Oh how I miss each Sunday morn
Sounds echoing since I was born
Those happy tunes or plaintive hymns
From early on till evening dims.
Their voices raised with one accord
The hopeful sing and praise the Lord,
My mother’s voice so sweet and strong
Would sound aloud the whole week long.
She loved to sing each olden tune
About romance, lost love or moon,
I wish I knew if heaven rings
With hymns and songs an angel sings !
Once was I thought that I would be
Some heroine in history
One must be brave and noble too
With sacrifice for quite a few !
It took so long to understand
That life’s not always great or grand
And sometimes it just pays to be
A simple sort with piety !
It’s strange the way dreams disappear
To leave us all quite baffled here
How much more fun if we could be
Included in God’s next story !
Perhaps it is because I’m old
That childhood glows like precious gold
Those days we thought had been forgot
Are part of each one’s Camelot !
Which role we play is our own choice
The option is weep or rejoice
We complicate decisions made
It’s what we do when plans are laid !
For each of us who would go back
What’s done is done we can’t redact
While we retrieve lost memory
There’s nothing that God does not see !
I thought I was alone last night
The sky was still the moon so bright
A fragile silence filled the air
Almost as though someone were there !
Deep in the shadows of my room
I shivered in the subtle gloom
And whispered softly in my prayers
When all else fails I know God cares !
Now as I close my eyes with ease
To slowly sink upon my knees
I’m not quite sure how I shall rise
But when I do tis God’s surprise!
The mist that rises from the sea
That through the night envelops me
And curries favor with the winds
Consoles me as each day begins !
Tis true I was a child forlorn
Who to adversity was born
But took to courage with a will
To greet the world and ply my skill !
There is no task that is too small
No barrier I find too tall
No kindness lies outside my reach
My love of God’s beyond impeach !
What is it that men mean to say
Their words keep getting in the way
Feint tongues are stumbling o’er their teeth
Failing to state what’s underneath ?
Much easier to honest be
When will they learn that truth is free ?
I cannot worry what will be
I’m such a tiny entity
This world exists by its own choice
Impervious to my small voice !
I barely keep myself afloat
How can I steer your private boat,
I wish that I possessed the strength
To forge a peace for all at length !
I pray the Lord will kindness show
And point the way that we must go
To conquer anger, fear and doubt
And fill our days with cause devout !
This foggy veil now drifting down
Into the haze that hugs the ground
With winds that shift without a sound
And misty showers all around,
Light spray obscuring each surround
Midst floating clouds with haloes crowned
These are the sights sure to be found
As we melt into God’s playground !
When I was young with vision clear
My heart was bold I knew no fear,
But as I grew the world did change
The clouds above grew dark and strange !
Familiar things assumed new shapes
One’s sense of loss sought out escapes
What happened to the olden ways
Of peace and hope and love and praise ?
Tis soon the time to pay the price
Shall we just pray and toss the dice,
It seems we have no other choice
For who is left to raise a voice ?
How I remember little things
The way the scent of ocean clings
And salt that lingers on one’s lips
Or dreams of trips on sailing ships !
The sound of waves that lash the shore
They whisper you’ve been here before
Days of great joy they can’t return
Their memories shall ever burn !
A heart that’s full with treasure sings
Amidst the pleasure laughter brings
Remembering what used to be
Becomes a lifelong litany !
The lions dozing in their den
The deer now grazing in the glen
The sheep who feed on meadow grass
And goats who climb each mountain pass,
Those tame or wild, both great and small
They’re God’s creations one and all !
Forests or fields or highland fife,
Grasslands and hills that teem with life
Camels and lizards on desert sands
Coyotes and wolves in frozen lands,
Imagine what this world would be
Without God’s great diversity !
I wish I were a mockingbird so I could sing the whole day long
I’d fill my time with happiness and live a lifetime full of song !
I wish I were a robin red who sings a flutelike warbling tune
That echoes after eventide and carries on under the moon !
If I could be a whippoorwill I’d roam the forest late at night
The song I chant you’d recognize, I sing, but always out of sight !
There is a stillness in the air
I sense the chill invade my lair
It seeps into each lonely space
Hoping to find a resting place !
The altered times are yet to be
One needs to listen, watch and see
Keep vigilant and wide awake
There are no shortcuts safe to take !
With God’s vast wisdom as our guide
His patient silence at our side
We bide our time in hopeful prayer
Assured the Lord is always there !
We search around, what do we see
A world wrapt in fragility
This paradise with dreams delayed
Is where you’ll find courage displayed !
The knowledge that the years have taught
This history for which we’ve fought
To live our faith, bide by its word
And heed God’s call that we have heard !
Prepare to gird for grievous aim
Know in the end we shall acclaim
The strength of our great Lord above
Who feels our grief and sends His love !
Our children small
Have questions all,
The simplest one
Will we have fun ?
The answer is
We’ll have a quiz,
I don’t think so
What do we know ?
Let’s play a game
What is my name ?
One wish you get
Are we there yet ?
Ends with a nod
And thank you God !
The childhood dreams we tuck away
To wait upon a latter day
When life and time will both comply
Enables us to make a try !
While seeming lost a way was found
To keep our feet upon the ground
There learn to seek a worthy cause
That earns results and not applause !
The simple fact that we shall find
It does not help to act unkind,
And in the end as time runs out
There is no sense to cry or shout,
For who can hear the silent scream
Of one who lusted for a dream ?
If honor lies beyond one’s reach
What are the lessons we need teach
Which qualities should we demand
Of one who sits tall in command ?
How much or little should there be
Of sense and sensibility ?
And if we share the mighty seat
What can we do to void defeat ?
Both truth and courage come to mind
Where is the hero we need find ?
In time teardrops blend with the rain
Flushing emotions down life’s drain
So much alike they shall remain !
Those raindrops falling from the sky
God’s cleansing force here rushing by
This separation won’t defy !
Thus tears and rain can sisters be
And blend together silently
While each retains identity !
True tears much softer surely are
Engendering those near and far
To welcome wind and greet each star !
All history is long and bold
As destinies do here unfold,
My forebears came in ‘forty-six
Over the sea to join the mix
And oh, how fast this nation grew
From far and wide by crowd or few !
There is a story I’ve been told
By great grandma when she was old,
About the three mast ship they caught
While fleeing from the nearest port
And leaving all they owned behind
Except mementoes they could find !
That voyage to the promised land
Was long and harsh and out of hand,
No Lady in the Harbor stood
Just dreams of hope and common good !
The men who die to keep us free
And give their lives for victory,
They’ll never see the war’s ending
Or hear the peal of freedom ring !
They sacrifice all that could be
Without a thought or guarantee,
There was a chance they knew darn well
They could be caught and sent to hell !
Some would survive another day
While others meant to turn away,
How sad that their reward is small
For death in war rates no recall !
The oil no longer fills the lamp
The air without is stale and damp
The waiting world sits in the dark
For none can trade without the mark !
This earth now serves another god,
With numbers all even and odd,
How shall we greet the bridegroom now,
Where are the virgins to endow ?
With open mind and begging heart
I choose the path to God’s new start !
The days are charged with fiery speech
But soon we shall an ending reach
What do we need that can’t be sought
With weakness and our wealth be bought ?
The time for courage has emerged
Though we are bankrupt and submerged,
Our ruling class is self-embraced
And few are left without disgrace !
So this is how our story ends
There’s little left, not even friends !
The blue and gold or red and black
Would they were here now looking back,
The bonnet or the checkered cap
The bicorne or the shakoes snap
Such uniforms would crack the whip
Both here ashore or board a ship !
The men who fought that very day
They won or lost, some ran away,
Which country were they fighting for
It was two hundred years before,
There to become the last of all
As citizens answered the call !
Judge Samson was a man quite strong
With curly locks ever so long,
His hair should never feel a knife
As he was raised a Nazirite !
Tis said he was a foolish man
Preferring pagans to his clan,
Delilah she became his wife
And knew the secret of his life !
She cut his hair a shorter length
To steal away his godly strength,
His enemies they made him blind
Chained him to posts to be unkind !
He begged God’s help, his final plea
Destroy this temple ! Set me free !
The world is watching while madness reigns
We’re powerless like opposing trains
That run upon an unmanned track
And cannot take their actions back !
This revolution has been inflamed
To feed the egos of those to blame
Who dine upon the loss and fears
Of victims who are brought to tears !
To be so callow and insincere
Speak words too intense and most unclear,
To understand what’s really meant
Is to relinquish our consent !
Where is it that our faith has been
We seem so weak, so pale, so thin,
So lost and truly out of sorts
Here in this land of last resorts !
We need to take a second glance
Perhaps to seek another chance
On what went wrong along the way
So we won’t have one more delay !
This we have learned, that God is there
He reaches out He hears our prayer,
And each performance that we give
Helps us to breathe and hope and live !
I’m not so sure that I know where
My next stop is till I get there
How will I travel I can’t say
Will it be night or early day ?
Too many questions on my mind
Who has the answers I must find,
How can I seek my destiny
If I don’t know what will it be ?
I seem quite lost and cast adrift
In need of hugs, a smile, a lift,
And question if it’s right for me
To keep chasing life’s long journey ?
The children play down in the street
I hear the sound of running feet
Their laughter rises in the air
Oh how I wish that I were there !
But I’m contented just to see
Their happy faces filled with glee
They chase each other round the park
It’s summer, they will play till dark !
Then when the games have tired all
And early stars signal nightfall
One recollects it’s time to say
Sleep tight, it’s been a precious day !
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Claire V. Bogdanos 