Modern Pioneers

Now days it is thought that "pioneers" were all long ago And the hurt of leaving things behind is something we don't know.
But modern people, you will find, feel as lonesome and bereft,
When they turn and look, like Lot's wife, at the places they have left.
Our methods of travel change a lot, we move around more quickly now,
And the physical hardships they had to bear then are easier somehow.
But a tear dimmed eye still searches out, to take "just one more look."
And a housewife's heart wonders when, and where, for her family she'll cook.
There are those now whose hearts are just as grieving
When they think with sadness of the dear ones they're leaving.
But if you look around, it can still be found, This spirit of pioneering.
Seeking to make a new life situation, new friendships, will be endearing.
So look ahead with gladness and think about all the new friends you'll be making…
You are a modern day pioneer, my dear, welcome the chance you are taking.
 

CHANGES

What did we have to trade away
To get the peace we have today?
Is it worth while to lose Variety, spontaneity, anonymity,
To gain acclaimed scenery, Unsurpassed pure air?
If you can find a place to shop,
It's not worth your time to go in.
Articles aren't there to choose from and buy
You must order from a book they're showing.
Traveling from one small town to another,
Applauding the chance to see,
Thinking of all the things that I've lost
To gain such variety.
Wondering if the gain is worth the loss
Of things that I once held dear,
Remembering the way life used to be
Comparing the one I live here.
There were stores to walk in, to shop in, to browse,
There were new things to see and admire,
There were craftsmen who honestly knew their work,
And took pride in being worthy of hire.
But that's in the past, as now I am rich
With things money really can't buy,
Two hundred birds sing a morning call,
Air so clean you can't see it, ah the sky!
Well maybe I'll settle for living where
The absence of quality soreness
Can't count against all of the advantages
But I'll complain and even be nervous.


The Seasons

Spring is in such a hurry,
But Autumn has the peace of fulfillment.
And a still warm Autumn day
With a touch of cool frost night
And morning is the loveliest weather there is. In love, for the first time,
And for awhile the whole world shone in beauty.
It ended in tears; does not every first love end in tears?
But sometimes that first love is one of the hidden beauties
That are a part of us forever.
Physical suffering can ennoble and purify,
But mental suffering seems pointless and useless
Which makes the whole thing seem so miserable.
The unthinking cruelty of some children to their parents
Is one of the hardest things to be endured in this life.

 

My World

This world has passed me I've been left behind
Though I tell myself sternly I don't mind.
It's not true!
I do mind. I do.
When time after time I get passed by
Swallow the lump in my throat and sigh
And I say very fiercely "I won't cry!"
It's not true!
I do cry. I do.
They say this fat, ugly old body of mine --
She's old--she isn't really alive.
She doesn't feel things anymore.
Fat is ugly, old is too…
We needn't be kind
Anymore to you.
It's not true -
I still hurt... I do.



ETERNITY

The absence of sound has a sound of it's own
When it's just you and God in a place all alone
Still there is something to be heard
I've thought as I listened and it seems to me
Life sighs as it grows and goes into eternity...


TODAY

Tomorrow will find us back again In life's swift running stream.
There'll be no time to sit and doze, Or think, or drift or dream.
Tomorrow two different, busy paths Our hurrying feet will find.
And I will miss this lovely day We will have left behind.
In memory I'll hold this day fast, Locked deep within my heart,
And it will gladden and make bright The time when we're apart.
I'll close my eyes and see the fog
Drift low across the sea,
The gray gulls dip, the crisp winds blow
Adventurous, cool and free.
The green wave fills and lifts then ebbs
Before the saucy breeze.
Oh, I'll remember this and warm my wintry
Heart on days like these.

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