My Own Book of Poetry, Volume 1
Page 5
Among all the pride and confusion of a generation,
I found that learning took a holiday;
What should have been a day of joy and knowing
Turned out to be the Great Folly-day.
Proverbs 16:22 Understanding is a wellspring of life
unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.
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A Cupped Hand
I stood at a stream
And watched the water flow.
I decided to take a drink
Before I should go.
I cupped my hand --
Scooped some up,
But it flowed back into the sand;
No water could I sup.
And I thought to myself,
Like the pleasures of this earth,
What you try to hold in your hand
Can surely cause a dearth.
But a living spring of water
From which I can drink,
Flows from a heavenly river,
As I stand upon its brink.
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It Is Done!
Dark; dark, the stillness of the day,
Beneath the fury of the storm;
Like thunder was the single cry
When God removed His arm
And turned His face away.
Great; great, the sorrow of the cry,
When brooding o’er the vale,
Sin crushed the life upon the Cross,
Deep riven by every nail;
This, the cause of Christ to die.
"My God, why do you leave me?"
He whispered through His pain,
Yet by His final cry " 'Tis Done",
His death was not in vain;
God's plan that was to be.
His blood by love out-poured;
What is this Cross to me?
Why did He die? Was it that I
In mercy then could be
From sin and shame restored?
If you will die with Him
In answer to His Call
Then you will rise with Him
Out of the water's pall.
Then, daily take your Cross
And bow before His name;
He is the God that was
And is, will always be the same.
List, and O, remember
The terror and the Glory of that day
When Jesus paid the debt
Man himself could not pay.
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Once Known
I knew a preacher once
Whose face was shining bright.
And everything he said and did
Just had to so be right.
He looked, as I would want to think,
As one of God's own men.
That he walked this wanton earth
Free as one could of sin.
His eyes gave forth a light of love,
And blush he did with humility.
And all whose lives he did touch
Must have felt love of the Trinity.
He spoke with conviction and stern
But in a voice soft and low,
So that surely the seed of truth,
In all that heard, he did sow
I even would that my sons
In such a way could walk,
And in such a manner
Of a desire would talk.
Surely the light of God
Has shone upon this man,
And if all in such a manner lived
The chasm of hell could we span.
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Love Finds Its Way
Taken from 1 Corinthians 13.
Love finds its way in the words of men
for all knowledge and truth,
But if not beheld in the joy and kindness of
love that comes from its very source
What mountains could I move,
or mysteries could I solve?
If I behave unseemly or seek that
which is my own pleasure,
What hearts could I move,
or understandings could I solve?
Love finds the soul that needs feeding
where there is no hope in this world,
Patiently awaiting the dawning of that knowledge,
without envy or pride,
Giving hope without seeking vengeance or reward,
free from evil thought.
Love finds reason to continue
when there is no excuse for failure.
And rejoices in finding hope in Christ;
receiving all things pure.
Love opens the door to understanding when
friendship has closed its doors to reason.
Love serves its purpose in our life
through each of life’s seasons,
And the days become as light in knowledge
of abiding love, and is no longer dim.
As we grow in stature and in favor as did our
Lord, we reach completeness in Him.
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Crown Of Thorns
When the days are dark and dreary,
And the flesh is sick and weary,
It takes all we have to withstand,
The evils dealt at Satan’s hand.
But, in the darkness there is light,
Glowing through our Saviour’s might.
Upon drops of blood on Emanuel’s land,
Beneath the Victor’s crown we stand.
And through all the days I walk to end,
It is this crown I seek to win.
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The Quiet Years
After the patter of little feet
That care and attention take;
After the turbulent years of youth
That in anxious tears do break;
Seeing young men of buried dreams
That of love to fullness grew;
And to know that all these menial tasks
And maternal concern are through,
Then to rest in peace and quietness
Living life to one's own self;
And re-dream those faded dreams
Long ago put upon the shelf;
To count alone the fleeting moments
As life's autumn slowly nears,
And weigh each moment precious;
For these are the quiet years.
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Beholden There The Shame
Oh, my Son, my Son.
Beholden there the shame
Man stripped you of honor, robe and name.
Yet they called you King, while at you curses hurled,
While you bore the sin that once cursed the world.
The power of your glory is covered by the dark,
As you fight the lonely battle for those who do not hark.
Wait upon the Father’s time, for effulgence of His love;
It will turn your darkened hour into His glory from above.
My Son, O my Son!
Still my quivering heart in the repose of your peace,
E’re the beating of my heart calls it’s time of cease.
As eons pass upon the earth, Satan’s fiery darts
Try again and again to conquer careless raging hearts.
Touch all the quivering hearts in the repose of your peace
E’re the beating of your children’s hearts calls its time of cease.
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