My heart has cried too many tears
Through all those lean and lonely years
When God alone was my one hope
The only way I learned to cope.
I can’t forget He helped me through
Sad days that were both grim and blue
Without His love there’s no success
And life can be too full of stress.
I’m glad that He was always there
To lift my pain, my burdens share
I know that I am not alone
God is my Rock, my healing stone !
I am a simple gardener along life’s verdant way
I’ve seen the flowers come and go and know they shall not stay
Fact is our lives are seasonal and vary day by day
I hope that we may settle soon and clasp our hands to pray !
I’ve learned to live from day to day
Perform my task and pay my way
To stand up for what’s right not wrong
And teach my heart how to be strong.
I’d like to be a child of peace
And pray world chaos soon would cease
However I know that can’t be
Until our Lord deigns we are free !
I love You Lord, I know You see
That I have placed my faith in Thee
Though time has passed I feel the loss
And why You suffered on that cross !
I wish I knew a leafy bower
Where I might rest for but an hour
And there among those pleasant scenes
I’d pass my time and dream my dreams !
Our lives have wandered far afield
And cannot know what time will yield
We beg that God will understand
And lend to us His helping hand.
The world is done and stranger still
Few people care, some never will
We wend our way among the maze
Of trying and forgotten days.
This generation, it is lost
There is no way to count the cost
All heaven’s tears are raining down
Oh save us Lord, lest we should drown !
When I recall how life is spent
I wonder where my childhood went
I guess the aged think like me
Together we share empathy.
In all the time that has gone by
Seems childhood is the first to fly
The lessons learned, the very best
They’ve helped us to survive life’s test.
We made it through this miracle
No stopping now, what e’er we do !
Hang on to your wishes whatever they are
For a life without dreams will never go far !
Speak softly now, oh my sweet soul
And we shall make it to our goal
Let kindness be the guide we use
While arrogance must we refuse.
For who is there will bear the pain
Of impudence again, again
The folly of impatient fools
Will put to waste all proper rules.
Beware my dear we have small choice
Tis better far speak sotto voiced !
Now I have lived my life complete
Met with success and with defeat
Saw my hopes shattered and decayed
And all my dreams destroyed, delayed.
I’ve lived alone without embrace
And spent some time in empty space
I’ve loved and laughed in my small world
And dodged the troubles life has hurled.
I found my faith was ever strong
And early learned where I belonged
There’s but one place I pray to go
When it comes time for my last show !
I find myself remembering
Those things that once were used to be
When days were sweet and lingering
And hearts were fond of liberty
While life itself was happening
And peace was all we sought to see !
My heart has been alone too long
It’s learned to sing a solo song
The words get lost along the way
The melody has gone astray.
Yet sure I am as nighttime falls
My memory of faith recalls
Those joys that God does share with me
The beauty of His world I see !
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 !
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 !
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 ?
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!
When I grew up life was so hard
There were no swing sets in the yard
And baby sitters were unknown
Your parents left you home alone
There were no bathrooms in the house
You took the path to an outhouse.
We never minded that at all
Although at times I thought I’d fall
Into that abyss in the ground
Without a hope of being found
That’s how I learned to be so brave
Like all the candles I still save.
Yet life was real and full of hope
One didn’t in the darkness grope,
It made us strong and very wise
Our world was full of great surprise.
God gave us will to make a choice
To use our hands and heart and voice.
The stoves were big and black and bold
And kept us warm through winter cold
Each family had an icebox
No TV but a small voice-box
We cherished it, both girl and boy
Those days of old were full of joy !
Our Lord now bides in heaven but stays close to our side
In keeping so near by us, He finds us when we hide
To hope that we might touch Him, what a joy that would be
But it can’t ever happen that’s not allowed you see
And so we are content just to know that He is there
Sure it is He loves us all and hears our smallest prayer !
We see remains of vicious war
And wonder what it all was for
The broken bodies, missing parts
With active minds and aching hearts.
How will we reach the end of this
It won’t be cured with just a kiss
The work entailed is mass indeed
This task demands the utmost speed.
We can’t permit this fear to grow
It’s time solutions start to show
Get off your perch and pull up tall
Or we shall never stand at all!
The steeple bells ring loud and clear
They seem to sing “So glad you’re here”
That joyous song now fills the air
Advising spring will soon be there.
See how my heart does skip a beat
I sense a spriteness in my feet
The sky is clear, the air is clean
The peace of God’s upon the scene !
The sands of time slip fast away
To herald passing of each day
The seeds of life lie in decay
Among the remnants cast away.
Where is the truth we know to be
Tight bound in chains across the sea
Who will escape this mutiny
And who at last shall set us free ?
I try so hard to no judgements make
Some things I’ve seen cause my heart to break
I sight fear on the face of a child,
Abuse and hatred reports high-piled.
The truth began with one infant’s birth
Who was sent to us to save our earth
Today it’s like He was never born
This world is angry, lost and forlorn.
How can we discard what life’s about
Belief in our God and faith devout ?
The winds have swept this coat of white
Across the rooftops through the night
The streets lay silent and pristine
With winter’s stamp upon the scene.
The birds seem quiet deep in sleep
For how much longer may we keep
This peaceful picture in our mind
To help us all some comfort find ?
Today’s the day I need to say
I thank You Lord for every day
The love and care, the food and drink
And all the pleasant thoughts I think.
My heart is Yours forevermore
I’ve never felt this way before
I promise that I shall be true
And vow to live my life for You !
There is a place that waits for me
Beyond the waves, across the sea
Perhaps a cove or sandy beach
Seawater splashed and unimpeached.
God’s creatures waiting one and all
Adhering to the Saviour’s call
We stand in line there to await
Determination of our fate !
The stars shine brightly through the night
The planets veil themselves from sight
The moon plays hide and seek up high
The winds do moan and heave and sigh
The world at best seems lost in space
And cannot seem to find its place !
We need to be careful along life’s weary way
So that we do not waste one solitary day
For days are short and lives are somewhat shorter too
Before we are aware our time is overdue
I think that life is so full of varied blendings
Though I prefer to wish for more happy endings !
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Claire V. Bogdanos 