Poem Collection

(Feed the soul)

George Gray

Edgar Lee Masters

I have studied many times

The marble which was chiseled for me--

A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.

In truth it pictures not my destination 

But my life.

For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;

Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid; 

Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances.

Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.

And now I know that we must lift the sail

And catch the winds of destiny

Wherever they drive the boat. 

To put meaning in one's life may end in madness,

But life without meaning is the torture

Of restlessness and vague desire--

It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.

I Saw a Young Mother

annon

I saw a young mother

With eyes full of laughter

And two little shadows

Came following after.

Wherever she moved,

They were always right there

Holding onto her skirts, 

Hanging onto her chair.

Before her, behind her—

An adhesive pair.

“Don’t you ever get weary

As, day after day, 

your two little tagalongs

Get in your way?”

She smiled as she shook

Her pretty young head, 

And I’ll always remember

The words that she said.

“It’s good to have shadows

That run when you run, 

That laugh when you’re happy

And hum when you hum—

For you only have shadows

When your life’s filled with sun.”

Robert Duncan--Down the Garden Path

I Have a Garden

Mary Hale Woolsey

I have a garden, a lovely garden

With flowers blossoming ever fair.

Where sun shines brightly, and rain falls lightly,

And breezes gather sweet fragrance there.

Song birds are singing out in the sky

Butterflies winging, hovering by

And in my garden, my lovely garden

There's always beauty to greet the eye.

I have a garden, my heart's own garden

Where thoughts like flowers grow day by day.

Tis I must weed them and tend and feed them

And cast the bad ones like weeds away.

Goodness and love are seeds that I sow

God up above will help me, I know

To make my garden--my secret garden--

A place where beauty will always grow.

Mom's Firelight Song

The first thing in the morning and all day long,

I shall be a glad note and sing a happy song,

I shall greet the new day and all it brings

With a cheerful face and a heart that sings.

Like sunshine in the morning and firelight bright,

I shall fill the home with a radiance and light.

Giving joy to others in all I do,

I shall be a firelight the whole day through.

The Pulley

George Herbert

When God at first made man,

Having a glass of blessings standing by,

“Let us,” said he, “pour on him all we can.

Let the world’s riches, which dispersèd lie,

Contract into a span.”

So strength first made a way;

Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honor, pleasure.

When almost all was out, God made a stay,

Perceiving that, alone of all his treasure,

Rest in the bottom lay.

“For if I should,” said he,

“Bestow this jewel also on my creature,

He would adore my gifts instead of me,

And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature;

So both should losers be.

“Yet let him keep the rest,

But keep them with repining restlessness;

Let him be rich and weary, that at least,

If goodness lead him not, yet weariness

May toss him to my breast.”

Time Is

Henry Van Dyke

Time is 
Too slow for those who Wait,
Too swift for those who Fear, 
Too long for those who Grieve, 
Too short for those who Rejoice, 
But for those who Love,
Time is not.

Catch a Falling Star

Perry Como

Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
Never let it fade away.
Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
Save it for a rainy day.

For love may come and tap you on the shoulder
Some starless night,
Just in case you feel you wanna hold her
You'll have a pocket full of starlight.

Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
Never let it fade away.
Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
Save it for a rainy day.

For when your troubles start multiplyin'
(They just might)
It's easy to forget them without tryin'
With just a pocket full of starlight.

Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
Never let it fade away.
Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket
Save it for a rainy day.

I Serve a Risen Savior

Alfred Henry

I serve a risen Savior; He's in the world today.

I know that He is living, whatever men may say.

I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer

And just the time I need Him, He's always near.

In all the word around me, I see His loving care,

And though my heart grows weary, I never will despair.

I know that He is leading through all the stormy blast,

The day of His appearing will come at last.

Rejoice, rejoice, O christian! Lift up your voice and sing.

Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!

The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find,

None other is so loving, so good and kind.

He lives, He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.

He lives, He lives! Salvation to impart!

You ask me how I know He lives: He lives within my heart.

Inch by Inch: the Garden Song

David Mallett

Inch by inch, row by row, 

Gonna make this garden grow.

All it takes is a rake and a hoe 

and a piece of fertile ground. 

Inch by inch, row by row,

Please, God, bless the seeds I sow

Please, God, warm them from below

Till the rain comes tumblin' down.

Pullin' weeds and pickin' stones,

We are made of dreams and bones.

Feel the need to grow my own

'Cause the time is close at hand.

Grain for grain, sun and rain,

Find my way in nature's chain.

Tune my body and my brain

To the music from the land.

Plant your rows straight and long,

Temper them with prayer and song.

Mother Earth will make you strong

If you give her love and care.

Old crow watching hungrily

From his perch in yonder tree.

In my garden I'm as free 

As that feathered thief up there.

Inch by inch, row by row,

Gonna make this garden grow.

All it takes is a rake and a hoe

And a piece of fertile ground.

Inch by inch, row by row,

Please, God, bless the seeds I sow

Please, God, warm them from below

Till the rain comes tumblin' down.

Hug O'War

Shel Silverstein

I will not play at tug o'war,

I'd rather play at hug o'war.
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs
And everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug.
Where everyone kisses
And everyone grins
And everyone cuddles
And everyone wins.

God's Garden

Dorothy Frances Gurney

The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth,--

One is nearer God's heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

Recentered
Stephanie Pruitt

When life's bitter feelings choose, in you, to abide,

When its seems you are looking on the world with dark eyes,

When mean words would make of your tongue their own bed,

And the selfishest tempters keep showing their heads,

Courage, my love, and recenter your heart!

The sweetest of medicines to you Christ imparts.

Gentle jubilations exist all around you;

Beauty imparts so the world won't confound you.

Stop and take notice! Let troubling cares fall. 

Release your tight grip, heed not hecklers’ call. 

This is not ignorance, nor turning blind eyes. 

This is trust that goodness exists and is wise. 

Breathe deeply; share smiles; hear the birds sing.

Surely these gifts He gave for this very thing:

For all through the ages, there never was found

One frowning or falling who is stayed on His ground.

Keep a Poem in Your Pocket

Beatrice Schenk De Regniers

Keep a poem in your pocket

and a picture in your head

and you'll never feel lonely

at night when you're in bed.

The little poem will sing to you

the little picture bring to you 

a dozen dreams to dance to you

at night when you're in bed.

So-

Keep a picture in your pocket

and a poem in your head

and you'll never feel lonely

at night when you're in bed.

I Have Wept in the Night

C.R. Gibson

I have wept in the night

At my shortness of sight

That to others' needs made me blind,

But I never have yet

Had a twinge of regret

For being a little too kind.

Today

Kenny M. Fullington 

Outside my window 
A new day I see 
And only I can determine 
What kind of day it will be.

It can be busy and sunny--
Laughing and gay,
Or boring and cold--
Unhappy and gray.

My own state of mind 
Is the determining key,
For I am only the person 
I let myself be.

I can be thoughtful,
And do all I can to help.
Or be selfish, and think
Just of myself.

I can enjoy what I do 
And make it seem fun,
Or gripe and complain 
And make it hard on someone.

I can be patient 
With those who may not understand,
Or belittle and hurt them 
As much as I can.

But I have faith in myself 
And believe what I say:
And I personally intend 
To make the best of each day.

If--
Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Outwitted
Edwin Markham

He drew a circle that shut me out--
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him In!

My Little Kingdom

Louisa May Alcott

A little kingdom I possess 

where thoughts and feelings dwell, 
And very hard I find the task 
of governing it well;... 

Be thou my guide until I find, 
Led by a tender hand, 
Thy happy kingdom in myself 
And dare to take command.

Nature Boy 

Eden Ahbez
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return.

Gift
John Bucchino
Travel the world and you'll surely come to see
Everything there is a part of you and me.
Never let doubt put you in a spin;
Everything out is a part of in.

Everything once you complete as you can be
We each are meant to share our song;
you'll find it sang within you all along
Small, but strong.

Imagine that world stretching far and wide
Needing that song that you hold inside;
Needing your gift to complete a grand design
Offer your gift to the world
And watch it shine.

My Symphony

William Ellery Channing
To live content with small means.
To seek elegance rather than luxury,
    and refinement rather than fashion.
To be worthy not respectable,
    and wealthy not rich.
To study hard, think quietly, talk gently,
    act frankly, to listen to stars, birds, babes,
    and sages with open heart, to bear all cheerfully,
    do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never.
In a word, to let the spiritual,
    unbidden and unconscious,
    grow up through the common.
This is to be my symphony.

Forever -- Is composed of Nows --

Emily Dickinson

Forever -- is composed of Nows --

'Tis not a different time --

Robert Duncan: A Bunch of Carrots

Eliza M. Hickok

I know not by what methods rare, 
But this I know, God answers prayer.

Photo cred: Hanalei in Light of the Y

Lamps

Lon Woodrum

I met a stranger in the night,

Whose lamp had ceased to shine;

I paused and let him light

His lamp from mine.

A tempest sprang up later on,

And shook the world about,

And when the wind was gone,

My lamp was out.

But back came to me the stranger--

His lamp was glowing fine;

He held the precious flame

And lighted mine.

Poem

Orson F. Whitney

Enter this door as if the floor...were gold;

And every wall of jewels all of wealth untold;

As if a choir in robes of fire were singing here;

Nor shout nor rush but hush...for God is here.

Life’s Book

Sally Pipkin

No matter what else you are doing

From cradle days through to the end,

You are writing your life's secret story--

Each night sees another page penned.

Each month ends a thirty-page chapter,

Each year means the end of a part--

And never an act is misstated

Or even one wish of the heart.

Each day when you wake, the book opens,

Revealing a page clean and white--

What thoughts and what words and what doings

Will cover its surface by night?

God leaves that to you--you're the author--

And never a word shall grow dim,

Until one day you will write the word “finished”

And give your life's book back to Him.

Day by Day

Saint Richard of Chichester

Dear Lord, for these three things I pray:
To know Thee more clearly,
To love Thee more dearly,
To follow Thee more nearly,
Every Day.

Little People

by John Greenleaf Whittier 

A dreary place would be this earth

Were there no little people in it;

The Song of life would lose its mirth,

Were there no children to begin it.

No little forms, like buds to grow,

And make the admiring heart surrender,

No little hands on breast and brow,

To keep the thrilling love-chords tender.

The sterner souls would grow more stern,

Unfeeling nature more inhuman,

And man to stoic coldness turn,

And Woman would be less than woman.

Life's song, indeed, would lose its charm,

Were there no babies to begin it;

A doleful place this world would be

Were there no little people in it.

Couplet

Robert Louis Stevenson

The world is so full of a number of things

I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings

Good Timber
by Douglas Mallock

Good timber does not grow with ease,

The stronger wind, the stronger trees,

The further sky, the greater length,

The more the storm the more the strength.

By sun and cold, by rain and snow,

In trees and men good timbers grow.

Grandpa Manwaring's Verse

Now here is dawning another new day.  
Think: will you let it slip useless away?  
Out of eternity this new day is born; 
Into eternity at night to return.

Ode to little brother

Build High

by Christie Lund

Build High, my boy!  You are building a life,

A life that must go as you say.

To stand as a monument or as a shrine

On the deeds you are doing this day.

Build strong, my boy!  You are building a man,

A man that the whole world must see.

A man to be worthy or ugly and mean

Whatever you say, he must be.

Build clean, my boy!  You are building a soul,

It is forming now in the paths you trod.

A soul that in spite of the roads you walk

Must some day bear reckoning with God.

Build well, my boy!  This life, this soul,

For you can build only this one,

And the things that you do this hour, this day,

Can never be quite undone.

This life is your own, you can build as you will

There is nothing that can stop you but you,

Whatever you dream in your heart, you can be;

Your loveliest dreams can come true.

No, don’t be content to be one of the crowd

Who never aspire, who never dare try:

Go forth with this life that is yours to be lived,

And build sure, my boy, and build high!

Prayer of the Breton Fishermen
Dear God, be good to me.
The sea is so wide and my boat is so small.

Meg on the Nantucket Ferry

The Nantucket Girl's Song

Then I'll haste to wed a sailor, and send him off to sea.

For a life of independence is the pleasant life for me.

But every now and then I shall like to see his face,

For it always seems to me to beam with manly grace,

With his brow so nobly open, and his bright and kindly eyes,

Oh my heart beats fondly towards him whenever he is nigh,

But when he says, "Goodbye my love, I'm off across the sea,"

First I cry for his departure, then laugh because I'm free.

Back of the Bread
M. D. Babcock

At the back of the bread is the flour.
At the back of the flour is the mill.
At the back of the mill is the wind
And the rain and the Father's will.

Let's be Brave
Edgar Guest

Let's be brave when the laughter dies

And the tears come into our troubled eyes,

Let's cling to the faith and the old belief

When the skies grow gray with the clouds of grief,

Let's bear the sorrow and hurt and pain

And wait till the laughter comes again.

Let's be brave when the trials come

And our hearts are sad and our lips are dumb,

Let's strengthen ourselves in the times of test

By whispering softly that God knows best;

Let us still believe, though we cannot know,

We shall learn sometime it is better so.

Let's be brave when the joy departs,

Till peace shall come to our troubled hearts,

For the tears must fall and the rain come down

And each brow be pressed to the thorny crown;

Yet after the dark shall the sun arise,

So let's be brave when the laughter dies.

Grandma Eva leaves her mark. ♥

Do not stand at my grave and weep
Mary Elizabeth Frye

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swifter uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines in the night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there, I did not die.

Let me Walk With You
Annon

Let me walk with you
Although my steps are small.
Stay beside me, hold my hand,
And never let me fall.

Rock Me to Sleep
Elizabeth Akers Allen

Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight,
Make me a child again just for to-night!
Mother, come back from the echoless shore,
Take me again to your heart as of yore;
Kiss from my forehead the furrows of care,
Smooth the few silver threads out of my hair;
Over my slumbers your loving watch keep;--
Rock me to sleep, mother,--rock me to sleep!