Sometimes....

Sometimes you start a poem and you know exactly where it's going and other times you get started and it just kind of wanders off on its own. This is an example of the second. Here it is...such as it is.

Hand in Hand

Long ago

She captured his heart

As they held hands

But young love

Seldom lasts

And they stopped

Holding hands

Life happened

With hope and joy

Sorrow and pain

And

Paths diverged

Dreams achieved

And shattered

But a quiet longing

Marked them all

Every night

The stars knew

Their longing

They wanted

To hold hands.

I Don't Remember This One.

I can remember at least something of the origins of most of the poems I write. This is the exception. I include it here because it was in the stack and I made a promise to myself to post every poem I've ever written....

Moment

Here, alone in the depth of

Lightless night

I choose my time to cry

A few tears of pleasant

Sorrow.

Bitterness is not found in my heart,

For we did not live a lie

And hatred never invaded our lives

We know that it was good

And that we grew

The happiness we knew

Will never fade away

We blessed each other’s lives

For a while

As we grow from today to tomorrow

Let us know peace

That what had happened

Had run its course

And was good

For both of us. 

For a Friend

I visited with a friend today. He has cancer and is not expected to live many more months. I will miss him but know that we shall see each other again in heaven. I wrote this for him.

Difficult Days

Kneeling

Next to his friend

Taking

His hand

Tears flowing freely

Cancer

A hateful name

For an even more

Hateful disease

There was no joy

In his eyes

Pain wracked

His beaten spirit

No words

Can bridge the gap

Between the now

And tomorrow

Whispered prayers

Of hope

Between two men

Say enough

Dark days to come

With tears and pain

Aren’t enough

To break the spirit

They part

These two friends

Knowing

There are few left

But certain of

A reunion.

October 22, 2013

Just in case you ever wondered.....

I've been amazed at the responses to the poems I've posted. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end.....and so I now publish what is easily the worst poem put on this blog so far. This dates from either high school or my first two years of college and features without a doubt the worst ending to anything that doesn't begin with "it was a dark and stormy night."

They're not all as bad as this....I hope.

I Can’t Seem to Say What I Want to Say

Who can place the value of your friendship

For to me you have been invaluable

In those times when life is ready to pull me under

The waves of depression

And sadness that so often

Rise up and slap at us with evil intent.

Your friendship is more

Valuable than the most precious metals

And it sparkles more brilliantly

Than diamonds

And is more beautiful

Than the peaceful blue-green sea

Your friendship is more lasting

Than the earth and sky and sea

And is more solid than the

Foundations of the earth

I seem to feel that you will always be there

If ever I need you

And I want you to know

That you will always mean a lot to me.

It seems somehow irrelevant to post this today....but I thought; "what the heck!"

My Top Ten Ways to Fix the Government Shut Down

10. Pay all Congressmen and Presidential Staff in Monopoly Money.

9. Really shut down the government....really!

8. Only pay those who are non-congressional employees.

7. Fire all Congressmen and Senators and employ them as security guards at war memorials waiting to be visited by angry veterans.

6. Threaten to make all members of the House and Senate look at pictures of Nancy Pelosi without make-up and in a bikini.

5. Send them all to China, Russia, Mongolia, the Antarctic....anywhere!

4. Make them all work for free in a day-care center...I mean after all, they all act like toddlers anyway.

3. Threaten to take away John Boehner’s supply of visine real tears.

2.  Fire the entire bunch of idiots, cancel their pensions, and hold new elections in 60 days....with no previous office holders allowed to run.

1. Why fix the government? We seem to be doing ok without it!

Written 10/6/13

Hot Off the Press!

Lest you think that everything I've ever written comes from years and years ago....here is one that was written in the last 30 min!

A Cry in the Dark

I am wounded

My heart pierced by sorrow

My soul burdened

By a load too great

For me to bear

Who is there

To bind my wounds

To soothe the great aching

Of my soul

Where are the arms

That would hold

Me in the dark

So that I might rest

Who would sing

Over me

Songs of hope

Words of love

And peace

Only the hands

That formed the worlds

Can dry my tears

There is

Only one

Who is my hope

The Great God

Who gave His Son

He is all I need.

October 14, 2013

October 13, 2013

Sight

When I struggle

With circumstance

Remind me who

Walked on water

In times of joy

Unspeakable

Give me the spirit

Of a king who danced

So many times

I forget who you are

And what you’ve done

For me

Open these eyes

Let them see

Wonders, beauty and

Mysteries

Let me see

You

Written Feb. 23, 2011

Sometimes a Lack of Sleep.....

I have never slept much....in fact the most sleep I have gotten at one time in the last 4 weeks is 3 hours...but one of the advantages of such frequent insomnia is that my creativity has a chance to let itself out. Today's selection is one of those late night treats (Depending on your point of view, of course).

Honest Doubts

Where are You

When my senses fail

And I can’t see

Beyond circumstances?

My heart fails

As easily as my resolve.

It’s hard to follow

What I can’t see

My heart and head

Are at war

Leaving me immobile

And afraid

Remind my head,

Strengthen my heart,

Give me courage

To face the dark

You’ve not left me

And You cannot forget.

Pour your love on me

And I’ll know victory

Written Feb. 21,2011

Gone But Not Forgotten

I have been blessed to know a lot of people in my life....and I've managed to keep up with many of them. There are a few that I've lost touch with, and I am sorry for that. This poem is about one of those friends that have drifted away.

Wondering Where You Are

We were never

More than friends

A few brief moments of calm

In the turmoil of high school

You shared your heart

In what could have been

The start of romance

If not for fear

And then life

Ended our brief interlude

And the winds blew us

Separate ways

But I have never

Forgotten you

And still wonder

If you are well

Did life ever

Get better for you?

Did you leave behind

Your great sorrow?

My hearts hopes

That you found love

That joy became

Your companion

I want nothing more

Than to know

You’re happy

written in 2013

Sometimes you get a hit and sometimes you swing and miss

sometimes you just cant' control what comes out of the pen and onto the page....This is an example of just such a happening.

Dreams

Long ago

When I was young

There were no mysteries

Just answers

Yet to be found

The world was mine

And time was nothing

Of consequence

As long as you

Were by my side

But years have

Come and gone

Making me

Less swift

But unbowed

I have accepted

That there are

Mysteries

That I may never

Solve

But as long as you’re

By my side

The world is still young

And so am I

written in 2010

Back in Time

I must confess that this poem is one of my favorites. My first pastorate was a small church in the middle of the woods, not the place one would expect to find a BMW. You can imagine my surprise one Sunday morning when I found a '97 BMW Z3 convertible sitting in the parking lot.....She was a sweet looking ride. A church member had come to her "summer house" and had brought her car with her. It was love at first sight.

That love grew into a passion when a few months later she brought me the car to baby-sit while she went on vacation....It was the longest, best, most exciting three weeks of my life. I drove that car everywhere....I visited everyone associated with the church...multiple times.

This poem is a fond reminiscence of that car.

Riding in a Time Machine

I put the top down today

And was young again.

No worries, no cares

Just the wind blowing through

What’s left of my hair.

The radio was loud

And the songs were old

But my heart sang

With a joy that was new.

Wow!

I remembered long walks

Quiet talks

Stolen kisses and hidden tears.

And it was fun.

I put the top down today

And was young again.

No worries, no cares,

Just the wind blowing through

What’s left of my hair.

Let’s do it again.

2003

Poking Myself

I warned you when I started this experiment that I would post many different types of things. Today is the first of those many different types of things. I must confess that I have always appreciated David Letterman's humor...especially his Top Ten lists. I've written my own Top Ten Lists for at least 25 years. So to prove two things: 1) I indeed can write something other than bad poetry, and 2) I have a sense of humor about my appearance...I present to you a Top Ten List from 2010....

Top Ten Ways to Tell You’ve Gone Bald

10.  Three words: “Bird-target-practice!”

9. FAA wants you to wear a hat outside because the reflection off your head is blinding pilots.

8. You’ve exchanged your comb for a chamois cloth.

7. You grew a beard just to prove you could grow hair somewhere.

6. You don’t lose pencils perched on your ear anymore.

5. When buried to your neck at the beach you’re often mistaken for a beach ball.

4. You know that bald-guy Sean Connery was once named “Sexiest Man of the Year” by People Magazine.*

3. Every year at Halloween you dress up like Uncle Fester from the Addams Family and no one notices.

2. Women find you irresistible....in your dreams!

1. God’s not the only one to know the number of hairs on your head.

*1989