Poems by Lori

I am one of many
Small branches of a broken tree,
Always looking to the ones above
For guidance, strength and security.
One little branch trying
To keep the others from breaking away.
Who will fall?
And who will stay?
Now I stand alone,
Looking at the earth through the rain,
And I see the broken branches I knew
Scattered about me in pain.
There are those who have taken an ax
To the root of our very foundation
And who have passed this destruction
Down to every new generation.
If I could take that ax,
I would toss it deep into the sea,
Never to return again
To harm the generations that follow me.
I am one of many,
But alone I will go
And plant the new seeds
Where a beautiful tree will grow.

When resentment and offense
Invade the very crevices of your heart
It burns fierce like sulfur
As it forces love to depart.

Causing only the mention of a name
To consume you with hate
As its poison reeks havoc
on the next generation's fate

This grudge festers on
Keeping you imprisoned in pain
Causing every life force around you
To bear the effects of your strain

For hate and love
Cannot reside in one heart
Just as hate takes a family
And tears it all apart

Without forgiveness the heart dies
As it mourns the loss of love
Never understanding its very being
Is created in the heavens above

So then, how can we be reconciled
To God, who is LOVE, the creator of life
If the heart still remains
Unforgiving and full of strife?

I believe mankind's greatest lesson
What we are sent here to learn
Is how to love God and our neighbor
Before we return

So what's more valuable to you
Is it love or is it pride?
Because a heart without love
Has already died!

And understand that if pride
Is what you choose
There are many generations to follow
Who have everything to lose!

Ask love to return again
And invade every crevice of your heart
Seek the courage to make amends
Let love give you a new start!