POETRY

The first page of this is poetry that I have come across through the past ten years. They hit right at home for me and I liked them right away. So I want to share them with others. Some of them I don't know who wrote them but whoever did so I give great credit to.

I want to say…Please forgive me
I want to say…Please forgive me
I'm so scared you won't want me...
Because I feel like I'm nothing but a bother and a nuisance…
I'm so scared…that some times I say and do things I don't mean…
The other day, when I said I hated you…
I wanted to run to you and say hold me I love you…
But, for some reason I didn't…
Instead, I stomped up to my room and cried…
The other day, when I broke your favorite glass figurine…
I wanted to say I am so so sorry…
But, for some reason I didn't…
Instead, I pretended to look pleased with myself…
The other day, when you asked me to do my homework…
I wanted to say, please help me…it's too hard to understand…
But, for some reason I didn't…
Instead, I wined and complained…until you sat by my side…
The other day, when I screamed in my sleep…
I wanted to say I'm so glad it's you I woke to see…
But, for some reason I didn't…
Instead, I told you to go away…
Oh how I wish you could hear my true words…
How I wish I felt safe to say them…
How I wish you would need me as much as I need you…
All I want is to please you…I truly do…
But, for some reason I didn't…

Does Heaven have a phone number?

Mommy went to Heaven, but I need her here today,
My tummy hurts and I fell down, I need her right away,
Operator can you tell me how to find her in this book?
Is heaven in the yellow part, I don't know where to look.
I think my daddy needs her too, at night I hear him cry.
I hear him call her name sometimes, but I really don't know why.
Maybe if I call her, she will hurry home to me.
Is Heaven very far away, Is it across the sea?
She's been gone a long, long time she needs to come home now!
I really need to reach her, I simply don't know how.
Help me find the number please, is it listed under "Heaven"?
I can't read these big big words, I am only seven.
I'm sorry operator, I didn't mean to make you cry,
Is your tummy hurting too, or is there something in your eye?
If I call my church maybe they will know.
Mommy said when we need help that's where we should go.
I found the number to my church tacked up on the wall.
Thank you operator, I think I'll give them a call.

Journey's Just Begun
Don't think of him as gone away
his journeys just begun
life holds so many facets
this earth is only one.
Just think of him as resting
from the sorrows and the tears
in a place of warmth and comfort
where there are no days and years.
Think of how he must be wishing
that we could know today
how nothing but our sadness
can really pass away.
Think of him as living
in the hearts of those he touched
for nothing loved so much is ever lost
and he was loved so very much.
L. Brenneman

Grief is like a jagged rock
that you keep deep in your pocket.
Its sharp edges force you
to take it out and examine it from
time to time,
even when you don't want to.

And when it is too heavy to carry
you must ask a friend to hold it
so you can rest.

As time passes
it is a little easier to take the tock
out of your pocket.
It doesn't seem to weigh as much.
Now you show it to a circle of friends,
and, occasionally even a stranger.

One day you pull out the rock
and surprisingly, it doesn't even hurt.
For the edges are no longer jagged,
but smoothed by time, touch and tears.

Strangers
Strangers That’s all we were
She did not know us
We didn’t know her

She had a few possessions
No smile of her face
She is probably wondering
How she got to this place

She hid behind a hat
That did not hide her tears
That represented so much pain
And all of her fears

Slowly, oh so slowly
We saw a little smile
Something she had not done
In such a while
Soon there was laughter
And she became our friend
Hoping to teach her
She could love again

A scared little girl
She once used to be
Yet a beautiful young lady
Is now what we see

Children Know
You can look in their eyes, and see by the pain,
They've sailed some rough seas, and suffered in vain;
Their spirits are broken, their faith totally shattered,
And given up hope, their little lives mattered!

They've been on the front-lines, like soldiers of war,
Fought endless battles, with no chance to score;
There were no medals of honor, pinned on their chests,
And no way to escape, life's toughest of tests!

They've carried their burdens, without speaking to others,
For the 'weight', is their own, fathers and mothers;
They've hungered far more, than there ever was cause,
Yet accepted their fate, with little more than a pause!

So remember, when one of these 'soldiers', are given to you,
They'll fight against everything that you try to do;
But be persistent, don't quit, just stick to your plan,
For the child in the "soldier", will seek your gentle hand!

Slowly their minds, and their spirits will mend,
When they are secure, that you're their friend;
And that is the greatest gift, you could ever bestow.
For when you give from the heart, all children know!

I Must Be Really Bad
I do not live with Mommy.
I do not live with Dad.
Late at night when I'm alone
I often feel real sad.

Where is my Mommy?
Where is my Dad?
At school I am naughty
because I am so mad!

I cannot pay attention.
I do not comprehend.
My little heart is broken.
Will it ever mend?

Where is Mommy?
Where is Dad?
They fought a lot.
I had to leave.
I must be really bad!

Does my Mommy miss me?
Does she feel my pain?
Maybe she no longer loves me instead she feels distain.
Do they want to hug me?
I yearn to feel their touch.
Does God let them know, I love them very much?

Will I ever see them?
Do they really care?
Was their fighting worth it?
Was it really fair?

Oh, how I miss my Mommy!
Oh how I miss my Dad!
I no longer live at my house.
I must be really bad!

Children idle by a sill
Waiting, wondering, silent and still.
Abandoned by parents, abused and alone,
No place to cuddle, no home sweet home.

Mommas and poppas alive in a park,
Meager, humble, home after dark,
Talking of how it is not for them
To take in a child of a red tape system.

Yet how can they not make it their life?
How can they walk away from this strife?
If it were them sitting by a cracked window pane,
Wouldn't they hope someone would give them a name?

If not a name then a bed safe from harm,
A story to dream on, a pillow, some charm.
A smile, a tissue to wipe away tears,
Some hope for the future to last through the years.

A child lays awake rocking, alone and afraid,
You wish not to see them or call them by name,
Abused, neglected, alone and scared,
Dying for love and crying still you choose not to hear.

Oh someone will take them, someone but me,
Someone will rock them someone better you see,
This is what you quietly say to yourself
It's not your job leave it to someone else.

Oh I am busy; oh I have so much to do,
I couldn't do it even if the Lord asked me to,
It is a mountain I just can not climb,
It isn't my child, I haven't enough time.

When you walk in a store and see a child's tears,
You think what a shame, walk away knowing he's scared,
His father just hit him and his mother just screamed,
But it is none of your business so you leave the whole scene.

Go about your life; forget what you know,
Why should you be responsible for what others have sown?
Why shouldn't you? Why can't you give a bit more?
Sow a seed of charity right at your door.

If you give just one day of your life today,
The rewards are great in every way,
To see a child smile after being withdrawn and afraid,
You can help by being a mentor, a foster parent or adopter,
Just give some of your time who could ask for more?

© COPYRIGHT JANUARY 17, 2001 Suzanne DeRemer Floyd

Why?
Why did you do this to me?

After all of these years alone
I am still but a child on the roam

I try to figure it all out
But it makes me crazy with out a doubt

My mind is all mixed up
My skin has built up tough
No longer soft, gentle and trusting

These barriers that my body has formed
Makes it impossible for me to get along with anyone who tries to care for me.

I push them away!
How do I know-
They won't do how you did.
They all have so far

But for me it is too late
Too late for new beginnings.

But you
You have the freedom of possibility
I have nothing but hostility.

All I hold are memories
Shattered with the scars to remind me
The fears and broken heart to bind me
Binding to a life of misery?

No
I think not.
Why should I always be the martyr in the plot?
Although my childhood is shot,
I won't let my future rot.

So while I work away my days
And cry away my nights
I will think of you still

So umm - Ma'am,
Why?
I can't understand
Never will.

It takes a special person;
To be a mom or dad.
The joy when a child is born
Is enough to drive you mad!
Now when a child's adopted,
His family gets to choose;
The babe brought home to open arms,
A situation he can't lose.
Moving on to foster parents,
Whether young or old,
They take children into their homes,
And love them like their own.
They teach the children new things,
And how to trust again;
They show children the world out there,
Beyond the sorrow and pain.
Foster parents have hearts of gold,
And they often take the fall;
For this they have the greatest honor,
Appreciation, from us all.

Copyright ©2000 Wendi Sturgeon

Protect this child in your arm
Do not let him suffer more harm
He has been through so much pain
Tell me what they had to gain

Give this child a safe place to grow
Make sure you care and let him know
Show him we're not all bad out there
That there are people who really do care

Nightmares he suffers through the night
His life has been a constant plight
Take his hand and hold it firm
Through this your love he will learn

Hold on tight don't ever let go
In the end his love will show
Help me god to guide way
And show him I am here to stay

With my heart and soul I'll give
A safe place where he can live
Unconditional love I'll give to them all
Pick them up if ever they fall....

What did you do with your Dash ?
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone,
From the beginning...to the end.
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.
(1940 - 1996)

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth...
And now only those who loved her,
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
The cars...the house...the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard...
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real,
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile.
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy's being read
With your life's actions to rehash...
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

Origin Unknown