Sylvia Stults

As the river rushes
Through the rapids of life
Over rocks and branches
Nary a lifeboat in sight

You grab your oar
And fight the tide
With hopes that somehow
You will survive

Then water smacks you
Straight in the face
As if to say
What a show of disgrace

Yet off in the distance
A thunderous cloud
As rain starts to pelt
For crying out loud

But this curtails
The rapids of life
Not all is calm
But conflict and strife

So tighten your grip
On that one single oar
Knowing life is worth living
And soon you'll reach shore

Dear Heavenly Father
Please lend me your ear
I pray not for myself
But through you I'll persevere

Last night while visiting a nearby nursing home
The elders that live there, well, they feel so all alone
They call me to their chair side in order to reminisce
While others are content with just a hug or passing kiss

They reach in their pockets for candy they've stored
It's the one thing they can give, it's all they can afford
Accepting their candy, as if it were gold
Oh, the smiles received it's like salve to the soul

Yet when I get home at the end of the night
I open my hand and the tears I do fight
There's 10 pieces of stale candy, which all tell a tale
Of the hearts of the elderly, so caring and frail

Please watch over them as they sleep through the night
Protect them all with your guiding light
And if one should leave me before I return
Assure them I'll miss them, for through them I have learned

How to give from heart

Amen

Help me design my garden of life
Full of iris, crocus, and lily
With daffodils that shine so bright
Like the sun of the greater deities.

Make me a path that curves around trees
Of stepping stone, wood chip, and moss
Varying in array of colors
Causing one's mind to venture in thought.

Make me a garden so rich in hue
That the sun will fight not to set,
Where merely viewing its beauty
All differences one will forget.

Make me a garden like people of the world,
All different in culture and view,
Contributing to the person I am
Without your prejudicial few.

A garden of only one color, it seems
Would be dull and so very alone.
I want my garden of life to be filled
With every color known.

Standing on the ocean shore
Waves rushing through my toes
Images run across my mind
From the days of long ago

A time when ships were massive
Cutting paths from port to port
Meeting people of different origins
Happy tidings to report

Yet in each and every country
And unbeknownst to them
A plague would soon pay visit
For lack of sanitation

Garbage soon drew rodents
With fleas that carried disease
Thousands started dying
Black Death had breached the seas

Fear then consumed me
In my environment did I see
A replay conjured from the past
A beach of scattered debris

Haven't we learned our lesson
And with this I must implore
Please open up your eyes and see
It's a shadow from before