Children Edition - 1/9/2000
Hello and welcome again to my lil poetry ring!
MUSING - 9/1/99
-Leslie Johnson copyright 1999
Out here in the droughted country
everything is dry and
seems to be dying
only that which is
planted in or around
water survives
And so it is with the
Christian's life
everything beyond
the Living Water
suffers and dries and crumbles
from the lack of
Truth and Life
I hope that you are all doing well in this new year. Hope that you haven't experienced too many Year 2000 computer glitches or any other malfunctions of life. As for me, well, life seems to be improving. Hope has revisited our home. We may be able to stay in Tennessee at the farm that's been in my husband's family for nearly 200 years. Being close to family would be great for our children. We're praying hard that things will work out.
SING SONG BABE
-Leslie Johnson copyright 1999
Smile my lil babe
make your music
and dance out loud
alive in every
color every note
of all the art
and all the sounds
My creative lil soul
you mirror me
you look to the skies
stop your sing song dance
and whisper,
pointing,
GOD
I look at our two children and I know how blessed I am. But I also realize the awesome responsibility that God has laid upon us. I do my best to teach them the ways of our Lord and the Word of God. And, yet, already I am seeing the pressures of this world pushing against the heart of my daughter. A friend of hers is asking her to do things that my lil one knows are wrong - says that if she wants my daughter to be her friend then she has to do it. My daughter talked to me about it this weekend. It broke my heart. We talked about what is really a friend and what is not. I used a friend of mine whom she's familiar with as an example in this conversation. My daughter decided that this other child was not her real friend and that she will not play with her anymore. Then she said, "But, Mommy, I think I'll pray for her. Is that alright?" I almost cried. I told her that that is exactly what Jesus would want her to do. I want my children to be prepared to face this world as I never was - with a Christian heart. I want them to know that God is with them even when I am not. [NOTE: Yes, I am both over-protective and at times overly emotional/sentimental.]
I watch the news nightly and I pray. I pray for every story that's on. I pray both for the victims (direct and indirect) and, if it's not too late, I pray for those who've lost sight of love for their fellow man. One story from last year still grinds into my soul. I pray still for all those at Columbine (especially those suffering from PTSD). I have avoided writing about it however because it seems like everyone else has. Not long ago, though, I heard on a nightly news program selections from the tape that Eric and Dylan made before their attack. One phrase from that tape spoken with such venom haunted me until a few nights ago when I awoke and knew that I had to write whatever was about to spill out.
Superior Selfs
-Leslie Johnson copyright 2000
"Homo Superior on my interior ...."
an old punk song echos
in the words of young killers
losing emotions for
self and fellows
does not equal evolution
just disintegration
It was my first poem of 2000. What came next wasn't any prettier but it was honest. What has happened to our youth that they would do this to their fellow human beings? It's a question that has been spoken often lately. The answer to the question is both simple and complex. It's easy to say that recent damages to youth is caused by a loss in religious faith and spirituality. True, that's part of it, but it's so much more. By closing the door on God, so many other doors have been opened. Like Pandora opening the box, so many evils are loosed but the box is shut just as hope is about to be freed. I don't have the answers to how to fix things. All I know is that mankind can not fix it alone - only God can heal these wounds - so we have to allow HIM into our lives, our homes, our communities.
ARROGANCE
-Leslie Johnson copyright 2000
Unspoiled arrogance
gone unchecked
leads to degradation
looses a mess
Superhero syndrome
gone a-rye
too much to see and do
‘til life is a lie
Tomorrow's dream
mutates fully
mis-reality overthrows
fantasy becomes bully
sour note ending
hearts cease to beat
playing with arrogance
leads to defeat
I'll close with those thoughts. Remember that children are important in our lives. You may not have children of your own but take the time to make a difference in the life of a child - I'm sure there's one or two you encounter in your daily walk. Besides my own children, I try to be a positive (Christian) influence in the lives of my cousins, nieces, nephews, and the children of friends and neighbors. My 17 year old nephew has brought biblical questions to me because he knows I'll take the time to do research so that I can answer him as fully and responsibly as I can. You don't have to do something that big, though, to make a difference in the life of another. Just let God lead your heart and (as Audio A put it on their "Underdog" cd) be HIS "hands and feet".
God be with you, keep you and yours, and bless you deeply. Peace, love, and forgiveness.
Leslie Elain
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Email: shaken@angelfire.com