DESTINY CALLS: WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP ME?

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America, Inspiration Monday, Land of the Free, liberty, Liberty speaks, poem, poetry, self-governing people

A place in history, of time untolled,
A purpose and plan struggled against the mold,
Some strangers from across the sea,
Set out knowing nothing at all of me.

Looking through the stars, a stirring they felt,
On my distant shores, gratefully they knelt.
A firm foundation, their hearts to heaven soared,
With a twinkle in their eye and a future reward.

A city on hill, a new world of freedom,
A people self-governed, contrary to a kingdom.
That was the plan; that was the dream,
To rule over themselves without selfish scheme.

Alas, it now seems that some devilish machine
Has usurped the plan and banished the dream,
No longer this people willing to behave well,
Sold their will and devotion to a vile cartel.

Yet, off in the distance, muffled by noise,
Still Liberty’s voice, it calls with poise,
“Stand up and be counted, all you who’d be free,
The time has come to support and defend me!”

“Too busy,” you say, to get involved;
“Too much corruption, and lies, and scandals unresolved!”
Ah, but who allowed that to happen,” Liberty dares to inquire,
“Self-governing was the call, not sit back and retire!”

This ‘self-governing’ people has stopped governing altogether,
Stopped trying to improve, stopped reaching higher.
It’s so much easier to just sit and collect a check,
“Leave the heavy lifting to others while I enjoy my new deck!”

But the Land of the Free simply will not survive,
If mediocrity and laziness overpower our drive,
To conquer all obstacles, to rise to every challenge,
To grow up, to face up, and stand in the balance!

Inspiration Monday: looking through the stars Hope you don’t mind me dropping back in this week. I do miss the challenge of the “weekly assignment!”

How to make a mask!

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"life lessons", character training, choices, emotions, Inspiration Monday, masks, poem, poetry

With Memorial Day on Monday, I’m a little late, but wanted to participate anyway! Hope that’s ok be kind rewrite ~ Inspiration Monday XIII?

The Colors of Character by CharacterCounts.org/overview/about.html

With a dire desire to build a mask,
I ponder life’s bold images,
And scan the shapes, the colors, and shades,
And gauge life’s starts and finishes.

What sort of mask do I need today,
Something bright and frilly,
Or perhaps today I wish to say,
Something dark and chilly.

What shall I choose to become today,
A mask of joy or sorrow,
What passion shall I evoke today,
Red or blue, green or yellow?

I hear you scoff at my contemplation,
That I dare to design my mask,
Who does yours, I sweetly inquire,
Or should I bother to ask?

Have We Lost the Power to Rise Above?

Tags

"life lessons", freedom, hopelessness, Human nature, light, people, poem, poetry

Thick and dark, intangible and seductive,
The streaming fingers of hopelessness
Seep around our ankles, oozing, grasping,
Like a rising tide of quicksand.

Groups and clubs of purposeless people,
Empty, they do not understand it’s goal:
To steal, to kill, and to destroy each one,
Systematically, methodically, in broad daylight.

Understanding, we lack the will
To stand against this thickening mass;
We think like victims, helpless against such a foe.
Who will stand, who will light the way?

Have we lost the power to rise above,
Are we helpless and doomed to drown,
Too weak and lazy to scream and shout,
Kick and stomp our way to freedom?

Sometimes I Wonder

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"life lessons", confusion, God, grace, life, poem, poetry, purpose, shame, uncertainty

Perseid Meteor ShowerPhoto by Joe Westerberg

Sometimes I wonder why I try,
Why I always seek to find
The high road that seems untried,
Why I yearn for more,
To learn, to grow, to soar.

Sometimes I wonder what You want from me,
I give You my best,
I struggle, but I rest
In Your amazing love
That I know covers me from above.

I’m at a loss for words, it seems,
And I don’t know what is next,
Where do I put my foot,
Where do I place my hands.
I feel completely vexed.

You are my Father, my Lord, and my Friend,
Did I hear You wrong,
Did I miss your song
That floated on the tender breeze
Tell me what’s next … please.

I will wait for You and try not to panic,
I will trust in Your sovereignty,
I rely on your constancy;
You are always the same,
And in You, there’s no shame.

Sometimes I wonder why I doubt You,
Why I panic and question Your ways,
Why I long to see Your face,
Then I realize it’s Your grace,
Walking me through this worldly maze.

All Your Waves and Breakers Have Swept Over Me

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"life lessons", "sea gulls", beach, lighthouse, poem, poetry, refresh-ment, renew, Sea. ocean, waves

Morris Island Beach and Lighthouse, SC

Waves splash on the soggy sand,
But I gaze from dry land,
Drinking in the salty breeze,
And tuning in to the voice of the seas.

Rocky crags face the wet onslaught,
Of persistent waves and tireless thought,
Yet there’s a music in the rhythm
That soothes this weary pilgrim.

Solitary gulls soar overhead,
Dancing to the music in my head,
All the while the waves speak
Of the ancient and glorious mystique.

“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls;”
Rumbling, tumbling within my walls,
Broken, mended by the voice of the sea:
“All your waves and breakers have swept over me.”

Ps 42:7

© 2012 All Rights Reserved.

HOPE

Tags

"life lessons", hope, life, new, past, poem, poetry, restoration, spirituality

On the floor by the door,

Lay the pieces of my life,

Bits of broken dreams,

Shattered by his schemes:

Innocence wasted, deceit tasted,

Hope deferred.

But somehow from the ruined scraps,

Something new conceived,

Holy and ancient, Hope,

Rekindled in the ashes of my dreams:

Bits of broken glass,

Released finally to the past,

Dustpan used, brokenness fused,

Hope restored.

bjb2002