A Broken Promise

There, on my table, in the center stood
In crystal on the polished wood,
A rose,
Exquisite in design.
Its head, a crown, more finely shaped
Then any by a mortal made.
Its strength, a thorn, poised and secure,
A promise ring,
Of long life sure.
Its breath, a healing for the soul,
A touch of love,
Sweet, beautiful and whole.
Each silken pedal
Perfectly the other wed,
But there on my table,
The rose was dead.

The Nuptial of Time

Dawn, Kissing the morning,
Caressed the earth
With loving glance,
Faint smile,
Fleeting touch,
Tenderly embraced then
Wed the new day.

And earth,
In silent ecstasy,
Stretched forth
Responding arms,
Whispered
The song of life
In waking trills,
And danced with me.

Yesterday

Yesterday was Monday,
A day without a sunray.
I said to myself, “I bet!
If I go outside, I’ll get wet.”

So I sat down in my chair,
Believing I had no care.
When all of a sudden, “Ouch, eek!”
The roof above me sprung a leak.

By Design

While mankind slept
Nature wept. –
And in that loving
Act of weeping
Life, -
Fragile and precious
Was keeping.

After the Rain

When storm clouds gather
And darken the sky,
Fear not!  He is with you,
And bids you draw nigh.

When torrents of rain fall,
Breaking forth like a flood,
Be not dismayed,
He still is your God.

In the midst of the rain,
The Son will appear,
Renew broken spirits,
And still your every fear.

Did the Bugle Weep for You?

My father, young and full of dreams
Of life yet to be lived thereafter,
Of your mother’s smile, your wife’s soft touch
Of your sons’ and daughters’ laughter.

Cold duty called you to take arms
To defend against advancing guns
Of men also with dreams and hopes
For their future days and loved ones.

My father, young and full of lifelong dreams
An evil and a senseless war then hatefully slew
Your hopes, your dreams and your life still young.

At the end of day, did the bugle weep for you?

Come and See

Come and see the inn’s stable and stall
Where I came to earth to rescue all.
Come to where I turned water to wine,
And see the Father’s power and Mine.

See, I healed the leper, the lame and blind.
Can this healing be the work of mankind?
Behold the ones who for Lazarus did grieve.
I did it for God’s glory that you might believe.

See Me stand before Pilote, while Caiaphas scorns,
Bleeding, degraded, mocked with a crown of thorns.
Come to the cross. Behold Me hanging silently there
Where I forgave you with My last words in prayer.

Come to the tomb.  See the stone rolled away.
Come and see where My body once lay.
Will you not open your hearts door to Me?
I long to enter your life, and set you free.

Come and see.

 

Why?

Why does the wind both caress and bite?
Why does the sun warm and burn?
Why do the stars light and hide the night?
Why do weeping willows golden turn?

Why do children joy and sorrow bring?
Why does time bind and break all ties?
Why does the universe ache and sing?
While my heart loves and cries.
Why?

Thinking of You

I think that I should try to say
How much you mean to me,
How much I think of you always,
How oft’ and tenderly.

Before it dawns you’re in my thoughts
And stay there all the day,
For happiness to me you’ve brought

More than I can repay.

How Can You Tell and How Will I Know?

Father, I love to run, I love to play, meet many friends and go out after dark.
Why must I take care, why stop to think, why not go out at night to the park?

The road is not always straight, those living are not always good, my child.
Some of those pretty parks and those inviting eyes grow poisonous and wild.

But father, my father, I love to meet friends, I love to dance and I love to sing,
To laugh and drive fast on the highway and smell sweet, red roses in spring.

It is good to have friends, it is good to sing, and it’s good to dance and have fun,
But remember that highways have curves and many roses have thorns, my son.

But father, my father, how can you be sure? Please tell me how I will know
What roads I should travel, what flowers to smell, and to whom to say, “No?”

You will find the right way by those roads we have traveled together along.
And you will know evil people, my dear child, for their heart has no love song.
WHM 01/09

An Awakening
I heard from streams a new song rise,
Echoing along the hills’ tall throng.
I saw in barren fields a bluebell wake,
Joining in dance the murmuring song.
I drank beneath trees a sweeter air,
Mingling in blossoms all the day long.
I touched a newborn blade of grass,
Flirting with the wind and growing strong.
I dreamed of nature’s bountiful cup today,
Of a faint, mellow hint of the coming of May.

Life’s for the Living
The day may be gloomy, filled with dreary hours of pain,
The sun stays hidden in black clouds and ice cold rain,
Each minute passing so slowly, not like a walk in the park.
No starlight in high heaven leaving all shrouded in dark.
But brave hearts we meet, courageous examples to us all,
In spite of the pain and the gloom, still smile and stand tall.
In the midst of the darkness, starless nights and cold rain,
They’ll say life’s for the living, and laughing, defy the pain.