conceive
Any other way except to believe
For however long our time mayhaps be
I know He is there through eternity !
There is a magic genie that I’ve never seen
His spirit works quite hard and all behind the scene
Though we have not yet met I’m sure that He exists
Else how do we explain why our belief persists ?
In spite of all our setbacks, chaos on the way
We’ll manage to get through if only day by day
It’s amazing how much help we’ve found everywhere
Thank you Gentle Giant for all Your love and care !
The dampness slips beneath my sheet
From hips on down to icy feet
The chill pervades the very air
I can no longer linger there
Tis time to rise begin the day
And try to wish the cold away.
I look beyond my window glass
To watch the cold of morning pass
It’s not that I don’t favor snow
The warmth just seems to please me so !
Love is a word I use a lot
For without love what have I got,
A lonely world all to myself
I’d be there wasting on some shelf.
I’d rather be a loving soul
Than searching for an empty goal
Whatever joy that life may bear
It’s so much greater when we share !
I hear the sound of marching feet
The drums of war do loudly beat
The peal of bells does emanate
While throngs distressed paticipate.
I hear the sound of ramparts roar
There bides no glory in a war
Mass explosions and missiles flare
While cries of sorrow fill the air.
I hear the sound of shuffling feet
The muted call of last retreat
What good was all this killing for
I pray we go to war no more !
Claire V. Bogdanos 