Melt My Heart of Stone

Melt My Heart of Stone!

When my daughter was only three,

She was as independent as can be,

On the playground she could hear me calling,

“Wait for me!  I don’t want you falling.”

But she would race toward the slide,

Even at that tender age she had pride,

“Me do it!” she would stubbornly insist,

She refused my help and would resist,

Hardheaded and independent, (just like her father).

So why should I try to help?  Why even bother?

As the years passed by, I didn’t get any wiser,

I didn’t save love and I didn’t become a miser,

I didn’t seek truth from wise men near and far,

I relied on myself to follow a distant star,

“Me do it!” I shouted to the heavens above,

“Why do I need help to learn the ways of love?”

Fair maidens passed often in the depths of night,

But their hearts were broken, sad was their plight,

I was too independent so I remained alone,

Hard-headed but sad, my heart turned to stone,

Who could open her heart and give me a chance?

Who could love enough to spark new romance?

I learned to accept help from any source I can,

I became less difficult; I became a calmer man,

With years of experience I became smarter too,

I decided not to rely on me; I wanted to depend on you,

Working and playing together as a team,

We could turn my world into a better dream,

Man was not meant to be alone,

“Help me please; melt my heart of stone!”

But She Forgot

But She Forgot

When her boyfriend broke up with her,

She:

Cried on my shoulder,

Walked with me by the lake,

Talked for hours about all the things they did,

Wanted me to be there just to hear her breathe,

But she forgot I was there.

When she met the man of her dreams,

She:

Told me how special he was,

Wanted me to meet him,

Insisted I go shopping with her to buy him gifts,

Asked me to help her write love poems (for him),

But she forgot I had feelings too.

When he became too busy to be with her,

She:

Wouldn’t talk to anyone for days,

Partied every weekend with her girl friends,

Claimed I would be her best friend forever,

Moved in with a roommate,

But she forgot I cared.

When she became pregnant,

She:

Needed me to take care of her,

Said I would be her son’s godfather,

Told me all the things we would do together,

Said she wanted to be independent,

But she forgot I had always been there for her.

When her boyfriend beat her up,

She:

Lost her baby,

Insisted she still loved him,

Asked me to mind my own business,

Said I should stay away,

But she forgot my heart was broken.

When she was dying,

She:

Looked very pretty,

Said she was sorry,

Wished that she loved me,

Left a note asking me to take care of her son,

But she forgot she didn’t even have to ask.

Are We There Yet?

Are We There Yet?

I often heard my children ask, “Are we there yet?”

On a trip we had just begun,

That was their way of saying,

They weren’t having any fun.

When I consider we’re all kids,

Traveling the same kind of road,

“Are we there yet?” means to me,

Someone is tired of his load.

We live in a smug cruel world,

Where we claim everything is under control,

But it’s time we search our hearts and ask,

Have we really reached our goals?

We haven’t found the ways to peace,

Though we tried with flowers in our hair,

Even SGT. Pepper could not stop the wars,

Even though we tried to care.

A white horse appeared on a cloud,

Its rider clutched a bow,

Representing conquest and a destructive force,

Sending peace reeling with a mighty blow.

Famine spreads across the land,

While food supplies dwindle down,

Animals and people fight to live,

But little grows on bloody parched ground.

A black horse stepping high,

With weighing scales at his side,

Famine strikes fear in all hearts,

While hope disappears worldwide.

A fiery horse gallops with color aglow,

Mass slaughter is his game,

His rider lets persecution and pain go free,

War is still the one to blame.

Pestilence still sweeps the world,

While we turn our heads in vain,

Trying to ignore terrible diseases,

That keep third world children in pain.

Death still stalks each of us,

We won’t leave this world alive,

But couldn’t we try to slow death down,

Allowing us a few more years to thrive.

Astride a pale horse with sunken eyes,

The Grim Reaper wears a grin,

He scans the earth looking for those,

Who have already died within.

Are we there yet?

It’s a question we should ask,

Have we done all we can possibly do,

Before we give up our chosen task?

The Four Horsemen continue to ride,

Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death,

With sword and gun they sweep the land,

And steal each feeble breath.

Are we there yet?

The question echoes on,

We can’t stop to boast or reset,

Until the battles are won.

Miles of Travel and Roadside Stands

Miles of Travel and Roadside Stands

Bouncing along in my old sedan,

Stopping for refreshments at roadside stands,

Miles of travel watching for flea market sales,

Electronic games and puppy dog tales,

Little brother’s laugh echoing for miles around,

Counting farms and houses before the next town,

Tired and grumpy after an hour or two,

A fight or argument and a quarter is due,

A roll of quarters for each child,

Dwindling down as behavior turns wild,

Happy is the child who manages to maintain,

Happy are the parents who don’t hear them complain,

Watching billboards, children play the alphabet game,

From license plates they learn the states by name,

A day of travel with few fights and no fuss,

Is there a family as happy as us?

We have good times aplenty as we travel afar,

Though crowded together in my old red car.

Join Me for Coffee

Join Me for Coffee

“Good morning! Have a cup of coffee with me,

Relax and enjoy, what a great day it will be,

We’ll discuss the news and what went wrong,

Our place in the universe and where we belong,

We’ll talk about the drought and why we don’t have rain,

Aunt Lulu’s flowers and Rhonda’s recent weight gain,

We’ll talk about most everything except you and me,

We’re afraid to confront our feelings and what we really see,

I know you belong to another who calls me his friend,

But without you in my arms the nights never end,

Let’s talk about the weather and time spent together,

If people have noticed, will storm clouds gather?

Our love is a relationship between you and me,

We need to decide how we want it to be,

Our families, our friends, not many will approve,

Should we stand and face them, or should we move?

Join me for coffee, or do you prefer tea?

I want to know how this will be,

Open for all to see, love in the sun,

Or living in darkness and love on the run?

Join me for coffee, please don’t hesitate,

I’m ready for love, and my love won’t wait.”

If Loneliness is a Shadow

If Loneliness is a Shadow

If loneliness is a shadow who wants to dance,

She dreams alone and she’ll take a chance,

At first she doesn’t understand,

As loneliness takes her by the hand,

But as imaginary music fills the air,

Loneliness spins her around the room,

Letting her forget despair and gloom,

 When the sun sets and shadows grow,

This shadow takes her to the late, late show,

Hoping that she’ll be glad to stay,

Along with her dreams for one more day,

Her feet are nimble as she glides across the floor,

Her happiness complete and her heart soars,

No longer does she count the hours,

But time spent is time lost,

And she does not consider the cost,

Hello, Loneliness, Join her once again,

Let her dance the night away,

Tomorrow she’ll rise to a brand new day,

And she’ll dance, spinning round and round,

Keeping her smile with never a frown,

Giving her heart one more chance,

To wake in her world of lost romance,

Happiness and love will treat her well,

As she dances along a star lit trail,

An imaginary world where everything is real,

It lets her dance the way she feels,

Spinning dizzily as the music plays,

She prepares her heart for lonely days.

  

Think Like a Tree

Think Like a Tree

I wasn’t ready for life’s road stretching out before me,

It wasn’t as fun as I expected it to be,

I whined, I complained, until I learned,

 The lessons taught by an old fruit tree,

In the middle of an orchard the tree quietly stood,

He was the oldest and wisest in that neighborhood,

Although ancient and twisted his heart was still good,

I questioned him thoroughly about things he knew,

From seedling to adulthood, all the years he grew,

“Tell me your secret for being young so long,

How did you endure when things went wrong?

And how did you manage to stay so strong?”

The tree scratched his head, then smiled at me,

“Life will never be easy, as you can plainly see,

Adjust and be positive, and think like a tree,

There are a few things you ought to know,

Trees serve others and they’re not for show,

If a branch is barren or doesn’t grow,

There’s no reason to keep it, just let it go,

A tree needs to compete to be the best around,

But if it bears no fruit, cut it down,

It’s tragic to waste good fertile ground,”

He hesitated and drew a deep breath,

“If a tree produces it’s still not left alone,

It’s pruned each year even while grown,

It will be healthier and productive, a fact well known,

Often a tree tries too hard,

When too much is produced a tree must be thinned,

The remaining fruit will grow larger,” he said as he grinned,

“But if there’s too much fruit the limbs might break,

How soon, how much, it’s something a gardener must tweak,

A tree doesn’t want to be crowded,

It needs space to be free,

A tree needs to improve constantly, don’t you agree?”

I was ashamed of my previous actions,

Because I had been thinking only about me,

The way the old tree explained it I could see,

Life is not as harsh as I made it out to be,

If I need to be pruned to produce more in life,

I’ll adjust and be positive and think like a tree.