Half hidden here behind the eye
Of all the stress now whizzing by
Many events do come and go
Disclose or hide facts we need know.
Time will invoke the common sense
Grownups require in their defense
However will the youth now learn
The value of each truth discerned ?
For without truth how shall one find
The straightest path to help unwind
The answer is, twill always be
The truth alone shall set us free !
How often now I chance recall
Those olden times when I was small
And all those relatives I knew
That sheltered me my childhood through.
There’s been so many I could love
To aid me in my dreaming of
A life blest with both good and bad
Mongst all those joys I’ve known and had.
I need to thank each uncle, aunt
For every dream they helped to plant
And all that wisdom they taught me
To live life with integrity !
Integrity is but a show
With many icons that we know
How sad too few ever get caught
With values they should have been taught
Why are we mute or silenced there
Have we no one to grieve or care ?
A crime, so many victimized
While efforts all are minimized
Our world is begging on its knees
Save us before all justice flees !
For so it is and it will be
We need the truth to set us free
What is the cost of liberty
If we are blind or will not see ?
With all the nonsense we do see
We’re so thankful for our country
We have so much just look around
It is the finest to be found.
One nation of the brave and free
A bastion of our liberty
Which many now scheme to destroy
Whatever methods they’ll employ.
In truth our God is always there
To answer our unending prayer
And keep us safe no matter what
We pledge our lives and all we’ve got !
I’d like to say that I know all
The promises I should recall
But since I was a tiny tot
It seems to me there were a lot.
While childhood was to home confined
I promised that I’d always mind
In Sunday school I swore that I
Would love the Lord and never lie.
Then as I grew and went to school
I pledged the flag and golden rule
When I was twelve, Girl Scouts came next
I took the vows and learned the text.
Now at thirteen I was confirmed
That’s where Commandments all were learned
High School became a brand new stage
I entered in another age.
I’d like to think I’ve done my best
For family, God and the rest
As truth and faith, integrity
Mean everything on earth to me !
There’s so much now that used to be
A segment of our history
Forgotten days and glory old
When men who ruled were brave and bold.
They raised our hopes and promised dreams
None have the courage now it seems
Their service is with lips alone
Mass fallacies which they intone.
God save us from the hypocrite
With whom no honor cares to sit
Return us to our glory days
Help us redeem our honest ways !
The heavy crush of busy streets
Onlookers streaming everywhere
In flip-flops, sneakers, shoes with cleats
A world of madness we all share.
The hawkers, conmen, charlatans
All crowding round their corner carts
Beware the city’s denizens
In great rush to display their arts.
The simple act of walking out
And window shopping just for fun
Enjoying all the scenes about
May be precarious for some!
Some might think that I am foolish
Or even that I’ve lost my mind
I am not known to be churlish
Not spiteful, silly or unkind.
I have no wish to tarry on
Or try to take up too much space
Please note, I am no paragon
Quite long ago I learned my place.
Our lives should be more simplified
With cause for no great mystery
We live by faith and faith implies
Our honor is our victory !
I do remember very well
Tin soldiers and the tales they tell
So much of my own childhood play
Was spent imagining their day.
While soldiering was all the style
Accomplishments were well worthwhile
Real soldiers now make us take note
For soldiering can change the vote !
Most of our children have grown old
Served their nation with valor bold
The wars have come and slipt away
As mothers’ tears were in the way.
There is a lesson we need teach
The road to peace is in our reach
Tin soldiers are no longer seen
There’s Army, Navy and Marines !
Can you perceive each shadows movement in the hall
Distorted shapes that spring and bounce along the wall ?
These need to wait till day is done and loses sight
Before they cavort and dance and play by firelight,
And so each eve they leap and bound upon the stairs
So thin and tall their prancings catch you unawares !
They frolic up and down the cabinets and sides
Grotesque shapes and sizes you don’t recognise.
I think that shadows are great fun to watch at night
That is if you remind yourself, switch on the light.
Here in our world the truth reacts in manner same
Phantoms of a lie twist your vision and your aim
The truth at best will keep your earthly values straight
Its shadows will not echo in your life or fate !
EXCUSE ME, they’re playing our song ! Do you remember the words ? “God bless America land that I love”. A kind of poetry, words of songs that began with men like George M. Cohan and women like Kate Smith. Words we’ve disregarded for years in lieu of MTA, Walkman, Beatles, Michael Jackson and even Lionel Ritchie. The problem has been that we haven’t made room for both, like forgetting how great a cold beer is after acquiring a taste for Stoli on the rocks! “She’s the emblem of the land I love, the home of the free and the brave,”. It used to be, these songs filled many a hall with resounding applause and many a heart with astounding pride. What “the world needs now ” is a healthy dose of plain old fashioned patriotism. Let’s see a show of hands and maybe a show of flags. Take time out to thank someone for doing their job well, a nurse, teacher, postman, waiter, bus driver, a child. Maybe they’ll thank us in return by doing even better ! Today we stand at the crossroads and must choose between old habits or a rejuvenated search for national identity. Look around, we grouse too much, blame someone else, ask others to do our job not realizing that we are each an integral part of the whole. A broken toe causes a body to limp, throw away the crutches, stand up tall and stop playing cripple! Excuse me while I salute the flag! Sincerely, Claire B.
These memories that from our youth still cling
To values old that hope and trust will bring
Into this world since truth has lost its place
With no good choice to fill the empty space.
A valued thought by chance may come to mind
To help employ the wisdom we shall find
And question why our world has lost its way
Amid the toxins of the present day.
As men reject their past identity
In this sad world of such dishonesty
And leave us here to ponder why they do,
We lose our faith their words or deeds ring true!
