My Young Soldier
Young soldier, as you ride off into fierce battle
And your thoughts are settling on thoughts of war
You must humbly prepare your heart for hatred
And ready your mind for things never seen before.
Here in your home we pray for your sword
That is might find its target true
That your path might be safe and straight
And that no harm will befall on you.
Your mother’s eyes are filled with longing tears
Every night she prays for you almost until the day
She and I know the Lord will show you the right path
Even if that trail in time might possibly lead you away.
I remember the days when your world was still innocent
And your precious eyes shone with ignorance of evil
You played in the fields and had not one care
Now you fight to defend and demand freedom for all
and you stare evil straight in its fiery red eyes
and it cowers, trembles, and retreats in shear terror.
Thanks be to you my son for answering the call to serve
I love you with all of my heart my young soldier.
This poem is dedicated on Memorial Day 2005 to the men and women who have sacrificed their lives in death and in service to the noble cause of liberty for all people.
The poem below was featured on Poets Best.com as the Best Poem of the Day for June 14th, 2005.
As a Father's Love Should Be
Sleep precious child and let the malcontented thoughts of the world fade away
Slowly slip into your world of dreams and be at rest
Let the world keep its own troubles upon its chest
While you softly and tenderly wait for the coming of the brand new day.
When you feel as if you can’t go on, don’t give in without a fight
Look to me and I will guide you
Protect you and stay close beside you
I will lead you through the trials, storms, and dead of night.
If you ever stumble and without a doubt know you can’t succeed
I will be there for you despite failure or lack of success
I eternally hope and pray that you will always do your best
And realize that is not something all of us can achieve.
When I was young I wished for someone to hold in my hour of need
I love you beyond my future, present, or past
My love for you will be a sharp contrast
To the care I received when I was as you are, only a tiny seed.
You shall never feel deserted, lonely, or heart broken while I live
As long as my spirit lives in this flesh, my love to you I eternally give
And that is my promise to you everlasting and eternal as the sea
You will never see the dark side of the day as long as you belong to me.
What a fortunate few are those on earth
Who from God are handed the golden pen
And are told to write from their moment of birth
Oh, how blessed and benefited are these few men
That have received from heaven the gilded writing brush
And told to paint the sunset with a fitting rhyme,
Told to fill the sea with descriptions of life,
Death, nature, beauty, love, and time.
Imagine then what those few past poets are
Gracing the realm of heaven with their poetry
Of filling angel’s ears and praising almighty God
Imagine those worshipful words, such divine beauty!
That could never be captured upon this earth
Until one aureate pen falls again from the sky above
To the earth to be utilized by such a blessed one
To fill this cruel and hateful world with love.
Who shall form the song of the newest age of man,
And who might this newly knighted word crafter be?
I stand awaiting the ordination to fall from the heavens
In hopes that this glorious poet just might be me.
So much to absorb from this world in such a brief time
Quite a gargantuan impossibility to hastily absorb it all
The turning tides of the tremendous toiling oceans
Or the cascading kaleidoscope of colors of the maples in fall.
The vast and varying expanse of the sunrise in the sky
Is more than enough to be taken in by the tiny human eye
To see it all before we die is a feat beyond the grasp of men.
To adventure to the ends of the ever-distant rainbows
To sail the seas of splendid sunshine shining through
The rain clouds releasing their raging rivers of rain drops
Thereby creating springs of life and life itself anew
Running through the raging rapids to reach the ocean
Expanding its horizons, but never filling it any more.
If one should sail long upon the waters of the sea
One could sail and sail into eternity, forevermore.
All of it entrances me as I have never been before
Each day there is a new adventure to be explored
Nature calls us to examine it, discover it, and claim it
To sail, to fly, to journey to places we’ve never seen
To traverse amongst God’s great green creation of earth
And set off to find places where no one has ever been.
Explorers, take up your packs and hiking boots.
Pack your cars, carts, carriages, and caravans.
Enjoy this glorious conglomeration of multi-faceted Mother Nature
Enjoy this wonderful world given so graciously to man!
"There is no fun in expected love. Sporadic love is best, the kind that sweeps you off your feet and takes your breath away in moments of total surprise."
-Michael Flowers