Poems by John Peter Read

The old house stands alone and abandoned
Where life once used to thrive.
The old picket fence is broken.
The roof is opened up to the sky.

The well-trodden path to the doorway
Is overgrown with the passing of time.
The garden where once as kids we would play,
Now only a broken swing and memories remain.

Rooms which once echoed with laughter
Now lay silent, forlorn and bare.
Boarded up windows lock in the past
Where only ghosts now meet to confer.

If empty rooms could give up their secrets,
So many stories I'm sure they would tell.
But stubbornly they cling on to the past
And of a childhood they refuse to reveal.

The old house now stands abandoned
Derelict, forgotten, all alone.
Locked inside are my childhood dreams
In this old house which once was my home.

Of all the artists
who have graced our world,
however great they were,

none can compete
with Mother Nature;
her beauty's beyond compare.

Nature's creations
are truly amazing,
all around us and above.

Great works of art
for the whole world to see,
created by God's hand with love.

The days fade and die.
The years have flown by.
Loved ones have passed;
Now only memories remain.

Those dreams you once shared,
They still linger there.
Believing in Heaven
You'll meet once again.

I often lie awake at night
While the world is fast asleep
And take a stroll down memory lane
Where ghosts and shadows meet.

I see you in the distance,
I hear you call my name.
And for one moment time stands still
As I hold you once again.

C- Christmas Day, the church bells ring
H- Holy night, the angels sing
R- Rejoice and praise
I- In Christ our King
S- Sacrificed for all our sins
T- Through faith and love we worship Him.
​M- Merry Christmas, everyone
A- Amen, God bless
S- Share your love, have fun.

In a silent world of forgotten dreams,
Where disappointments and heartaches lie.
A world where hopes and dreams have died
And bid their last goodbye.

In a deserted land of times gone by,
Where once we used to tread.
Like autumn's leaves from summer's dreams
Lay abandoned, cold and dead.

Those winter chills of unfulfilled dreams
Linger on the ground.
The warmth and glow have left my life
Now that you're no longer around.

In a silent world of forgotten dreams,
A place we failed to breech.
I look towards the star we wished upon
But sadly failed to reach.

I'm living under a shadow,
No shape, no sound, no time.
A black and white silent film
That haunts a troubled mind.

Broken dreams lay all around;
Life has left its scars.
On a journey of remembrance,
Walking blindly through the dark.

Echoes call me from the past,
Familiar voices seem so near.
They fill an empty void,
Although it's only ghosts I hear.

In a world of yesterdays,
Life's lost all reality.
For memories are all that's left
As I await my destiny.

I miss our moments together,
I treasure each memory.
You left with the key to my heart;
Your life lives on through me.

If only I had wings,
I'd fly toward those stars
And knock on heaven's door;
I'm sure that's where you are.

Just to hear your voice,
See your loving smile,
Just to hold you once again,
I would crawl a billion miles.

You'll always be a part of me,
For love never fades with time.
I know in my darkest hours
Your light will always shine.

My head is full of words
all jumbled up inside.
But when I start to write,
those words don't seem to rhyme.

Yes, it's so annoying
when I'm halfway through a verse.
My mind goes completely blank;
nothing could be worse.

I blame it on my age.
My memory's not the same,
so I'll have to end it here
just in case it goes again.

Take me back to far off lands
where streams and rivers flow.
I want to leave this cold grey town.
It's no longer the one I know.

I've now become a stranger
in this place I once called home.
The friends I loved and grew up with,
some have left while others have passed on.

My life has now taken a detour
from the path I once was on.
It seems I blinked my eyes
and suddenly everything had gone.

So now I'm on my own
and often find myself breaking down
on the highway to nowhere,
endlessly going around and around.