Faith isn't like a bar of gold
That's safely tucked away
Until it's called upon to buy
Relief from fear one day.
Faith can't be taken like a pill
To cure a passing pain
And then be put upon a shelf
'Til headaches come again.
Faith isn't something we should hide
As if it were offense.
It should be meshed with all we do
In quiet confidence.
Faith is a paradox so strong
That many fail to see
That knowledge is the golden door
But faith - ah faith's the key.
The Ice Cream Truck
I didn't hear my teacher say
"Where did you leave your head?"
I guess I didn't listen when they
Called me home to bed.
I couldn't hear my Mother say,
"Clean up your room today."
But I could hear a tinkling bell
A dozen blocks away.
This bell would trigger scrambles for
A frenzied loose-change hunt,
And as the line for ice cream formed,
We'd jostle for the front.
It seemed the tinkling bells rang
Louder than the fire alarms,
And ice cream treats - so cold and sweet
Ran swiftly down our arms.
I now am taller than the kids
Who line up for a treat,
And ice cream trucks come well supplied
With music-blasting beat.
But I'm just happy that they come
With warnings loud and clear
So those of us with older ears
Are bound to know they're here.
THE CHOICE
I hear love should take action
And not be an abstract thought.
But sometimes what we ought to be
Is sadly what we're not.
The world expects too much from me-
Don't put me on the spot.
I cannot create feelings
That I simply haven't got.
I wrestle with these thoughts of mine
Until I hear a voice.
It's still and small but very clear -
It says "Love is a choice."
Affection
Affection is a fragile bird
With bones as light as air.
When wings are spread in joyous flight
No feelings can compare.
But when the winds of hatred blow,
The fragile bird must soar
Over the dark and swirling clouds,
Above the storm's wild roar.
For fragile bones are quickly broke
When hatred rears its head,
And sometimes fragile bones don't mend
And joyous birds fall dead.
Fault Finders
Some people have perfected
The art of finding fault.
They take their aim with polished skill
And in each hit exalt.
But if you ask them to recount
The virtues of a friend,
You'll find that their perceptive mind
Does not to good extend.
Roller Coaster
I know that life has ups and downs,
And each day is a trip
Upon a roller coaster ride
That we, white-knuckled, grip.
And underneath our flying car
The track is firm and sure
With everlasting arms beneath
Our pilot does not err.
AUNT RUTH
For Ruth Schnell
February 8, 1906 - August 17, 1998
As long as there were jobs to do
I didn't have to think
About the fact that you were gone -
Another childhood link.
But now the things that must be done
Are checked off of my list,
I'm free to sort the memories -
To think how you'll be missed.
I don't recall, but I've been told,
That on the day I came
They couldn't keep you in the hall -
You'd come to stake your claim.
And as I grew, the bond we formed
Was made from super glue -
The glue of love that loves in spite
Of stupid things we do.
And whether I lived far away
Or simply down the road,
A call from you would lift my heart,
Peel back a heavy load.
And even though you've gone ahead,
The bond will never break -
The place where you're attached to me -
A place where my heart aches.
And all my life, you loved me,
And all mine, I loved you -
And I will always cherish your last words,
"I love you, too."
