Facing the Storms

I stood facing the storm,

Shaking my fists at the sky,

“I’m as angry as you are,

Don’t you dare pass me by!”

The storm roared out an answer,

One that I couldn’t comprehend,

From the clouds lightning flashed,

No way my position I could defend,

“You think that I’m afraid,

To hear your mighty roar,

But through the years I’ve gotten strong,

And you don’t scare me anymore,”

Large clumps of ice were thrown,

But I dodged each and every one,

Then the wind howled at me,

Thinking I was completely done,

I raised my arms once more to protest,

I shouted, “Is that all you’ve really got?”

The winds blew even stronger then,

And my question I soon forgot,

The angry storm surged ahead,

With me squarely in its sights,

Drenched and bruised I stood firm,

Determined to last through the night,

The winds slowed and died down,

The storm was coming to an end,

“What made you want to defy me?” it asked,

“You were brave and strong, my friend,”

“Today I buried someone dear to my heart,

Too young to pass away,

I have nothing left to live for,

I’m not ready for a brand new day,”

The storm said, “The world would lose a man,

Someone who is filled with love inside,”

The storm was barely a whisper,

“You’d be missed if you were injured or died,”

The rain fell in soft little drops,

Tears falling from the storm’s eyes,

I gained respect for a storm,

And I was willing to give life another try,

Sunshine warmed me at the break of day,

The world was beautiful again,

My tears had fallen along with the storm’s,

And I was ready for my new life to begin.

"Would You, Could You?"

Some needs never change,

As a child and growing like a weed,

I got bumps and bruises,

And discovered an inner need,

I needed acknowledgment,

For wounds and battles already won,

I’d say, “I need a hug,

So my day can continue on,”

As a shy, insecure teenager,

While out on a date,

I’d be fretting and nervous,

Perhaps you can relate,

There were moments of silence,

When I didn’t know what to do,

I’d look my partner in the eye,

And this is what would ensue,

“I think our evening has been great,”

I’d say with a shrug,

“So would you, could you,

Give me a hug?”

As an adult, life happened quickly,

And with a wife and house full of kids,

Things didn’t always go smoothly,

Sometimes we flipped our lids,

But in the late evening,

When there was peace and quiet,

I’d think over the events of the day,

Before I turned out the lights,

“This was a very long day,”

I’d say with a shrug,

“Wrap your arms around me,

And give me a hug,”

The best part of life is gone,

It happened so very fast,

But most of my so called problems,

Were forgotten in my past,

I see the world more clearly,

As I face each and every day,

I know I couldn’t have made it this far,

Without hugs along the way,

To anyone who will listen,

My favorite thing I’ll say,

“Would you, could you,

Give me a hug today?”

The news continues to bother me,

Wars, famines, and a new flu bug,

So wrap your arms around me,

And give me a hug,

You might want to ignore me,

As I stare out into space,

But there is something you can do,

To bring a smile to my face,

Just say, “Do you have a problem?”

I’ll grin and I’ll shrug,

And you’ll know it’s the best time,

To give me a giant hug,

If I’m wasting away in a corner,

Or standing in a line,

If I get a little tender loving care,

I’ll make it just fine,

When my life is full of sorrow,

I’ll greet it with a shrug,

But “Would you, could you,

Give me a hug?”

Her Eyes, Her Smile, Her Hair

She was the one I dreamed of,

But the one I couldn’t have,

I kept my feelings tucked inside,

Each time I came near her,

A part of my heart died,

I loved everything about her,

Her eyes, her smile, her hair,

In the dark when I was alone,

She was my lady fair,

Oft when we were together,

She would give a friendly hug,

My heart would flip excitedly,

But all I could do was shrug,

She belonged to another,

She was as faithful as could be,

Yet somehow I always knew,

He didn’t love her as much as me,

He treated her very badly,

She was his personal slave,

He tired of her eventually,

And drove her to her grave,

The love I had she never knew,

For he was always between,

But in another life in another time,

I would have claimed her as my queen,

There is little warmth left in my heart,

Each day it drops a degree,

Without her presence in my life,

There is nothing left for me,

I cannot endure without sleep again,

Yet my dreams beg for another chance,

Is there someone who could love me back,

And fuel the fires of romance,

This world is too harsh to face alone,

I want my heart to flare,

I want to love someone as she is,

Her eyes, her smile, her hair,

In the night I want to hold her close,

And feel her heart start to race,

We’ll share sweet love with new hope,

Together the world we’ll face,

The rest of my life will be about love,

No longer will I stand aside,

I want to share love with someone new,

And stir my fires inside.

When Love Starves

We fell head over heels,

The first moment we met,

The world buzzed with happiness for us,

As we watched sunrise and sunset,

We had no worries of tomorrow,

We were too full of today,

Life continued to happen,

When reality walked in to stay,

Long planned and wanted,

Children arrived and began to grow,

Soccer games and mini vans,

Became the life we learned to know,

Busy we were, from dawn to dusk,

We had no fear of growing apart,

We expected our love to last forever,

But neither of us knew our hearts,

Problems arose over the course of time,

We argued and fought, forgot to be kind,

We dug trenches and built walls,

Instead of lovers we were enemies in our minds,

Patterns of life that should have been fun,

Were swallowed up by silence’s gulf,

It doesn’t matter which one to blame,

It was decided that enough was enough,

We tumbled from the pedestals we were on,

Much too high as we fell from the sky,

There was no way we could stay there,

No longer did we care to try,

The beautiful things I knew about you,

In all the turmoil I forgot,

And the words and acts of love,

No longer from you were sought,

We could have tried harder,

Worked through our problems by choice,

Instead we continued out of control,

Until we broke our vows by divorce,

Each of us played a part,

We didn’t give love a chance,

Our love died by not being fed,

And life shut down our luke-warm romance.