Tag: Friendship

Toward Understanding and Harmony: One Way Forward

While looking back on previously published poetry for inclusion in (possibly) another printed collection, I ran across this one that seems appropriate, not only at the beginning of this New Year, but also for the current political climate here in the U. S.! (Who knows? Perhaps POTUS will read it and be transformed into something of a real human being! LOL) Ah, but here it is, from back in August of 2015:

So often it’s so easy to misunderstand and reprimand
When there’s really no reason for words out of season;
We assume and fume and leave no room for the benefit
Of doubt; never consider we may be wrong, agony prolong
So unnecessarily because we’ve failed to give charity
And beckon clarity for sake of peace instead of caprice
In broken harmony as we release anger and animosity
From paucity of heart; we can be so small when we should
Stand tall in character and integrity with better dignity;
And so much strife would fade in play of fife and flute
Of happier days and higher ways, in serenity and amenity;
Would not this be better than bitter rancor and soul canker?
Perhaps we begin with open ears to hear and eyes to see
In the other our true sister, brother, father, and mother
Rather than unsuspecting foe ready to deal death blow…
Oh, how suspicious we can be when we’re not free
To live and love without attrition of suspicion of ill-will!

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Sometimes You Just Need A Friend

Bills are piling high, pills will not do, and you want to cry;
Your roof is leaking, your soul is seeking, you want to die,
But you really try to stay calm, without any healing balm;
You feel lonely and frightened in the deadly dark of night,
And you reach ‘n try to teach yourself just to quiet down,
And you preach to yourself but anxiety still rises in heart
And every part of your being and you’re not seeing relief;
It is in times like this . . . sometimes you just need a friend;
Sometimes you need a bosom, helping hand, caring heart,
Yes, it is truly true . . . sometimes you just need that friend;
You need the touch, the reassurance that it will be alright,
And that there’s no need for fright or to live in the blight;
You need the light shining from another soul to your own,
Seeds of love sown . . . sometimes you just need the friend
To tell you this is not the end, there’s a bend in the road,
And that you’re going to make it as they take your hand,
And without judgment join with you to make two in one;
Yeah . . . sometimes you just need a friend . . . some friend;
Sometimes you just need a friend . . .

There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother or sister. (Proverbs 18.24b)

Here For You

When you shiver and quiver inside and all hope seems lost,
And your very soul is tempest tossed and all looks bleak,
Seek me out and find me; I’m as close as your own breath,
Not far away like some distant star, but right beside you
Through night and day, and I’m here to stay nor to stray;
Like light of dawn shines bright over blue-green horizon,
Like sun rays bathing your face, your body, I enlace you
To myself to love, cherish and care for you in bare life,
If only you call and let down your wall of cold resistance;
I AM here for you…

Note: Originally published in May 2016, now republished due to some renewed interest as well as for the pleasure to new reader-followers. Blessings to one and all!

In Response to ‘Friendly’ Advice

So you ask me what I’m doing, skewing my position
While screwing me over with all your lofty demands,
Wanting me to put money first like a bee with honey,
To ‘get back on my feet’ along the well-beaten path
Trod by Western materialists just like you yourself,
But did it ever occur to you that I’ve
Rejected the imperialist way of life?
What am I doing while gluing my life back together?
Perhaps I’m answering a higher calling
Rather than bawling behind some desk!
Maybe, just maybe, I’ve chosen to take an upper path;
And does it pay more? You do the math and tell me!
Ah, money only reaches so far; there’s a bar in the sky;
And I am willing to say ‘goodbye’ to all of that muck,
And to buck the trend while I bend my neck and knees
Only to the One who has brought me this far already;
You see, crawling or brawling are no longer necessary;
I am a poet with a penchant for love, joy and serenity,
And I do not toy with the lives of others for sickly gain;
That would drive me insane and cause a deal of pain,
But there is One who trains for a strange sort of feat
Completely off of the beaten path of this old world,
And sweetens it with an unusual success all its own;
So thank you for brashly telling me to set some goals,
But goals have already been set, and I didn’t ask you
To bother about my life anyway, so why now the knife?
If you want to be a friend, then be a friend to the end,
But don’t screw with me and tell me to be like you!
I am me, who God created me to be, and I shall be me!

Nothing Quite Like Friendship

There is nothing quite like the expression of friendship
To drive away obsession and depression in relaxation
Of heart to heart camaraderie, the pottery of two souls;
Just walking, talking, smiling ‘n laughing, stalking joy!

Oh what heavenly gift to sift the mind ‘n bind the devil;
Ah! Truly friends are one spirit abiding in two bodies,
Bold against the cold throws of an icy, cruel world . . .
No, there’s nothing quite like the love of true friendship!

Forgiveness: I Am But One Man

Did I not show you any attention?
I’m sorry; I didn’t know!
Did I seem to ignore you in the crowd?
But it was so busy and loud . . .
Please excuse me for being human –
I am, after all, only one man –
Did I seem to turn my eyes away?
But there’s something else to say:
So many people walking, talking,
Dancing and laughing and, really
It’s not my way to be so swayed
That I snub friend and kin in spirit!
Please believe me and relieve me
Of this unbearable burden . . .
I never meant to hurt;
In fact, I’d give you my very shirt
If you needed it and even more
Without considering it a chore,
And this is honestly true;
Yes, I knew you were there, but . . .
Oh, time! And people and chime
Of the clock, and I seemed blocked
From drawing near you, my dear!
I will show you attention
Now that I know and say,
‘Away with the crowd so loud!’
Only forgive me for being human –
I am, after all, only one man –
And the demands of life command
So much of my very self, but . . .
Here I am now and bow to you;
Forgive me for grieving you so!
Forgive me for leaving you alone!
I am, after all, only one man . . .

Cruel Cut in Companionship

Oh! You were my friend, closer than kin,
Who could comprehend my own heart
More than I, and apprehend my feelings
Much better than anyone else,
Reading me like an open letter,
And could loosen the fetters that bound,
And, too, you seemed to be ever around
When I needed you, my one true friend;
Ah! But you plunged your knife deep
Into the keep of my despondent soul
With words of malice and ugly anger
And for the first time I sensed danger;
Then my soul shriveled up within me
And I’ve left you no key to unlock me;
Such sacred bonds have been broken,
And no token of love can easily heal
Deep wounds that steal intimate trust;
Now you’ve made your deadly thrust
And I must guard each part of my heart
As we start over again
To chart a new course
Rather than simply parting our ways;
Friendship is delicate and no one can
Quite estimate just how relevant and
Even preeminent it is in life . . . my life!
Truly it is said, ‘True friends are one
Soul inhabiting two bodies!’ And amen!

Depression: Hope and Believe

When you’re trapped inside your head, strapped to your bed,
Churning inside and you can’t abide the sunlight
Streaming through the window, but you forgot to draw the curtain,
And you’re certain this day will flow in the worst way,
Like one poisoned stream in another hellish dream,
And you want to scream but you can’t find your voice,
And you feel like you’ve got no choice but to stay in the bay
Of depression with repression of all your tumultuous emotions
Because you don’t want to cause commotion,
So you reside in the prison of self with no one in whom to confide,
And you feel the hole in your soul . . . I know, I know;
I’ve careened thru the valley of shadows where many others have been,
And you are not alone even now, for we bow in service as your servants;
We know, we know, and we will walk with you and show you the way
To brighter days and lighter ways with love and compassion
In passionate determination to see you through, strong and true!
Just peer through the keyhole of your heart and make the start:
Unlock the door, open and fill the floor of your spirit
With an unimaginable company of compatriots,
Hand in hand as a band of friendly warriors to fight the blight
That soils your psyche and spoils your days! Do not dismay,
And don’t fret for fear of abandonment . . . We’ll be here to stay!
Hope and Believe
Hope and Believe
Hope and Believe

Say What You Say About Me, About You

Say, does it matter who you say I am today,
Or tomorrow or next week however bleak?
I am who I am, tis true, but I am not what
I will yet be – the brand new me – you see,
So what you think of me makes me blink
And wink, not sink into stinking despair
With no hope of emotional repair; in fact,
I dare say that what you say about me says
More about you than you really care to say
About yourself! Wouldn’t you say it’s true?
But if only you knew I do care about you
– The true you and not the mask in which
You bask – then knowing might lead you
To showing, my caring to your fully baring
Yourself to me, saying what there is to say
About you rather than saying all that you
Think you have to say about me instead…
So let it be! In truth about you, come to me.