Poems by Sylvia Stults

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

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.