Three Poems

A Poet’s Requiem

And yet another poet

Dies unheard, a tree fallen

In a forest of humanity.

A fortune of images

With no heir.

Who will remember the ironic smile,

The bitter tear,

The soul that rose

All the way to heaven,

And sank into the depths of hell,

Just to have a poem

To tell no one?

In a world where one spark

Can travel the earth

In a matter of seconds,

What a tragedy it is

That the poet should be forgotten

Because his journey ended

On deaf ears….

Farewell to all the poets  that may die unappreciated in a world that no longer loves poetry the way it deserves to be loved.

OUR NATION WEEPS WITH JOY

Our nation slept in peace, unaware

That a threat to our safety

Was coming through the air.

In morning light we watched our buildings fall.

Our innocents all dead-

Our brave ones got the call.

Our nation wept as terror made its bid

To claim our streets,

But in our nation only one heart beats.

As it became apparent we must go,

Our young ones took on the sacrifice,

And stood between us and the foe

That chose to strike while hidden from our eyes.

Our nation wept as men and women strong

Marched off to war.

We longed to hold them as we did before.

Our arms all empty as they were outreaching;

Our prayers to God were all for them beseeching:

“Keep them well, bring them home,

Let them know they’re not alone.”

Our nation wept for fathers who couldn’t see

Their children being born, or when fellow soldiers died,

Had no time to stop and mourn.

Who may have lost a limb, or nearly lost a life,

Or who longed for just a moment to hug a child, or a wife.

Our nation wept for a long time, but…

Today our nation weeps for joy,

To celebrate the soldiers that returned.

Our love, and our gratitude they’ve earned.

Let us hesitate a moment, our heads bowed,

And honor now the brave,

The free,

The proud.

Our city had a celebration one year ago in April to honor all the veterans of the various wars from WWII to the current war in Iraq and Afghanistan that made it home. I wrote this poem to honor them and was allowed to read it to them at the ceremony. It was a day in my life that I will never forget, just as I will never forget their brave service. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity.

 

Not Every Man Can Be a Father

Any man can make a baby,

But not every man can be a father.

Not every man can hold a newborn

And replace anticipation with joy,

Anxiety with admiration,

Or undefined feelings with kinship.

Not every man can survive

Morning sickness, cravings, labor,

2am feedings and dirty diapers,

And still say with love “This is my child.”

Any man can make a baby,

But not every man can be a father.

Not every man can pass up the “big game”

For a tea party with Barbie,

Or give up beer with the guys

For his child’s first home run.

Not every man is smarter than a teacher,

Taller than a giant,

And stronger than every monster

That lives under the bed.

Any man can make a baby,

But not every man can be a father.

Not every man can love in the image

Of our Heavenly Father-

With the divine love

That is patient, loving, kind and merciful.

Not every man will stick by us when we let him down,

Protect us when we are in trouble,

And rejoice with us when we have reason to rejoice.

Not every man would have the desire to break bread

With our future generations.

Any man can make a baby, but-

It takes a very special man to be a dad.

This poem was written for Father's Day. I wanted to particularly honor those men that stick around for the hard stuff. It takes a special kind of guy to do that, and I feel that they deserve special mention.