The dreams we dreamt when we were young
The words we spoke, the songs we sung
The search for peace we tried to bring
Into our lives with hymns to sing
Has left us now with voices mute
All wisdom lost there in pursuit.
We cannot breathe we dare not think
This world is trembling on the brink
Oh sad the plight that is our view
Oh God above what shall we do ?
EXCUSE ME while I share ! Over 65 years ago someone shared the following
poem with me when my father died after a 9 year battle with brain cancer. I
have been sharing this piece by James Whitcomb Riley since (less 12 lines) :
I cannot say and I will not say
That he is dead, he is just away
With a cheery smile and a wave of the hand
He has wandered into an unknown land
And left us dreaming how very fair
It needs must be since he lingers there.
And you, oh you who the wildest yearn
For the old time step and the glad return.
Think of him faring on as dear
In the love of there as the love of here
Think of him still as the same I say
He is not gone he is just away.
Sincerely, Claire B.
Another day dawns full of light
To breach the stillness of the night
Under the clouds of starry sky
While angels weep and brave men cry.
Pray for silence of noise and din
Our worlds are suffering within
What words have I to offer you,
Oh Lord of all, this can’t be true !
What evil deeds are flung about
By those who claim to be devout
If this is life for fellow man
There’s no escape, no other plan !
Oh tender thought so peaceful here
Please whisk away my wildest fear
You mold each frown into a smile
And urge me make my life worthwhile
I beg You not to leave my side
Where will I go, where can I hide ?
For in the dark I will be blind
Where is the road that I must find,
This path that leads to God above
Securing His eternal love ?
Softly, softly, along the way
How much is left for us to say,
What will happen, where will we go
Will time soon stop or grow and grow ?
How soon will this road turn and bend
Our history, where will it end ?
The cause is just, the timings right
We seek that future full of light
And justice for all humankind
With peace the aim we pray to find !
The night is long while day is fleet
Dawn births the thought that life is sweet
The quiet hours will not remain
They’re like the calm that follows rain.
The tender haze from which we wake
Is filled with hope that morn will break
Upon a sight to warm the heart
And grant our lives a new restart !
It’s not the passion but it is the love
That lifts the hearts seeking to rise above
The pulse and the fray of everyday stress
That tatters our dreams, our spirits depress.
I’d like to know how to set things aright
To parry with foes attacking the light
Granting respect for each other instead
Helping another to share our life’s bread.
This is the way that good folk need to be
If they hope that freedom will remain free,
Peace is the reason we’ve chosen to care
Love is the gift we must learn how to share !
Good morning sun we meet again
One feels your warmth upon the pane
We hear the sounds of creatures small
As one by one they coo and call.
How strange it is to wake this way
And greet the world at start of day
With little thought upon the mind
About the futures we may find.
Tomorrow can be time suffice
To do the work and pay the price
Today’s the day to take awhile
And thank the Lord with one huge smile !
I had a dream I can’t recall
If it was spring or it was fall
There was no snow upon the ground
And in the air no chill was found.
Where was that place I do not know
All this occurred so long ago
The air was clear the sky was blue
Peace filled my heart its aim was true.
I’d like to reach that quiet space
Before my life outruns its race
I’m weary now nowhere to hide
I beg that God stays by my side.
It may not seem to be quite right
But there are times I wake at night
So sure that God is by my side
I lose all fear and will abide
Within this world of safety first
Where ancient words still quench my thirst !
I love the songs they used to sing
The Psalms I keep remembering
The hopes and joys once promised us
As voices raised sang glorious
Accompanied by cherubim
Applauding God and thanking Him !
Poor old teddy bear, waiting tired and time-worn
Reminding me of many nights spent too forlorn,
We have seen better days when your soft coat was new
And all the dreams we dared to dream seemed overdue.
I put away my childhood toys as I grew old
Because I’d sought the happiness that futures hold.
While childish hopes are based upon small simple things
They fade into the lonely past that growing brings.
Sometimes I wish, with all my heart, I could recall
That yesteryear, so long ago, when I was small.
There’s a precious amount of brief security
In loving a teddy bear who loves only me.
In darkest night I hear the sound
Of silence folding all around
The gentle sway of emptiness
Enlightens my need of success.
The morn will come and light the way
To help me face a bright new day
Another start, another try
These gifts the world does not deny.
Since time decides if I have failed,
My heart concludes, the ship has sailed
I’ll clasp my hands and close my eyes
And lose myself in paradise !
If love had arms, I’d clasp you close
Unto my heart and then disclose
The passion that we never knew
Just lingered there and grew and grew.
It simmered on the edge of fate
It flourished soon but came too late
There never was one chance that we
Would spend our lives in parity.
But that was oh, so long ago
Who can remember, who will know
Sometimes a breeze caresses me
What is it that I cannot see ?
Evening arrives I close my eyes
And drift off into paradise
Morning awakes as daytime breaks
I carry on in spite of aches.
While noble deeds are not my style
I want my life to bring a smile
A simple nod, a happy word
Some small aside, not too absurd !
I need to feel the warmth inside
Assured that truth does here reside,
As I welcome my nightly rest
I thank my God, He knows the best.
I am alive and well
And oh, such truth to tell
I seek one last foray
Into the fading gray.
Too soon the dark must call
While nighttime covers all
Obscuring all the rest
To take God’s final test !
I thought myself alone one day
When voices soon came out to play
They called my name and cheered me on
Return with them to times long gone.
I dreamt I was transported back
To childhoods trust and angers lack
To days of joy when friendships grew
And sharing dreams were things we knew.
Then I awoke to noise and din
Into our world engrossed in sin
I wish I knew how to return
To that safe place of love and learn !
I hear the cries of desperate men
Who do long to breathe freedom again
The sound arrives on the stillest air
I feel their pain and their dark despair.
On the lonely nights that winter brings
How can they bear all their sufferings ?
In a foreign land and so alone
May God bless those who are far from home !
Tis Christmastime, it’s here once more
The folks we love rush through the door
We greet them all with happy face
They’re all decked out in tweeds and lace !
We’ll dine and open gifts en masse
We’ll hug and kiss and take a glass
Of Yuletide nog or maybe beer
To wish us all the best of cheer.
Along the way we may recall
The reason that we’ve gathered all,
It’s not about the gifts and things
It is the message this day brings !
I heard the prayers said on Christmas Day
From the bloody wars a world away
As they echoed loudly through the hall
Upon my heart fell a heavy pall
That felt like a weight I could not lift
I know peace is an elusive gift !
Somehow all my tears refuse to cease
From war and death there seems no release.
So I begged God for a helping hand
To cleanse this lost and forgotten land
And I shall wait for my answer clear
Pray it won’t take forever to hear !
There’s a faerie house shining so fragile and bright
Like a beacon that guides the forgotten at night,
Upon each branch of each tree whether fir or pine
Are glistening sights that choose to sparkle or shine,
In the ice laden limb of each lacy bent tree
There’s a crystal palace that I’m able to see.
When I was a small child what I’d give to live there
Free from this world with all its pain waste and despair
But now that I’m grown and my lessons are all learned
I’ll pray that I find the peace I think I have earned !
This heart of mine has run its race
But finds there is a lot more space
To gather in those left outside
Who’ve lost their way, their hope, their pride.
They need some help to reinvent
The manner days and lives are spent
While we who’ve tred this path before
Have learned to knock upon the door
That opens wide to Gods true way
To teach, to help, to thank, to pray !
The time has come the book is read
We will not scurry to our bed
For all our dreams will fade and die
In that brief space we bid goodbye.
The earthly stores we hid away
Will come to nought on that last day
Our lives were meant to end in grace
As we now know it’s God we face.
The winds of war blow harsh and shrill
To pierce the heart with their bone chill
Battles fought without thought or care
While wars are waged by those who’d dare.
Fear that’s wrought upon the living
Small time spent in kindness giving
To save the world and aid the meek
The peace of God has none to speak.
There to some end that one can’t name
They kill the young, the old, the game
Both sides lay dying in the street
Finality which tastes defeat,
The sense of it one cannot see
Oh war, where is thy victory ?
Her gentle smile, her charm and grace
Her tender ways, her sweet, sweet face
She’s left us with her last embrace
And gone to find God’s holy place.
The dawn breaks bright and full of hope
And carries wisdom in its scope
Today can be victorious
A new beginning glorious.
Delighted that we have been heard
We’ll find our faith in sacred word
We’ve lost the joy that life should be
With treasured love and symmetry.
We’re sure it’s there we see the light
It gives us ease to view the sight
The lesson learned we must agree
To know God’s perfect harmony.
I find myself alone at last
The victim of this stormy blast
That brewed unseen for hours long
And raged with wind both wild and strong
It now appears it’s blown away
And will return some other day !
The older we get, the more precious the memories, do you agree ? Those terrible years of the Great depression followed by the worldwide destruction of war will forever bring tears to my eyes and a longing in my heart that knows no consolation ! The cost was too high, the loss too great. It engendered a new wave in poetry and literature, Plath, Pound, Masefield, Yeats, Steinbeck, Houseman. I’ve chosen to quote John Masefield. You’ve read about the English teacher who opened my mind and eyes, Lorena Fry, she worked in this country most of her adult life, was born and educated in England and returned home each summer and upon her retirement moved there permanently. Her family home abutted that of Masefield and according to her they were good friends ( I often thought she loved him, my girlish musings ! Woodstock ? ). I am sorry that she never knew how she broadened my life ! This is from “Tewkesbury Road” : “O, to feel the beat of the rain, and the homely smell of the earth, Is a tune for the blood to jig to, a joy past power of words; And the blessed green comely meadows are all a ripple with mirth At the noise of the lambs at play and the dear wild cry of the birds”.
John Masefield Please read this poetic genius and his words and dream !
Sincerely, Claire B.
Our lips must whisper a fervent prayer
Our hearts must echo its plaintive air
The mist must cover the nights delay
The winds must carry our breath away
We need give life one more chance to find
Some lasting peace that won’t cloud our mind
It matters not where the blame must fall
Remember God helps forgive us all !
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Claire V. Bogdanos 