Poems by Alora M. Knight

Perpetuating hatred--
It's happening every day,
While many who contribute
Would be the first to say,
"Don't call me a bigot.
I'm broadminded as can be.
It's just that I don't believe
In a mixed society."

So deeply has this poison spread.
The roots have long been buried.
Still, in a small child's fertile mind
Some seeds will still be carried.
If they have heard somebody
Speak out with great contempt
About a color or a race,
Then hatred will ferment.

It later will flourish
If no one interferes.
Racial slurs and epitaphs
Will frequently appear.
There is an old Indian quotation,
One that clearly speaks.
"Don't judge a person 'til you have walked
In his moccasins many weeks."

There is no person living today
Who wouldn't somewhere be an outcast.
If everyone would just remember that,
We might have peace at last.

A gardener, if he's very wise,
When it is planting season,
Will always use the best of seeds.
It only stands to reason.

Because he knows when harvest comes
He'll reap what he has sown.
If he's been careful, he'll be proud
Of all that he has grown.

It makes me realize that words
Are very much like seeds.
People use all kinds of them
That seem to fit their needs.

But, unlike seeds, the words we speak
Don't stay down in the ground.
More likely in a fertile mind
Is where they will be abound.

Where they are nourished by the thoughts
Of those who seek to find
A way they can express themselves.
The way of all mankind.

Especially fertile is the mind
Of every little one,
So we should be so careful
Before much harm is done.

A child will mimic what he hears
And not give it a thought.
He doesn't even realize
Just what he has been taught.

Still, when he's grown, his attitude,
And what he will believe
Will come from words that he has heard
And what his mind received.

If he's been fed on ugly words,
He'll grow up full of hate
For those he thinks are different.
A most unhappy state.

Because that hatred then will spread.
It can go on forever,
With nations hating nations.
Peace, a lost endeavor.

So take care when you are speaking.
Plant words that when they grow,
Will bring forth love and wisdom.
You'll be glad you made it so.

If you have helped one single person
To overcome a prejudicial mind,
You have made an angel sing.

If you've withheld hot words of anger,
When control was hard to find,
You have made the heavens ring.

If you keep a smile upon your face,
Though the going's really rough,
You'll be blessed in many ways,

Doing little acts of kindness
Will, perhaps, be just enough
To brighten up somebody's days.

If you find love within your heart,
Do not leave it there unspoken.
There is no greater gift to give.

Reach out to everyone around you,
Let its warmth be spread unbroken
Into this world in which we live.

When sleepless I lie,
As the hours slip by,
I go walking the paths back home.
I hear the meadowlark's song
As I amble along
In this fanciful way that I roam.

As my memories clutter,
A tractor's soft mutter
Is providing new chocolate brown fields
For the ground to be seeded
When spring planting is needed.
A plan for which all nature yields.

A tinkling cowbell
Tells me all is now well
With the herd contentedly grazing.
Mother cows keep an eye,
While their newborns race by
With a speed that is simply amazing.

Thunderclouds overhead
Start to fill me with dread,
For I know that soon it will storm.
I cannot complain.
In fact, I love rain
As long as I'm in where it's warm.

As my feet stir the dust
I know that I must
Leave my childhood memories behind.
Still, it's a comfort to know
That wherever I go,
They will always be there in my mind.

I wonder if we realize
The gifts that we've been given,
The endless flow of beauty
Bestowed on us by heaven.

A rainbow arcing 'cross the skies
Shares its radiant hues,
While clouds that tumble here and there
Portray fantastic views.

Nighttime's filled with countless stars,
Each shares a twinkling light
While the moon rotates in glory
As it travels throughout the night.

Those who welcome early dawn
See beauty unsurpassed.
The evening sun surrenders day,
Its glowing lights amassed.

It's there for everyone to share,
To benefit thereby.
A beauty that is freely given
To those who look up at the sky.

At a time of sorrow, it is hard to believe
That the sun will once again shine.
That's when it seems you do nothing but grieve,
With all joy being left far behind.

Still, life has a way of starting anew,
A gradual moving away
From heartaches that linger, as heartaches will do,
If you will allow them to stay.

As spring returns to the Earth every year,
Bringing all of its beauty in view,
So merciful time will heal everything,
Bringing peace of mind back to you.

Know in your heart that love never dies,
No matter whatever befalls.
The only ones who never have tears in their eyes
Are those who loved no one at all.

The greater the love, the greater the loss.
Still, it's love that makes life worth living.
Few are the ones who will not bear the cost
To have shared in the joy of its giving.