I think that I have always been
A child of God who prays to win
The chance to walk above the clouds
Where angels gather into crowds.
I’d roam around and seek to find
A pathway that must surely wind
Along the road up to the gate
Where Jesus’ own disciples wait.
If I should act just like a lamb
And none would notice who I am
Perhaps that might be ever keen
I could be there right on the scene !
There is no way to halt the sun
Until life’s time on earth is done
And so we praise its warming rays
Else what would light our every days ?
This system is God’s master plan
We comprehend as best we can
He is the Lord and Leader too
And what He bids is what we’ll do.
It matters not if we agree
He rules for all eternity !
The dawn has wakened with a grin
The sun’s warm rays beg “let me in”
Oh what a perfect start this is
The day is mine, the world is His !
I hope I never see the day
When all my words have fled away
And all the thoughts that fill my head
From morn to night are left unsaid.
But when that happens, heed me now
I pray you will recall somehow
My words have been both kind and wise
And taught you truth prevails o’er lies !
Sometimes the pain’s too much to bear
Sometimes defense is meant to share,
I’ve often wished that I could fly
On cushioned wings into the sky
Escaping earth and its confines
Midst all the angst that life defines
I understand as one earthbound
What I search for is not aground !
As I look out o’er roofs and chimney top
There’s no place I can make my vision stop
That is not brick and mortar all alone
Accompanied by wood or tar or stone.
Now rooftops are a lonely barren place
Lacking enthusiasm to fill our space
They bring no beauty or accommodate
In any way the grace of man to date.
Of course they serve a purpose that’s a must
Saving all from cold, wind, storm, rain or dust
But I would love to look across that span
Envisioning God’s beauty all I can !
Nay, do not flail against the darkness
That is a battle you cannot win
There’s but one way to beat its starkness
Just use a candle to bring light in !
Of all the wishes I have missed,
( Not least of all, Prince Charming’s kiss )
I feel that I have been misled
And pandered to by lies instead.
Tis sad that I’ve not yet to learn
Love’s not a passion one can earn
Most words of love that I have heard
Are spurious and quite absurd
But still I’m sure true love exists
Keep searching, know you must persist !
The pendulum moves side to side
It is a somewhat boring ride
And doesn’t variate a bit
When in the rut where it does fit
And that’s a lesson to be taught
About this web in which we’re caught.
Sometimes it may be truly fine
When one decides to tow the line
However that does not preclude
A change in venue or in mood
For each must have freedom of choice
So they may exercise their voice !
Slowly, slowly, as years unwind
What kind of future shall we find,
Where are the endless ways we’ve lost
And who is left to count the cost
Oh foolish ones of no context
Please tell us what will be the next !
Is there a goal that one must seek
To make us stronger, not so weak,
A purpose that each one must find
To help escape a path unkind.
A babe is born most are the same
Except for color, sex and name
It’s left to them to win or lose
The way of life that each shall choose.
Some win, some fail, some others cry
And there are those who never try !
When life seems poorly, sad or tragic
Please try a smile, it works like magic
It is contagious as you can see
Most all folks react like you and me.
Have you noticed those whose mouths turn down
It lends faces that unpleasant frown
What a friendly picture it could be
To see a smile, maybe two or three.
Life certainly has both ups and downs
It would be great if we saw less frowns !
EXCUSE ME, have you been following the current trend of live interviews of H.S. and University students by media sources questioning their knowledge of the American Civil War, 4/12/1861, Fort Sumpter ending at Appomatox Courthouse, 4/9/1865 ? Hours of questions, total lack of facts and credulous answers from this totally ignorant segment of our population, a disgrace ! And we all pay the cost, taxes, grants, scholarships, government subsidies. This was the war that took a minimum of 750,000 lives, dead soldiers, north, south, white, black ! Where was the concern for the men who faced Armageddon in that war ? It was our first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, who led the cause to preserve our union and who was murdered 6 days after the signing of the peace treaty at the war’s end by a prominent American stage actor. “Sic semper tyrranus”, shouted John Wilkes Booth as he leapt to the stage. Who knew that we’d lose more men in that war than any other war we have fought to this date ? Those men were lost more than 150 years ago. Real Americans mark this tragic period with honor rolls and monuments throughout our nation without exception ! Lack of educational integrity robs our children of our country’s saga of the path to freedom. The saddest part may be that the true missing ingredient today is intellectual curiosity ! How can we appreciate our victory without its factual history ? This was a war to free the slaves, I ask you, did you know ? Sincerely, Claire B.
The sun is shining in the sky
The gentle breeze is passing by
The trees are laden with new green
There’s ne’er a cloud that can be seen.
The birds are busy housekeeping
Sometimes I hear the faint peeping
I ponder how much more we’ll wait
Until they gather at the gate
I love to hear their joyous song
It makes me feel that I belong !
The dawn has risen, oh Lord be praised
The tomb is emptied and passion raised
One more prayer as the fest has begun
How shall we know tis over and done,
For each must choose his separate way
If one is to reach the judgement’s day
The table’s been set, the places laid
Time has run out and the piper’s paid !
Oh Lord have I not understood
The wealth of kindness and of good
That we embrace from day to day
And is the path we pledge to stay ?
The time draws near, the moment bright
As terror passes through the night
I sense the angel wings on high
Tis soon the hour of sweet goodbye !
Now those of you who know me, you do understand
That I’m not a product, one born of my own hand
I am my mother’s child and learned my lessons well
I follow in her footsteps, most of you can tell.
It was she who taught all those stories that I know
And all the homilies I often choose to show
The majesties of God, the brilliance of His ways
That’s staid with me from birth until my dying days !
Where has it gone, integrity
How do we live in mockery
What rule is left that is not broke
What part of honest is a joke ?
Help us oh Lord, our children save
Their time is short, from birth to grave
For only with the saints we’ll find
That kindness is both fair and kind !
I think I’m not the chapeau type
In spite of all of fashions’ hype
But here it is before we knew
New Easter bonnets now on view.
At this ripe age I find a hat
Gets in the way of this and that
We once wore kerchiefs on our head
To keep us warm and chic instead.
I guess that scarves are good for some
But grateful I’m not having one !
This is God’s giant stage and we are players all
We tread upon the boards and pray we do not fall !
I have been taught my whole life long
To love my God and to be strong
To help my neighbors and my friends
To pray for peace and make amends.
Yet still I find the world I see
Is rife with much hostility
The days grow old, deep in morass
When will some of this anger pass ?
In all our lives we find no peace
When will God grant our soul’s release,
I don’t know how to fight the beast
Help us, oh Lord, make wars to cease !
I have often thought of that early morn
After sweet Jesus as a babe was born
He was heralded by the stars above
Filled with God’s blessing and the angels’ love.
There in a foreign land so long ago
On a path that would lead this world to know
That He was the sign we were waiting for
The key that could open God’s sacred door.
Oh, learn what a path that he had to take
To save mankind from poor Adam’s mistake
We need to remember once and for all
He’s sent to guide us so we do not fall !
This heart that now beats in my breast
Is old and tired like the rest
The times have come and they have gone
This life we know must carry on
No matter what we choose to do
Oh Lord, we leave that choice to You !
There is a faint sound that I hear
It keeps repeating in my ear
Is it a clock ticking away
Counting the minutes of each day ?
If I were smart then I would find
Some way to make all time unwind
So I might salvage years to keep
Those that I love safe from last sleep !
We are a people born to be free
To cherish peace and sweet liberty
Since we began in seventy-six,
As we fought and died and took our licks
More than two hundred years in the past
A long time now in this world so vast.
We’ve stuck it out and held on so tight
Through coldest days and in darkest night
We’ve fought off each villain we have met
And what this cost we shall not forget
But now the fight’s for our heart and soul
We cannot afford to lose our goal !
Whatever is it that I spy
Is that a rainbow in the sky,
The colors are so crisp and clear
Is it the first for me this year ?
Those seven colors that I see
Bring such great joy to giddy me
Red, orange, yellow, green and blue
Indigo and violet too.
Quite a vision that all may share
I wish that I could fly up there
And touch that rainbow God did paint
To find out if it is or ain’t.
God left His mark there in the sky
Reminding us He does not lie !
There’s a special place that I do recall
Quite a long time ago when I was small,
A large clapboard house on a country road
My great uncles built for their mom’s abode.
She’d been born in June eighteen-sixty-one
To a life one could guess was not much fun
At fifteen she married the stablehand
Oh, so far away in a foreign land.
This is a small part of their history
And the story of how they came to be,
As I look back on all the joys we shared
How grateful I am and how much I cared !
A man must be both wise and strong
To know his place and to belong
Into this scene of give and take
If one does choose his mark to make.
The world is wide, the river long
The heart is brave and sings a song
To praise the Lord and voice this plea
Oh Lord above, abide with me !
Claire V. Bogdanos 