The work day over, the clock finally reads five.
I hurry home, driving fast, I finally feel alive;
I can be a mom again, there in my safe haven.
Its nice to be home - hope the kids are behaven.
No more accounts to balance no reconciliation.
I'm looking forward to well deserved relaxation.
I get quite a shock as I walk in the door.
It looks like the aftermath of world war four.
I pick up toys and what's left of an after school snack.
Maybe I should hop in the car and go straight back?
OOPS talking of the car, I forgot to stop at the shop.
Looking in the fridge, two eggs and one pork chop.
The kids help get the place tidy, they do all they can.
All ready for bed, the door bell rings, its the Pizza man.
The house is quiet, kids and I, happily watch a show.
I am blessed to have my safe haven, I'd like you to know.
In my grieving heart,
Heaven is my haven
Yearning for it, preparing for it,
and knowing that someday I will
go there is a haven and sanctuary
here on earth
I have no desire to hasten the day
but my faith is strong and my
anticipation of a peaceful place
with no strife, war, death, and grief
is a wonderful thing to anticipate
While I am waiting for my haven
I will write of it, anticipate it, and
continually have heaven on my mind,
in my heart, and my soul will yearn for it
as I continue to live my life with kindness
and hope to one day awake into glory
- A home is the seeds you have planted and watered
- blooming in the window - quote by poet
Haven on earth
bright and cloudless
where I feel whole
and satisfied.
In my home lives my heart and soul
where I am myself
no need for a mask
Promotes a inner peace
I wish to be genuine and spontaneous, and me
A life characterized by satisfaction
comes from within
Haven or Heaven
No matter where life takes me
What is the difference?
Blest throne of grace is my haven's delight...
there, God* meets me with divine blissful light
welcoming my heart against trials' plight
offering solace for triumphant flight.
Midst fellowship around haven of rest...
there, the Lord cheers me up with joyous zest
warming my spirit to vanquish woes' test
commending me for doing what is best.
Enclosed inside protected haven's brace...
there, I stay serene in safe prayer-place
while my faith soars above heavenly space
grateful to live well, conquering life's race.
Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
September 9, 2026
Honorable Mention, "Haven" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Constance La France; judged on 10/1/2026
I came with restless voices in my head,
And doubts that paced the borders of the room;
They named the brittle things I left unsaid,
And made the silence thicken into gloom.
Then all around me music caught its flame,
And dancers swung in circles round the floor;
Lamps softened my small and private blame,
While laughter rose—a bright, unbroken roar.
I watched the circling dancers as they turned,
Until the music entered through my feet;
The doubts I carried no longer returned,
And fell silent beneath the rolling beat.
The room swung wide; the rhythm filled the air,
Its mighty pulse outshone each private cry;
I had no thought to feed, no grief to bear,
Only stillness as dancers whirled by.
Amid the music’s storm, my spirit found its home;
I met a quiet place, and ceased to roam.
A natural bay
Where I can find safe harbor
To replace my mast
After her winds came and blew
My only mizzen away.
Haven
If for heaven, is mine haven
Then I’m in a safe place
My refuged asylum mine present space
I awaken spiritually protected
Encamped by angels strong
My condition good, my love is God
~
My shelter in the storms
Helter-skelter, drops anchor
Midst life’s canker-worms
I am in a place of safety
Protected and loved resurrected
In my retreat secured safely
Haven
My haven is a place that might shock most people, my haven is the local cemetery.
In my haven I sit thinking of all of my ancestors in this hallowed ground, it just feels so peaceful under this low branched tree,
I can sit for hours, thoughtful and still, no noise just silence, sometimes broken with the sound of a breeze rustling my tree.
This is my place that nobody knows, my secret, my serenity my HAVEN>
Which was the dream?
The sweet comfort I found
nested in your boughs,
or the shape you take now?
Some cold, unfeeling lot,
where I used to sleep in
the grass.
A place where shelter is acquired
To keep you safe from what would harm
A place where forges are refired
To bring a weapon of alarm
To keep you safe from what would harm
So you can slay the demons in your life
To bring a weapon of alarm
Forged from the fires of toil and strife
So you can slay the demons in your life
You've acquired a weapon that's divine
Forged from the fires of toil and strife
It's a sword that lasts throughout time
You've acquired a weapon that's divine
The word of God that is so true
It's a sword that lasts throughout time
Defeating what once had held you
The word of God that is so true
A place where forges are refired
Defeating what once had held you
A place where shelter is acquired
As my body and soul take a rest,
Tired from work need to lie down is the best,
Though my room is little, it's my place of refuge,
Ready to plunge into deep slumber.
Many hardship I may face everyday,
At the end of the day my safe haven is waiting,
As peaceful as a sea,
This is where I belong, my shelter.
Problems that I may faced day by day,
The silence of the room is my sanctuary,
Focussing on how to solve right away,
So that my heart is free from being weary.
One's haven- a place where happiness sings;
true, comforting peace to all lives it brings,
as strolling in parks or feeding sweet birds.
But mine is the sanctuary of words.
The scenes in my mind direct them to come
to build an image or story, become
the tools that can shape, redress simple thought;
in capturing words, the best ones are sought.
This haven I seek, on fair or gray days,
immersed in the field of words that amaze.
Though battles are fierce, when each write is done,
sweet comfort rewards the word-war I won.
Haven 9-18-26
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Haven
The inferno cast by a sinful moon
Rises in the red breath of winter,
In neon flames and flares.
Faceless
Whimpering
In splinters of bare bone
Howling into grimacing spectrals
Deaf to the labor of compassion
The agony of maples turning scarlet
The sound of birthing stars.
In the debris of green apple afternoons
When tongues of flame
Speak the thesaurus
Of sanctity
Shards of purple glaciers tremble
Chastised
Chastened
By labors of the amber dawns,
As hallowed sweetness
Falls upon the thirsting tongue.
Then, in this arbor, beneath amazing wings,
Joy reclaims crystal blooms of grace.
How lustrous the first of morning
When my river spreads her brocade
Laced tassels weave through daylight's ring--
As she swivels on dappled qlade:
While midstream, tree tops decorate
This harbor lined with tulips red;
In vivid inlays quite ornate
Till birdsong explodes... overhead.
Imbued by some godly delight
My bouyant musings shine aloft--
That l, in gentle hum of night
Lay half- awake ... on grasses, soft.
Beguiled by waves streaming freely,
Her wisp of haven breathes in me.
I miss the haven of my youth long past
when melancholy melted in the mirth
of sharing time with siblings. What a blast
we used to have. No memories are worth
as much as those when life was still carefree.
If there were worries, they were shouldered by
two parents who looked after family
and did their best to make sure to supply
their kids with the necessities to thrive.
We were not rich, but we were clothed and fed,
and from our parents, we learned how to strive
to meet our goals in future lives we led.
No home is perfect, but I can be glad
as havens go, a great one I sure had!
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