When we were young we learned to share
Those early years taught one to care
For lives sometimes can be quite brief
Each bears some semblance to a leaf
That’s born upon the family tree
And tethered there for all to see.
While some may shrivel and grow sere
Still others flee from life severe
As those who cling to that last hope
Within the darkness try to grope
The time is soon, the need is clear
Take hold your roots and face your fear !
There is a place we all yearn to be
It’s not across some far-widened sea
Nor over hills or great mountainsides
And not where malice or anger hides.
It’s not under trees that reach for sky
Or where the eagles and buzzards fly
It’s just a place around the last bend
Of a lonesome road that seeks its end,
To that spot where most lives got their start
And have left behind their lonely heart !
I wish I knew that you and I
Would never have to say goodbye
And that our friendship would live on
Until the day we both are gone.
How foolish since that cannot be
For we both share mortality
And so old friend we must prepare
When you and I no longer share !
Now once upon a time ago
Before my age began to show
There was a thought had crossed my mind
Of all the treasures one might find
God saved for us a special place
And kindly heart so full of grace.
I’ve known my fill of dreams and things
I do not fly and have no wings
My God’s been good, He heard my voice
And with His love approved my choice !
The cannibals are on a path
Appearing to be full of wrath
Consuming all that came before
The good, the kind and so much more.
With scant discretion on their part
They operate without a heart
It matters not what they destroy
Or which tactics they employ,
The need for power is all they know
However shall this nation grow ?
I find myself enchanted by
The way all days just seem to fly
How weeks and months now quickly pass
Like shadows in a looking glass.
I wish that I might halt the clock
And silence all of time’s tick-tock
Before my life does pass away
And I should lose my yesterday !
There is this fact that I have known
We are each born to life alone
When our time comes to say goodbye
We’re solitary as we die
We travel on that lonely path
With all the power that we hath
For life with Him is fairer still
And all we are is by His will !
There lived a man his name was Paul
In Hebrew he was known as Saul
Though Tarsus was his native home
He traveled much, martyred in Rome.
Upon Damascus Road went he
To destroy Christianity
Twas on this trip none would forget
Christ had His death before they met !
“While on this road where do you go
Why do you persecute me so ?
My brightest light has made you blind
Three days you’ll spend to purpose find !”
Well Paul at last did true believe
And baptism he did receive
His Acts and Letters we all know
Because our bible tells us so !
Thirteenth Apostle that was he
Who wrote chapters abundantly
He lost his head to Roman ax
His body rests entombed with Pax !
Come see the sun peep o’er the hill
And watch its glow spread farther still
As all the mellow blends away
To melt into each brand new day.
It’s grand to know that God is there
And that He hears the smallest prayer
Which whispered softly on the breeze
Reverberates worldwide with ease !
I love you God can You not see
Dear blessed Lord You are the Key
How natural it is to be
Included in Your company ?
There is a world that lives within the magic of my mind
And in this place I know exists the actions that I find
A road that twists along the way and creatures that I meet
Are there to greet this stranger as I travel on their street.
Rise up, rise up and sieze the dawn
Another day, another morn
With one last chance to be reborn.
Pursue your dream or seek your cause
It’s yours to take to heal the flaws
Still yours to win, go, stop or pause !
With each new day a bright sunrise
From dawn to dusk this huge surprise
The world about so full and lush
O’ershadowed by the nighttimes hush
Let’s all embrace the calm we find
God help us now from stress unwind !
When I was young and very green
There was not much that I had seen
But now I’ve had my fill of war
I still don’t know what war is for !
There’s World War Two, Korea and
That long Cold War, plus Vietnam
Do you remember Lebanon
In eighty-two that fatal bomb ?
Next came Grenada, Panama
This all before the first Gulf War
With Kuwait, Iraq then after
Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia.
From Kosovo, Afghanistan
That’s how War Two Iraq began
I cannot tell how we got here
The world is small, so full of fear,
But I”ll keep praying, hoping that
Our round world won’t wind up flat !
God’s music plays, I hear the sound
Reverberating all around
The rustling of the varied trees
With branches swaying in the breeze,
While birds o’erhead with fluted tone
Keep warning us this is their zone
The insects add their special hum
That covers the entire spectrum.
The ocean’s rush, the thunder’s clash
The drip, drip with each puddle’s splash
These are the notes that we all hear
God’s symphony sweet on the ear !
I feel the wind brush cross my cheeks
Midst all the sounds that nature speaks
At last the springtime has arrived
My world around does come alive.
As sunrays skip about the place
They fill the void in every space
The breeze is gentle, kind and swift
I sense my spirits rise and lift,
Oh what a day that we may share
And how I wish you would be there !
I press my nose upon the glass
And pray to God this storm will pass
We have been waiting ever long
The night moves on, the wind is strong !
When I was young I loved the sound
Of howling winds blown round and round
It made me think of Sherlock Holmes
Those scary stories, eerie poems
The moors, a place of mystery
And home to curiosity
I fantasized about Heathcliff
And often thought, oh my, what if ?
My life’s been full of books and things
They filled my days with fairy wings,
Now I am old, too old to fear
If life and death are moving near
And so tonite brash winds may blow
What changes if I stay or go ?
The morning sun begins to shine
O’er sloping roofs with steep incline
As seagulls flown out to the sea
Do swoop and pluck their breakfast free.
An early breeze bears frosted breath
The remnants of past winter’s death
How grand it is expecting spring
To feel so good with God’s blessing !
Oh little lamb you are so sweet
With wooly coat and nimble feet
You make me smile, oh cuddly beast
Among God’s creatures, not the least.
I’d heard that Mary was a fan
Together you two played and ran
Though I have never had the time
I can remember childhood’s rhyme.
Maybe one day both you and I
Will meet our Lord in passing by,
He has been called the Lamb of God
Perhaps we’ll bide in His backyard !
To those of you who can’t recall,
One war was fought to end them all
How foolish was it that we thought
This war would be the last we fought !
The lesson that we should have learned
Our history too often spurned,
Like those who never went to war
Don’t have a clue what war is for !
The bloody battles, millions dead
Broken bodies, hunger and dread
These mean nothing, you weren’t there
You have not known this great despair !
You think that war is just some game
Untouched by loss, you are the same
You sleep, you eat, you talk the talk
But you have never walked the walk !
Oh cowards all, that’s who you are
You speak so grand from oh so far
But show us now what you can do
Tis time you shared your colors true !
To all God’s children far and wide
I’ve known the fear that looms inside
Tis difficult, the younger years
That harbor pain, defeat or tears.
Sometimes it seems a miracle
If you should ever make it through
Remember always keep your stride
And live with dignity and pride.
Be kind to those whom you pass by
Give none cause to be hurt or cry
Try your best, pray, you will be heard
So praise the Lord and keep His word !
We need to thank our Lord above
For sharing His eternal love
We cannot say what we should do
If God on high doth bid adieu.
This world we know would disappear
And all we love might pale in fear
Oh dearest Lord forsake us not
Without Your care we are forgot !
A child am I, quite innocent
My feelings clear, my heart content
One thing I’ve learned within my mind
Towards love and peace I am inclined.
I’ve seen the damage hate can do
I fear for those with anger too
The ways of God, simple and kind
Are all I ask and wish to find !
Long have I thought, to be quite clear
This world I’ve loved and held so dear
Should harbor you forever now
But will that be alright somehow ?
As Satan’s angels and their crew
Do all their devil work pursue
Seem to have won this dirty war
Destroying all worth living for.
I pray for those I’ve left behind
That peace one day is what they’ll find
Our God does not forsake us all
But heeds each plea if we just call!
It’t early morn, the wind’s a thief
And carries danger not relief
The dampness cuts right to the bone
There is no cure or safety zone.
Tis best if we prepare ahead
To keep our bodies safe instead
Think hard about what one must do
To save ourselves and make it through.
For who can know where we have been
Or who will guess what we have seen
We’ll fight to keep our homeland safe
Believe, oh ye of little faith !
The time is here, the time is now
We knew that it might come somehow
Last night deep frost did show its face
Now most new green has been erased.
I see the limbs of all the trees
Succumbing to the crippling freeze
That yesterday were chock full of
The thrill of spring and signs of love.
The blossoms filled each branch and twig
At times enhanced by petal’d wig
What shall be left when frost has gone
And damaged growth must carry on ?
If I could fly on fairy wings
Or sing the songs an angel sings,
If I could launch into the sky
Or float on clouds as they pass by,
If I could reach to touch a star
Or snatch its glitter from afar,
Then I could speak into the crowd
To tell them all God has avowed
He will not fail us, not at all
He is with us win, lose or fall !
I watch the wind come out to play
It happens each and every day
I hear the rain come pelting down
The rooftops echo with the sound.
I see the gulls fly overhead
While other birds had all but fled
Their wasted nests hid in the trees
The remnants of last winter’s freeze.
Oh spring you are not far behind
I simply cannot wait to find
Rebirth in every sort of way
As nature does her role replay.
What precious joy each day doth bring
Our God has thought of everything !
Claire V. Bogdanos 