If Not For Christ
by Lanier Thomas
If not for Christ I am aware I’d be dead.
When I was young I was quite out of my head.
The wrong things controlled me. I thought it was I.
Jesus still loved me. I have no idea why.
Like a light in the darkest of stormy nights,
Or when the waves crashed about and gave me frights,
Jesus was there and lifted me in His arms
And carried me safely from all of the harms.
I owe Him my freedom, which I did not know.
I owe Him my life that I had squandered so.
I cannot repay Him for His affection,
Love is all He asks for His intervention.
Fair are my dream souvenirs of flowery fields.
Fairer still are my thoughts of you when I awake.
The magic of your memory over me wields
A secret sorcery that only you can make.
I am completely yours, my heart is held captive.
I have no will of my own and am wholly yours.
Somehow, you are a mighty force that is tractive
And my happy heart under your fair pull endures.
I do not want to be free from your enchantment.
In your soft arms I find my greatest contentment.
Give me all of your love and your sweet kisses, too.
And like the flowers in beauty live, just we two.
by Lanier Thomas
“S”
by Lanier Thomas
So,
Seeing
Successful
Salubrious
Senators sitting
Supposedly serving
Silently subordinate
Society, so sickening
Stomachs, several sundry sullen
Students spurned supporting such senators.
Sea Waves
by Lanier Thomas
Breathe the salty air
Hear the waves caress the shore
Find peace in one’s soul
Rest From My Labors
by Lanier Thomas
I’ve been acquainted with war and violence
And escaped, me thought, to a land of silence.
But war followed me and gave me no rest, hence
I must meet, face to face, war’s dread countenance.
I will have no peace till my foes lie in death;
No rest, till mine enemy spends his last breath.
I bid my love goodbye and shoulder my pack;
Pick up my gun, knowing not if I’ll be back.
I’ll love you beyond the valley of my death;
I will wait for you where love ever liveth.
But God will judge the right of what I have done,
And I’ll dwell in the eternal land I’ve won.
Spice
by Lanier Thomas
A smell of rich spice—
Long walks in the Autumn woods
Memories long past
There’s a Monster Watching TV With Me!
by Lanier Thomas
I know there is a monster watching over my shoulder.
I wouldn’t think that if I were only a bit older.
I feel it whenever I watch cartoons on my TV.
I think it enjoys each and every one as much as me.
I’ve never seen the monster, at least I do not think so.
When I do look I see my old black striped tabby cat, though.
As I get older I won’t have this weird situation.
Mom tells me I will outgrow my wild imagination.
The Valley
by Lanier Thomas
One
by one
I saw them
leave because they
Were hurting too much
For them to wish to stay
Yet I found God was willing
To dispense His mercy and love
While carrying me through the valley
Guarding and healing me with gentle glove.
Understanding
by Lanier Thomas
Sitting by the campfire
Under the burning stars
I think of what my life
Has brought to me in scars.
I suddenly realize
In the flickering glow
These have brought true delight
And it was only thus
My soul was made aright
And I am what I am.
Eagle
by Lanier Thomas
Safely soaring above the sky
The eagle continues to fly,
On stately wings that glide on air
Like drifting dreams without despair.
Onward over the horizon it goes
And calls us to follow its repose.
Myth of the peculiar pelican
Whose bill bloodies its feathery breast
Feeding blood to the chicks in its nest
Ancient acts ever evangelic
Sole sacrifice for the pelican
Whose beak speaks more than a relic can
36 Words 6 Lines Light Verse
Pelicans appear in Christian iconography
as symbols to verify Christ's self-sacrifice.
Attributions to Dixon Lanier Merritt
(often mistakenly credited to Ogden Nash)
for authorship of the popular Pelican Limerick.
Bite Size Poem No. 16
Sponsor: Line Gauthier
By the Water's Edge
Georgia, with gilded glow imprinted in my mind.
Lake Lanier an island paradise divinely dwells
By the water's edge in haunting hue of cerulean blue
Where today we pledge vehement vows of love
In nature's pure pulchritude in transcendent twilight
Reflecting rich sunrays in your effervescent eyes.
My voice grows still in awe, amour awakened as time
Stands still, embracing embers of a sentient sunset.
4-11-19
~Poet of the Day April 13, 2019~
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Pick A Title, Vol.3 Alliteration Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Edward Ibeh
4. By The Water's Edge
Evening about you reminds me of the Sun
You are light and diaphenous warm and sultry
Like a thousand summer solstice or alchemists spells
You are as bright as Venus the morning star
I would like to bathe in your sunny afternoon's
By, Michael Lanier
She weeps
carelessly spilling more and more tears
I have caused this tsunamis
there is no word to comfort her
Instinctively, we warm each tear in the palms of our hands
carefully listening to what they each said
Just in case we forget how to speak
By, Michael Lanier
I'd love to spend a day with you
And make it last a lifetime.
We'd fin through waters deep and blue,
And walk bare-foot through morning dew.
I'd hold your hand, and say to you,
"I love you", in the morning.
And then the day would be half spent
The morn would turn to mid-day.
We'd thank Him for the time He lent,
And wonder where the morning went.
Into your eyes I'd look intent
And say, "My Dear, I love you".
When evening sun shall hide it's face
And lengthy shadows fall,
Together we would take our place
In peaceful quiet, face to face,
And feel each others warm embrace,
I'd whispering say, "I love you."
Ron Lanier © Apr. 1984
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