On the scale of life
Where one learns to weigh
The good with the bad
One would soon discover
That weighing one with the other
Is not capable of being had
For
In life’s living tapestry
Interwoven with twisted black and white strands
Of
Unforeseen moments
Complicated relationships
Unavoidable tragedies
Where
Good is good
Bad is good
And all things are as they should
For all things that happen
Happen for the good…(Rm8:28)

A city boy
With city ways
Blue collar parents
With not much to say
Learning the lessons of life
On the street
Where good and evil
Always meet

His friends where his whole world
School never mattered
The bonds they had
Could not be shattered

Fell in love
And to this day
No other love
Has ever come his way

Unlike Frost
He took the road most traveled
Swallowed up
He watched his life unravel

Chose a career
He didn’t plan
Honors and accolades
A successful man

Alone in himself
But never alone
Surrounded by family
He called his own

Lost his manhood
One day in March
But life over death
Was the only way

A Christian man
Never did compromise
You would believe
If you look into his eyes

A compassionate man
But you would never know it
Sensitive and caring
He’d seldom showed it

Waiting the appointed time
For his soul to be awaken
To return home
His earthly life taken
******************************
“Lord make me know my end
and what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how transient I am.”
Psalm 39-4
“Behold You have made my days as handbreadths,
and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely
every man at his best is a mere breath.Surely
every man walks about like a phantom; Surely
They make an uproar for nothing; Surely
He amasses riches and does not know who will
gather them.”
Psalm 39:5-6

Possessed by a haughty spirit
You display contempt or scorn for others
Having a high opinion of yourself
Self-absorbed
Self-important
Self-condemned
Leading only to self-destruction

You never hide
Your overbearing pride
With vanity as your guide
You make others step aside

Today it’s self esteem
Tomorrow it’s disgrace
Today it’s friends
Tomorrow it’s enemies

You chase after vanity
Like chasing after soap bubbles
Those you touch explode
Others implode

In the game of life
You throw a lucky seven
But a beautiful funeral service
Can’t guarantee you a place in heaven
***********************************

Don’t you know that at the
End of every road
There’s a mirror

You can’t seem to find what you’re looking for
Even though you’ve tried many times before
You discover your desires are never gratified
You long and yearn for a hunger
That needs to be satisfied
You find that you are no one
Until you have a purpose
Life can engulf you
As you struggle to reach the surface
You attempt to define
What’s already been predetermined
Lost, you wonder where you ‘ve been
Clinging to your thoughts
Locking your dreams in a jar
Placing yourself upon the shelf
Until you find yourself
Connected to someone else

Mommy
Where did you go?
I can’t find you
I’m hungry

Mommy
I can’t hear you
I can’t see you
I bruised my knee

Mommy
I called but you didn’t answer
Can you hear me?
I finished my homework

Mommy
Where are you?
Who’s going hold me when I cry?
Dry my eyes?
Kiss away the tears?
Quell my fears?
Hear my prayers?

The angels came
Left me behind
Memories remain
Moments defined

And yet very few will understand
Why there’s a little boy in every man
******************************
“What a mother sings to the cradle
goes all the way down to the grave.”

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

Writing in the present
Recording the past
Looking to the future
For things that may last

Layers of memories
Telling a story
Times of sorrow
Times of glory

Words overlap one another
Unfold to discover
That life in a book
Under lock and key
Is not what life is meant to be

A monolog of thoughts
Baring no response
A one-sided romance
With never a chance

Secret thoughts engaged
Searching for hope on every Page
Every word speaks a narrative
Of
Disappointments
Rejections
Loneliness
Of
Hopes
Dreams
Desires

But hopes and dreams can’t guarantee happiness
You’ve closed the book
And never looked back
When life swallows you up
You’ll remember the days
Your life was so simple
In so many ways
*****************************
“Fill your paper with the
Breathings of your heart”
William Wordsworth

You never listen son
To a word I say
You turn aside
You spurn correction
You change direction

I stretch out my hand
But you reject it
You despise my instruction
Disdain my commands
Refuse my teachings
Scorn my discipline

You never heed my counsel
Truth remains at the door
You ignore and refuse to
Maintain discretion

You have harden your heart
And brought me to tears
You have allowed my words to become
Just noise to your ears

**************
“To have a fool for a son brings grief
There is no joy for the father of a fool”
Proverbs(17:21)

Opportunities pass you by?
Plans never satisfied?
Expectations never fulfilled?
Chances never taken?
Goals set but never met?
Hesitation with regret?
Love promised but never knew?
It would seem your future
Is always behind you

Today I heard loud knocking
I know not where it came
I heard in quiet whisper
The calling of my name

Today I heard a knocking
The same as before
Though not as loud
I simply ignored

Today I heard soft knocking
I know not where it started
I pretended to listen
Then I simply disregarded

Today I heard faint knocking
I could barely make it out
Its distance I could not measure
For it seemed to resemble a round-a-bout

Today I heard no knocking
It seemed to have gone away
The whisper in my ear dolefully
seem to say
There will not be any more
Todays
******************************
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If any one hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him and he with me.
Revelation:(4-20)

Every string of black beads one must conclude
Carries a petition of prayer that many bear
One black bead following another until at last
Each bead has been cast

One large bead held tightly in hand
Praying that God would understand
Waiting to see
If He would answer their prayers

Ten small beads in just a fraction
Setting off a chain reaction
Carrying a petition through the air
A pleasant odor of incense
Into the heavenly atmosphere
Falling to His feet
Resting at the mercy seat

There are:
Beads for happiness
Beads for love
Beads for health
Beads for wealth
Beads for a bright tomorrow
Beads to take away sorrow
Beads carried by the wind
Beads to cover one’s sin

But beads are only beads
And are soon dropped back to earth
Broken and shattered having no worth
For one’s petition needs only one condition
To be in His will before He will ever listen
***************************************
‘Loyalty to God is alone fundamental,
feelings. words, deeds be strong
on the string of duty.
Let the world tell you in a hundred ways
what your life is for.
Say you ever and only,
Lo, I come to do the will of God!”

                                                       Maltbie Davenport Babcock