Man cannot live without a dream
Believing elsewise is extreme
How difficult without a cause
Our lives are dull and lack applause
There is a vision all do need
To raise each up, to help succeed
We have a God, be not afraid
He is our Friend, our Help, our Aid
And in the end when life seems done
Tis when our journey’s just begun !
Lord save us from old Satan’s might
And guide us through each lonesome night
Protect us as we wend our way
From morning’s light till end of day
Forsake us not, we do believe,
We’re grateful for gifts we receive.
Lord, how much longer must we wait
To greet You at God’s Golden Gate ?
Oh blessed Lord, please hear my plea
And save a piece of sky for me
A dusky eve or starlit night
Perhaps a rainbow’s sweet delight.
And for your pleasure, I will raise
A song of love and joyous praise
Come join me Lord and hear me pray
That you’ll take me with you to stay !
Sometimes I want to yell and scream
To exit from this madd’ning scene
The world I love is gone from here
It shall not ever reappear.
Instead all that I’ve valued so
Packed up its bags and had to go
Tis sad the time has gone
No reason left to carry on.
Small matter what we say or do
Our stay on earth is overdue
Let’s count our blessings one by one
And thank the Lord this journey’s done !
I hear the train move on the track
I think it says ” click-clack, click-clack “,
And wings upon the breeze to here
Appearing to be ever near.
Our journey soon will reach its end
Without our luggage or dear friend
We’ve bid goodbye as trav’lers do,
Goodbye, so long and toodle-oo !
I hear the whistle of the train
Reverberating in my brain
Its lonesome wail echoes so clear
And sends a song into my ear
There is a mystery you bring
With every plaintive note you sing.
Oh how I wish to ride with you
Until my sojourn here is through
But that can never be, my friend
Our journey lasts until its end !
Before I entered in life’s maze
I’d been alive a thousand days
I walked and talked and learned to sing
Good manners came with everything.
My mother, she was but sixteen
Had never been a high school queen
She was my best friend my whole life
Through happy days and those of strife.
The hard times came, then went away
But left the scars of yesterday
Sometimes when I do quiet sit
Those memories may be relit.
I’ve often wondered how we did
When daddy died, I was a kid
Today the days just seem to fly
I must learn now to say goodbye !
I’m walking alone on this long, long road
My soul is laden with a heavy load
The pace is labored but my aim intent
There are no excuses left to invent.
I have had a dream of these ups and downs
Some full of smiles and a few with deep frowns
It’s wisdom we need when courage abates
To give life a chance before it’s too late !
We found ourselves in wilderness
Two thousand years ago
And knew the road to our success
Did need God’s love to grow !
A man he traveled on a road, it was to Damascus
His name was Saul when he began, though now he’s Paul to us
While on that journey long ago there was a lesson learned
You can’t take credit for good deeds that you have not yet earned !
I have wept alone but a million tears
And battled with close to a thousand fears
I have argued in vain a hundred ways
And struggled and lost for too many days.
I have wakened often in darkest night
The victim of unreasonable fright
I have said my prayers aloud to my God
And have asked for aid and a gentle prod.
I am sure that He will always be there
Through the bleakest night or a day quite fair
I shall beg His help to carry my load
And to stay with me on this last long road !
I have trod a perilous path in my search for the Lord
And have paid a precious price much more than I could afford
I left my old world behind in search of His peace and grace
Knowing well in advance that I can never see His face.
Now the love of the Lord is beside me where ere I go
And the moments that He guides me are what I’ve come to know
The road is longer than I thought, much greater is its cost
It doesn’t matter what it takes without Him I am lost !
Sometimes the road is rocky, sometimes it’s dusty too
Sometimes it’s filled with traffic, sometimes there’s but a few
Along life’s road there’s trouble perhaps no happy end
This is no simple matter for each must find a friend
With all the grit and dirt, the rocks, pebbles and each stone
God never meant for us that we travel on alone !
Sometimes I think I hear the angels sing
Quite like the sound of gentle whispering
I’ve never heard the flutter of their wings
Though it might add to our imaginings !
I do not think I’ll ever get to see
Those angel faces watching over me
There in the shadow of our ecstasy
Where they are veiled in anonimity.
I am prepared to trust they are all here,
God’s helpful watchdogs with their mission clear
To seek and find as each last path appears
The journey follows without mortal fears !
Winds of fate at the edge of space
Whisper sounds that are out of place
They signal all that we are lost
With none to count the total cost !
We need renew our faith again
Or find a path to where and when
This chore appears to be a task
Perhaps too much for us to ask!
I want to know about my dreams
And if they fit into life’s schemes,
How are they meant to pave the way
To help me breach the last relay?
The vigil bell rings loud and clear
Declaring one sojourner here
The task is hard, perhaps too long
To reach God’s ears by evensong !
I’ve cast my lot upon the wind
Forgive me Lord, I know I’ve sinned
There is no time to come again
My visit soon must meet its end !
I’m on a journey I’m traveling alone
The passage is slow and the cast is unknown
It’s terribly far and sometimes it’s too dark
I must carry on though its outcome is stark.
I’ve been on this road for a very long time
How I wish it would end it’s such a steep climb
My spirit is weary more so with each day
When I’ve reached the conclusion I’ll kneel and pray.
It’s a cumbersome thought that now piques the mind
At the finish of life what is it we’ll find ?
What shall we do
When winter calls
And those we knew
Leave empty halls ?
Secure the door
We’ve wandered thru
They’ll tred no more
Within our view.
The place they’re bound
Is far away
It can’t be found
No, not today.
We’ll need a break
And patience there
It may just take
A special prayer.
The night is cool and the wind is swift
As the breezes spin and twirl and lift
Reaching far above the chimneys rise
Into the breach between earth and skies.
Where does it lead as we make our way
What will we do there, what can we say ?
Searching the hearts of one another
We’ve still wisdom left to uncover,
It’s crucial to pause when growing old
Keep images clear and courage bold
Accepting lifes role doing our best
Waiting in line, Gods ultimate test !
When life’s journey is ending it’s a task too hard
And time to place your burden in the care of God
Praying for the help to lift the cumbersome load
Too much for one person on life’s ultimate road.
So raise your glass high in this last toast as you leave
Say your farewells with truth that we need to believe !
My heart is like the engine of a train
I don’t know why and hope I can explain
I do believe that all the hurt and fear
And time so full of joy and love live here
Together and may prove that life can be
A complex ride of wide diversity.
This little train of mine may chug its way
Along the rails we count upon each day
And find its voyage full of stops and starts
Touched by the strength and pace of beating hearts
Unlike my shiny train that’s made of steel
How does this muscle love and ache and feel ?
I am consumed with a wonderment of God’s world
Its untold secrets hid, its banners left unfurled
The promise of its vision clear now soon to come
Not by the will of man or beast to welcome some
With open heart, love of God and uncluttered mind,
The courage to accept the treasure we may find
No sacrifice can be too large to comprehend
The great beauty we shall know at our journey’s end.
The beauty of aging is the peace that it brings
And the visions of life bearing hope on its wings
Like the wind in the trees in a timeless embrace
Caressing the dreams shining bright on this pale face.
So we travel along while expecting not much
Just the hint of a smile and the joy of a touch
With a wave of the hand and a quiet “good night”
As the eyes close in sleep “tis the end of the flight !
I have traveled so far along lifes thorny way
Searching for peace to follow the end of each day
As these days quickly fly like the turn of a page
We need courage and wisdom both cautious and sage.
I used to be married to this person I know
I must say that it was such a long time ago.
Perhaps had been better if a stranger were he
Unless one of us moves seems I’ll never be free
We live in this small town that’s only one mile square
If I shop in a store you can bet he’ll be there.
It has been forty long years since we shared a home
Much nicer this way as we are each on our own.
And now we are friends and can casually chat
About family and such, about this and that.
It’s been a long road the healing did not come quick
Looks like fate had a laugh and has played us a trick.
So here we are approaching the end of the trail
With our egos intact and a marriage that failed !
As I scurry about my daily plan
Rapidly rushing as fast as I can
A miraculous thing for one so old
It’s a job to warm my bones in the cold.
And if you don’t think that’s a chore itself
With a grunt and a groan, reach for a shelf
When your body’s progressed to this late stage
Folks give you a seat because of your age.
I laugh when I think that’s where I am at
I recall the days when men tipped their hat
Now they raise their hand ’til you cross the way
And wish you a greeting, ” Have a safe day ! ”
Whoever thought that I’d wind up like this
Just an old lady surviving with bliss?
I stand upon some mountain’s peak
To gather words with which I’ll speak,
Inform the world that I have learned
What wisdom bought and patience earned.
Too oft I’ve seen and much too late
That human love is laced with hate
And chiding words while meaning well
Through futile waste and time dispel
An arrow that lays deeply bound
Into the breast that it has found.
And so it is that as I strayed
I heard the ache of those who preyed,
I saw the grief of those who need
Much loving care and special heed.
I turned away and tip-toed passed
My pulse beat loud, my breath came fast
I bowed my head with hidden shame
And damned the cause for which I came
Such weariness within my soul
One endless search for self-control.
Am I not bold to travel on
To seek this myth of Avalon?
Today I looked out o’er my roof and reached into the skies
And wonderment consumed my mind ere I did realize.
“ Why spring is coming soon” I thought, my mind became alive,
I sent a little prayer to God my garden would survive.
Sometimes I think that I react too swiftly and too soon
Yet all the seeds that earth has hid are readying to bloom.
My garden spreads much happiness where calm and peace abide
And if the world’s in deep turmoil, I’m safe and sure inside.
Now soon the bulbs will sprout again and showtime will arrive
And aims that went to sleep last year will somehow be revived.
Last night I shivered in the cold and thought what dark provides
A resting space, a quiet place, a niche where challenge hides.
The healing need for body sore or tired limbs implore
When all of life’s complexities by choice I may ignore.
And as I pass my time this way no creature will I mar
I simply wish to join God’s host that waits upon His star.
While here and there some snow remains reminding me of pain
The dripping ice above the wall vows warmth will come again.
Should I awake this way once more and wonder what I am
I will remember that each day has purpose and a plan
And while my life continues this timeless hope I knew
To be a part and follow in His countless retinue.
