I believe with all my heart and soul that love is one of the most precious gifts we can have in our lives. Whether it is romantic love, family ties, or true friendship, love is what binds us all together in this life.
Wouldn't It Be Nice?
Lately sleep so often eludes me Doubts and thoughts haunt my waking hours Pain of both body and soul… my constant companion Invading even my "good" days Then I finally surrender Laying my head on the pillow Feeling the salty dampness of my tears Before my mind finally gives in to that ever elusive darkness But even then I do not always dream Not in sleep, for my dreams are those of wishes and hopes The kind that one must strive to achieve Wouldn't it be nice if I could at least escape the struggle Even if only in my few stolen moments of restfulness? Having the comfort of seeing myself As I wish I was? Where I want to be? In my fantasies as I sleep?
The Gypsy
Copyright September 6, 1999
These Angels Among Us
Sometimes we are lucky enough in our lives To meet someone that touches us Someone who gives us so much more Than we could ever hope to give to them
No matter how hard we try.
But they don't have to try They give us so much Just by gracing our lives With their presence.
To know them in even some small way Makes us know that we have been given A rare gift to have known them To have watched their strength and their courage Through terrible adversity and pain.
The way they face it teaches us so much. About the human spirit And what we all can be If we are only willing to strive To see the things in life... That are good That we should treasure While we still have time To appreciate them And not take them for granted Because we never know When those things might be taken away In the blink of an eye
Life is so fragile... so unpredictable We need to learnfrom those kinds of people So that we never miss out On all the beauty in life If only we look If only we see
With the eyes of these angels among us.
Written by The Gypsy
Copyright July 26, 1999
Butterfly
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.
Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could. and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of sissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly, because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.
We would not be as strong as what we could have
been. We could never fly!
I saw Jesus yesterday. He was on the news. I mean, it wasn't the stereotypical, up-on-a-cross, crown-of-thorns Jesus, But it was Jesus. Anyway, he was on the news, Just staring into the camera with these sad, tired brown eyes.
Some reporter was asking him questions. "Why?" "What's wrong with the world?" she asked. "Why do we suffer?"
Behind him people were yelling. "Jesus loves you!" "Jesus loves you!" He just stared into the camera, And started softly repeating himself, "I died for your sins." "I died for your sins." And people were still screaming. "Jesus love you!" And the reporter just held her microphone and said, "Could you please answer the question?" And all he could do was shake his head and say, "I died for your sins." She looked back to the crowd, And then the camera. She cocked her head And began to talk.
I didn't catch her name, But I heard her say, "...yes, Jesus loves you, But I don't."
I turned off the t.v. Rubbing my eyes, I went to sleep.
That night, all I saw were those sad, mournfull eyes,
And I wondered:
Were we worth it?
So dirty--
Marked by this stain left broken in the night no scrubbing erases his touch.
So afraid-- Can I be free move past this terror and not flinch from a man's touch.
So alone-- I hide these marks this shadow across my life left by his brutal touch.
So ashamed-- I go on living while everything I am slips out of touch.
ABC's of Praise
A lthough things are not perfect
B ecause of trial or pain
C ontinue in thanksgiving
D o not begin to blame
E ven when the times are hard
F ierce winds are bound to blow
G od is forever able
H old on to what you know
I magine life without His love
J oy would cease to be
K eep thanking Him for all the things
L ove imparts to thee
M ove out of "Camp Complaining"
N o weapon that is known
O n Earth can yield the power
P raise can do alone
Q uit looking at the future
R edeem the time at hand
S tart every day with worship
T o "thank" is a command
U ntil we see Him coming
V ictorious in the sky
W e'll run the race with gratitude
eX alting God most high
Y es, there will be good times and yes some
will be bad, but . . .
Z ion waits in glory . . .
where none are ever sad!
You Know Me
You know me as no other ever has
Yet still you take the time to hold my hand in times of sorrow
and urge me to live until a new tomorrow dawns
You stand so steady and so strong
even knowing I am wrong
when in anger I strike out in sheer frustration
I have bared my heart and soul to you
and every deep emotion that flows through the weaves of my existence
yet still, through time and distance
you are there and you love me just the same
and I thank the powers that be for this dream's reality and for allowing us to be just who we are
for you know me as no other ever has yet still you're here just loving me
Michaelette
9/18/99
CRY OF A LONELY HEART
By Kathryn L.M. Reynolds
I sat on a hillside, with my head bent down, my fears overcame me, and the tears poured out...
People passed by me, but they didn't care, for they saw me crying, and just left me there...
If only ONE person, had stopped to listen, maybe things would be different, and I'd still be here...
As it was no one heard, when I cried out for help, so I was alone and scared, when my life gave out... Signed..."BUT I CARED!"
~Kathy~
Shattered dreams
of sandy beaches
broken hearted
unable to mend
reality displaced
mind and body screaming
self mutilating
where to now?
Who cares
slipping backwards
sliding downwards
bottomless pits opening
swallowing us
rejected and abandoned
thoughts of harming
and death become us
no one cares least of all us
tormented and suffering
heart and soul rupturing
wanting to bleed
unable to find relief
haunting memories
joyless pain-filled dreams
unable to rest
awakening, aware
we are
broken
How Sweet The Sound
How sweet the sound, Amazing Grace I have a tale to tell I was five years old when grandmother passed, A woman I knew not well Her body cold and still at final rest Played tricks on my little eyes To me the scene was set of death As viewers all gathered and cried They seemed so big and dark to me Within their blackest clothes As amazing grace streamed from the organ And many tears around me flowed Many years had passed through which That song still haunted me And each time it's rhythm graced my ears Death was the vision I would see * * * * * * * The next time it really touched me I was twenty three years old Twas at my sister's funeral While her infant daughter I did hold They gave her full police honors As she was one of their kind Dress blue uniforms and motorcycle escorts All around me in perfect lines As as we entered the church In kilted dress two bagpipe players played I began to feel faint as I entered Two officers holding my arms as I swayed I cried so many countless tears then As I held her child so close Then came to me the vision Which my mind remembers most To the front of the church a bag piper walked With solemn look upon his Irish face He stood proud beside her casket And he began to play Amazing Grace The crowded church fell silent As sweet music filled the air And mixed among the sobbing sounds That flowed among my tears For many more years after this I dared not listen to that song The memories it brought to mind were dark The emotions far too strong * * * * * * * Now in my very recent past When darkness fell upon my soul I felt so very dead inside My life out of control The pain of lost love came again A hurt too deep to take I felt that I could love no more My life I planned to take And at this my darkest hour As I came so near to death The sound of bagpipe music Filled my soul with life's sweet breath This happened in a hospital parking lot The acoustics brilliant as I drove around To try my best to locate the source Of this beautiful musical sound I came upon a man who sat on the back Of a white pick up truck's bed He wore a policeman's uniform had A bagpipe in his arms and alongside his head At the end of his Irish melody I praised him as I felt it was due He smiled then winked and pointed at me And said this next one is just for you I sat back in my car as I then And beheld the sweetest sound As he began to play Amazing Grace With meaning so profound I did not cry or think of death Nor feel surrounded by darkest night My heart filled it's emptiness with love I felt within a blinding light I knew within my soul just then That this was a message intended for me The policeman was a messenger Who was sent by God to make me see That he is here beside me Even through the darkest times When my thoughts are full of turmoil And no solace can I find For it does not even matter That I never see his face I know he watches over me With his Amazing Grace!
Mere Illusion
All the pain of mind
unmakes the soul
while within the fear expressed
we find the whole of who we are
and we are meant to be
innocent and free
as the movement of the wind
upon eternal tides of spirit sighing
while hearts beat steady, strong
within this cosmic song
of sound's ethereal vibration
Higher yet, and more intense
allow yourself to sense
Seek and you shall find
this fantasy is mind's reality
as pain becomes the birth
of earth herself
and death a mere illusion
of the mind . . .
A Single White Rose
I saw it there some time ago
Where it came from I really don't know
I never saw it before and I haven't seen it since
A single white rose growing next to a chain link fence
It was white as snow with tips of red
Making me wonder if it's heart had bled
I couldn't understand what it was doing there
But a testimony to me it has come to bear
It was there all alone with nothing to lean upon
Total independence seemed to be its' song
The lessons that single rose has taught me
Seem to be an enormaous quantity
I can now stand alone
It's a feeling I've never known
I don't need others to now feel complete
The concept is new but awfully neat
Like that single white rose with the reddened tips
All threads of dependence I can now rip
I may have had a heart that also bled red
But it's not beating me, it's making me stronger instead
So, if a single white rose you happen to see
With petals that to you seem to bleed
Listen very hard with your heart and your soul
To a story of independence as it unfolds
I went again today to see if it was still alive
And there it stood though its' petal totaled only five
Are they representative of our only needs
If so, maybe its' lesson we should all heed
What are the names of each of the elements
Faith, hope, charity and love can be named in just a few moments
But what is that fifth and final link
Is it something we see or do we miss it as easy as we blnk
