The sound of the bell
Awakens my sleep
I rush to the door
To take a peep

I peeped to see
Nobody there
Returned to bed
Heard knocking instead

I opened to see
What could this be?
A brightly colored gift box
Its wrappings glowing
Its ribbons flowing
It measured 12” by 8” by 5”
I picked it up
Brought it inside

On the card my initials inscribed
With 4 lines of poetry inside
“Open the box and you will see
Things in your life that have to be
Thoughts and regrets you held in the past
Brought to light in your future at last”

I opened the box
Looked inside
Its 4 walls had
Nothing to hide

Placed my hand
Feeling around
Removing things
That I found

An apology long over due
A diamond ring for a special one
A mended heart
A moment frozen in time
A special request
A love meant for only two
One free do- over if I choose

Under the lid
Written in prose
“Once opened
Cannot be closed”

A dream?
Something weird?
I turned around
The box disappeared

Returning to bed
I had this strange sensation
That walking into dreams
Has no explanation

Never argue never debate
On a fool’s own terms
If you do you will regretfully learn
That wisdom teaches one to discern
Not to engage or follow his rules
For if you enter his game
You’ll only feed the fool
******************
“Do not answer a fool according to his
Folly
Or you will be like him yourself”
Proverbs(26:4)

Where are the flowers?
Where are the promises?
Where are the broken dreams?
Where are the souvenirs?
Where are the vows?

Why are the clowns
Nowhere to be found?

When conversations turn boring
And love’s no longer there

When I see the danger in her eye
And temptation starts calling

When things get too serious
And tempers turn sour
When the music stops playing and the
Rose no longer flowers
When I have nothing else to say
I just look away

Why don’t dreams ever come true?
Why can’t your feelings become real?
Why doesn’t love play out like a melody?
Why do you feel like a stranger passing through?

Why are you given only each day?
Why do you gaze up reaching for eternity?
Why do you walk every day looking for a reason?
Don’t you know the beginning of life
Is the same as the ending of life

So take joy in the creation around you
Enjoy each moment the creator allows you
Until the day of your final goodbye
For that’s the day you’re appointed to die
*******************************
“He has made everything beautiful in its time.
He has also set eternity in the hearts of men;
Yet they cannot fathom what He has done
From beginning to end”
Ecclesiastes ( 3:11 )

If you want to know, just ask me
I have all the information you need
You may discover I’m not what you see
Or where the conversation may lead

For I conceal what I wish to conceal
And reveal only what I wish to reveal
Those secret things I keep purposely
For no one knows my thoughts but me

Lost but never found
Those footsteps on the ground
Never again to return
But lessons forever learned
Time in a bottle
Kept to be coddled
If only I could.
I know I would
Reclaim my childhood
****************

“My Lost Youth”
” …A boys will is the winds will
And the thoughts of youth
Are long,long thoughts”
Longfellow

What is it all about?
What is its meaning?
No one has answered
No one has thought it through

You shut your eyes to the old
Accept only what’s new
You think that you’re in control
And refuse to listen to what’s been told

You cling to things that never last
Relationships one by one
Seeking pleasure while you can
Taking no direction from what has been said
In the past

You say you’re different from ancient man
Your knowledge has set you free
You heed the call of modern man
And together you take a stand

But from Cane to Stalin you never
See how far man has fallen
You say that absolute truths are for the old
And are no longer valid for today
The voice that lives inside your head
Tells you that everything is okay

But death, dear sir, will prove you wrong
For death is the ultimate truth
For truth and life go hand and hand
So be wise, dear sir, with whom you take a stand
*********************************************
Knowing truth brings freedom
John 8:32

Where do you begin to splice the events
The occurrences that have shaped your life?
Where do you start? Where do you end?
Or would you do them over again?

Would you want to make a change?
Would you decide to rearrange?
Are there any things you would wish to restore?
And affairs you wish you didn’t ignore?

Would you edit only the bad and not the good or
Would you leave everything as it should?
Are there times you wish you could erase
To make disappear without a trace?
Delete the circumstances
The decisions you have made or left undone
Or would you be satisfied that there are none?

But life is not always as we plan it to be
Our plans may never take us to the very purpose
Of our lives
For our lives sometimes are so blinded that
We never see that the choices that shape
Our reality are the choices that had to be

Down in the valley by the willow trees
Stands a little white chapel only heaven sees
Its voice rings out on the hour
Reminding us of God’s mighty power

A little white chapel that watches over the valley
Recalls the Faith that remains alive
Never to fade
As long as the chapel survives

A little white chapel whose chimes remind
That today’s Faith is not dead
And that we need not rewind
To find the Faith that the Saints have left behind

For Faith is knocking at our door
Reminding us forever more
That this little white chapel
And the peel of its bell
Will ring out through eternity
Its voice no man can quell