Best Vale Of Tears Poems
Oh, precious one, I need you...
Be the missing ying to my yang.
Come on home to a safe haven
In this warm, cozy heart of mine.
Stay forevermore, I implore thee, because...
Without you, there's a hollow there!
And I'll journey through
This vale of tears, incomplete.
Akin to sunlight without the sun,
Or a shadow without light,
Or a Romeo without his Juliet,
Or a pearl being formed without an oyster.
On my own, I am but a starless night.
My dearest, say you need me, too.
Let me be the sparkling star that shines
With light to fill your heart.
I will be as the sun that rises
To make the shadows dance.
Together our home, will be our universe
Where pearls are at our fingertips.
Warmth will fill every hollow corner
As tears dry and smiles commence.
We'll be a shining duo
High as the moon leading tides.
These tides of love in strength we'll share;
Moving endlessly together.
I'll reach your cozy heart
Where I'll stay forevermore!
All this could be, if you complete me.
I beseech you, make me whole.
Edward Ibeh and Heidi Sands: A collaboration.
Poem of The Day on 01/26/2022
Submitted for...
Do- It (Duets) Poetry Contest
Sponsored by James Edward Lee Sr.
Date written: 01/25/2022
Poet's Note: I'd like to take this opportunity thank the prolific, tremendously gifted poetess, Heidi Sands, for being my duet partner for this contest. She jumped at the chance to collaborate with me--despite her current struggle with writer's block--and I couldn't be more grateful and appreciative. I'll forever cherish this romantic poem we created together. I really couldn't have done it without her. I appreciate you, Heidi. xoxo
She walks along an avenue
some call the Vale of Tears.
Her agonies and sorrows brew
in eyes that vail her tears.
She whiles alone, her gaze unmet,
behind a veil of tears.
But can she flee from sadness, yet
with no avail of tears?
In time, the Rue of No Regrets
will countervail her tears.
Vale: valley
Vail: let sink
Veil: something that conceals
Avail of: use to one’s advantage
Countervail: offset, counteract
Inspired by poems of KC
"Victus"
By M. Taha Effendi
(Didactic)
Amidst the gloom of night's dark shroud,
lurks Death in far corners of the shade.
To vanquish my fears to God I bowed,
And death shall find me... unafraid.
Amidst this vale of tears and pain,
my heart in life's robbed solace bled.
God gave me strength to stand again,
I found peace in His words I read.
In pleasures and crime my life is spent,
with sins the wretched soul is weighed.
But God's love taught me to repent,
He pursued me everytime I strayed.
It matters not how dark the past,
how much the evil takes its toll.
Darkness thrives but never shall last,
The Savior redeems the conquered soul.
(Inspired by "Invictus" by William Ernest
Henley)
Edward, remember this.
Just like you were a caterpillar
Before you became a butterfly;
A bud before you blossomed one spring,
You'll continue to evolve and flourish
In this vale of tears.
You've got a lot of living to do, my friend.
Life is what you make it! Embrace it fully!
Make lemonade out of your lemons,
Take time to smell the roses!
Treasure quality time with friends and family.
Celebrate even the smallest of victories.
You're traveling through this life
On the right trajectory; stay the course.
Let nothing veer you off it!
You're the sea captain of your destiny;
Sail on straight ahead!
I needn't remind you just how cruel
This life can be. As you're well aware,
It isn't done knocking you down flat.
You'll feel it's punch again and again,
And you'll fall like timber each time,
But you won't stay down, Edward.
You'll get up, dust off, and carry on living!
You woke up today, didn't you?
You rose with the morning sun
Grateful to be alive another day
To see it set over the horizon.
Yes sir, you'll rise again like the Phoenix
Whenever life floors you with it's hook...
And float along with hope in the clouds!
Whenever the blue sky turns ashen gray
And warm sunny days grow
Unforgivingly cold; from bright to dark,
Never lose faith, for you'll continue
To feel the presence of God
At your darkest hours, I promise you.
Keep on living life the best you know how!
Keep on growing, personally and spiritually.
May your future continue to be bright
And gravid with infinite possibilities!
Letter To Your Future Self Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Silent One
Date written: 09/19/2021
Collaboration with Edward Ibeh
Oh, precious one, I need you…
Be the missing ying to my yang.
Come on home to a safe haven
In this warm, cozy heart of mine
Stay forever more, I implore thee, because…
Without you, there’s a hollow there!
And I’ll journey through
This vale of tears, incomplete.
A kin to sunlight without the sun,
Or a shadow without light,
Or a Romeo without his Juliet,
Or a pearl being formed without an oyster.
On my own, I am but a starless night.
My dearest, say you need me, too.
Let me be the sparkling star that shines
With light to fill your heart.
I will be as the sun that rises
To make the shadows dance.
Together our home, will be our universe
Where pearls are at our fingertips.
Warmth will fill every hollow corner
As tears dry and smiles commence
We’ll be a shining duo
High as the moon leading tides.
These tides of love in strength we’ll share;
Moving endlessly together.
I have reached your cozy heart
Where I stay forevermore!
All this could be, if you complete me.
I beseech you, make me whole.
Heidi Sands and Edward Ibeh
1/25/22
A special thanks to a very talented poet Edward Ibeh for joining me to write this special collaboration. I enjoyed it very much :)
Received POTD 1/26/22
Too cold this winter
of my senior years,
I played my part in this vale of tears
the onslaught of older age
quickly close the curtain of this stage
for every escapade and experience
of youth and foolish dabbling and interference;
now so much wiser
or is it just an elder in life's analyzer,
I look back in a smile at the days of old
when I was braver and much bolder,
today the winter chilled with cold and snow
makes me grateful for all I've seen and known;
but as the winter grows gray and dark
the fading embers that once sparked
are thankful to pass on the fire
to mold the future with hope and desire
as new generations take on the torch
I pray history's lessons and enlightenment be their source.
Souls in fear of uncertain but rampant chaos,
Where the cities bombed and thousands slayed,
Houses broken and the valuable coffers emptied,
Innocents trafficked and the felony at rise,
Commoners conned and the power misused-
The Almighty! Where is the peace you promised?
For love debasing and wars right at the door,
Infected minds with greed and hatred at dispersal,
Altruism waning and egoism the victorious devil,
Compassion at stake and bliss only a wistful wish,
But antipathy even amongst the esteemed bloods,
Soulless and callous, havens blemished with vices
And enmity on the rise as the blazing fire-
God! Where is the peace prayed for everyday?
In the whirlwind of your presence,
I was spun through the mangle of your gaze,
Interrogated by your grilling smiles
Each question a probing dagger in my mind.
And when you turned to walk away,
My heart hung heavy with the weight of a green willow,
Its branches reaching out in sorrow
For the love that nearly took root within me.
I poured my soul into the cup of your being,
Almost loved you beyond the bounds of reason,
But you slipped through my fingers like sand,
Leaving me to drown in a vale of tears.
I struggle now against the tide of my thoughts,
Each wave crashing down with the memory of your touch,
But why did you come at all,
If only to fade into the mist of my dreams?
I reached for you with all my might,
Eyes betraying the lies of your absence,
For you were never truly there,
A figment of a heart's desperate imagination.
You never existed, yet your absence reverberates
Through the hollow chambers of my soul,
And I am left to wander in the shadows
Of a love that was never truly mine.
My quest for what is honorable and right
Compels me to enter the constant fight
For justice and mercy, compassionate love,
I can be a despicable vulture or a peaceful dove
When I leave this tumultuous vale of tears,
I want it to be said, “He was a caring man,”
So, I set out on this quest to do the best I can.
No one has said the journey will be an easy one
But I must trudge on until my work is done,
And every day I will strive to do no harm
Unhesitant, if necessary, to sound the alarm
When I see someone mistreated or bullied,
Harassed, insulted, or reputation sullied
I believe my quest is an honorable pursuit,
That, in life, I have taken the finer route.
FIRST PLACE WINNER
written October 2, 2021
especially for "Q Contest NEW ONLY" poetry contest
sponsored by Constance La France
(A Long Agonizing Conversion.
Out of the dark forbidding night,
I Struggle now to see the light.
I never felt this way before,
Loved the lair of darkness more.
Was careful in nothing, no good to see,
No miserable longing nagging me,
Then, out of the past in agonizing flight,
Out of the deep I search for sight.
What roused me in my dark domain,
And showed me that the light was gain?
Who made me desire this other way,
Through pain into the light of day?
With knowledge comes uneasy dread,
And regret 'bout the place I fled.
Things have gotten complicated now,
Rending my heart and furrowing my brow.
Self love is such a natural thing,
No concern for sin the heart to wring.
Grief for sin, I've come to know,
In this vile vale of tears below.
Might I find a way of relief,
From this unexpected pit of grief?
This struggle out is laid on me;
I had no thought the light to see.
Seems, like a bull, I am turned this way,
As a pull on the rein comes into play.
With my old will I would refuse,
This shaft of shining light to choose.
Why has God's power upset my way,
Remolding me as a piece of clay:
Turning about my heart and mind,
Into some calm and caring kind?
Is there a purpose in all of this,
A value to gain and a loss to miss?
Is good reason given to me at last,
A way of emergence from my past?
Finally my sight emerges clear,
And I begin to lose my fear,
Oh, what a gift; the gift of sight
With thankful heart, I embrace the light.
This change of heart was born in me,
A hope of Jesus the Christ to see.
I'll no longer covet a life of ease,
Some foolish way myself to please.
Because an eternal joy will come,
When this earthly life is gone.
Stay with the light whatever the cost,
Rejoice in God's saving of the lost.
For the sight of Christ upon the Cross,
Shows great gain comes at great cost.
So with the light, will come the pain,
But, oh the wonder of the gain.
"Light came into the world, but men loved
darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil." John 3:19
"But ye are a chose generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people,
that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light." I Peter 2:9
There is a mist
on the waters
As the ocean laps
against the shore we
realize it is time
for our journey to begin
The ship in the harbor
stands tall
It will take us
beyond this vale of tears
to a land where
stories have no endings
It will take us
over the sundering sea
to a place seemingly foreign to us
yet one we actually know well
in the deep recesses of our heart
As we board the ship
we experience a bittersweet
moment
We will miss the joys of Middle Earth
but we hear the call of Elvenhome
and we know it is time to forsake mortal lands
Time to head to the place which is our real home
Time to head to Elvenhome
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy*
Born the Savior who set us free
Our Life, our Sweetness, and our Hope*
Give us strength to maintain and cope
*To Thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve*
As at the realization of our own sin do we grieve
*To Thee do we send up our sighs*
Seeing only Your Glory through our eyes
*Mourning and weeping in this vale of tears*
With such deep darkness causing such fears
*Turn then, most gracious Advocate*
As to the world my love and Honor to You I submit
*Thine Eyes of Mercy toward us after this our exile*
Carry us Sweet Mary during each and every trial
*Show us the Blessed Fruit of thy Womb(Jesus)*
This world which is so headed for doom
*O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.*
*Pray for us O Holy Mother of God*
*That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. *
* The Prayer Hail Holy Queen*
Grief took me by the hand
Lead where I didn't want to go
Straight into the valley of tears
That began to constantly flow
Now that grief had acquainted me
With sorrow in the vale of tears
It seemed at eternal spring of weeping
Was where I would constantly live
Then grief brought me up the mount
Where loved ones went before
When escorted in this place
The lessons to which exposed
Seems now working my way back
Changed forever from that meeting
Grief an aquaintance I had spurned
But now after the greeting
I will never be the same
Though given another hundred years
Grief taught me more in a few short fears
Than joy with all her pleasings
Serius, Arch Nemisis of such bliss
that you woulodn't know to miss
the beating of your heart inside
or the doors of hades swinging wide
and the gentlest carresses of the dragons tongue
leaving traces of sulphourous flaming nether-dung
'pon your head, though had you read, you'd know
the stygain darkling doors near, creaking woe
serius, enchanting stalwart scoin of royal lineage, going back to hell
from which, i swear, my oldest ansestral memory, is of that day i fell
from heavens trumpt up majesty, through a very vale of tears
to land here among these people, and their many lovely lively fears
an eye i wiped, and without an upward glance
i set about to make the best, of my every chance
to find employers fit for me, apprentise as i was back then
to try to fit in with this crowd, so evil was this race of men
gently, trepidations palpitate, this cavern of flame within my chest
i wandered to and fro, trying my levelest best
to figure out how to compete, with Adams vicious broods
still on my guard, still atremble, they have such moods
to and fro, yet still i go
aworried and afrighted, don't you know
i kneel and pray, to God above, for His grace
trapped in this so beknighted place
often
to and fro, to and fro
Dry vale of tears ... color blind soil,
where poor and rich labor and toil
Souls bound by mortality’s yoke,
plans buried by a shovel stroke
Time was the fallow reaper foil
Womb roots wither, the dire worms spoil
Dry bones be pauper and royal
Fretting skies do mournfully soak
dry vale of tears
Sad thoughts of fear now famine roil,
seeds of depression sour the soil
Death was the reign that evil spoke
Dust to dust always coffin cloak
the misty pain that heartbreak boil
dry vale of tears