TO BEING FORGIVEN AND GIVING FORGIVENESS
You’ve abandoned me;
You must be so lonely.
Love for you, crowds me.
And you cannot uncrowd it;
For it’s of God’s given grace:-
I’ve forgiven you,
God navigated me to:-
Can’t you forgive me?
I am sorry for my sins;
God’s forgiven me; can’t you?!
This place functions on it own
The people outside
Looks at it with different eyes
Logic happens to them
Philosophy also happens
This place is boxed up with a certain thinking
The world is not correct on how things appear before this place
History has eyes so bright for you to see
Time has evolved for so long that centuries and circles are filled with painted writings
History knows the deepness of a river and how dark ships navigated through the souls of men
History knows the beginning and the end of all the papers bound into one
This place is happily divided
And you can hear different voices
Echoing confusion into the rooms of men
There's a constant panic of a certain tradition here
And many versions are born
This place is careful about the handwriting of love
And it's timidly written on the four corners of the wall.
My wife Marrianne insisted
We’d go to the lighthouse.
We navigated the deadly rocks
As the lighthouse flashed the danger around
Emitting intense beams of light every fifteen seconds.
The full moon shone bright and golden
Its rays flickered o'er the calm sea,
Silvery waves danced to and from the shore
Towards the beaming lighthouse,
Where dolphins danced in mirth yet all was calm.
From afar we heard
The melodious soft music from a cruise liner.
Everywhere we felt great serenity
That we fell asleep, floating peacefully on the calm waves.
We could have had trouble from some volcanic rock,
But from the lighthouse,
A Glastron boat sped towards our craft
And sailors towed us back to safety.
We thanked them profusely and offered a tot of rum.
Placed 4
Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are.
You're not a diamond in the sky;
They're earthly gems that people buy -
Crystals, sparkle, cool and icey,
Cheap ones, rhinestones,
Real ones, pricey.
If I could catch a falling star,
I wouldn't put it in my pocket,
But find a fine spun golden chain
And keep it in a locket.
I'd never fear the dark around,
But captivated, navigated,
Safe and sound.
IN ORDER TO GO, YOU HAVE TO STOP
Listen, understand, and be aware:
In order to go, you have to stop
Procrastinating and wallowing
In abject apathy:-
You've got to stop saying to yourself,
“I can’t deal with this BS anymore”:
The shackling of you, not going:-
Yes, in order for you to go, you have to stop;
You have to stop putting off today, what is
Necessary for tomorrow to become
A wishful, blessed today:-
Listen, understand, and be aware:
Yellow-thoughts, prepare you
To get ready to stop and
Prepare to reflect on
The green light
Where God
Is sending you:-
Remember, heat comes
With the light of wisdom’s fire:-
Thus, it’s time to stop just sitting there,
And get going where God has fired you up to be!
While there may often be blinking yellow lights,
Signaling a time to slow down and assess the route’s
Ongoing to where you are being navigated to be,
Just slow down, assess yourself, and proceed onward:-
In the hush, hush silence of a twilight eve
Heard the gentle crooning of a dove.
She was nestling close to her love.
What thrill its lingering echo did give!
It opened in me the inlets of delight,
When my heart was longing for love.
My blues, it did instantly shove,
Illumining my heart with blazing light!
The sight and sound of those birds in love,
Roused in me a throng of lovely sensation,
Making my heart and spirit rise in elation-
A presage of love’s fruition from Heaven above.
With their merry crooning that resounded from far,
In my heart, hope’s flame began burning bright.
I felt like swimming in the sea of delight,
At the thought, I would soon have my love near.
He makes me feel safe even in the storms of life.
In the thoughts of his presence, my heart takes flight.
When he holds my strings, I am like a well navigated kite.
As far as he is with me, I come through life’s every strife.
In every adversity, it is the hope of his love,
That pulls me and gives my heart a buoyant lift.
With the warmth of his love, from life, all dark clouds drift.
How I wish to be nestled close to him as this happy pair of doves!
FRATERNAL POLITICAL PARTY AWARENESS
When it comes to you and me,
Be aware of the chosen political party:-
We’ve been aided and deceived
By both major political party’s decree:-
When you check history and ourstory,
You will discover each party’s mockery:-
Hey, it’s not about which party all of the time; rather,
It’s about which of the two is pontificating the lesser crime:-
Check it out, Republicans as well as Democrats will choke,
As they viciously seek out money rather than our priceless vote:-
Thus, when it comes time to cast our priceless vote,
Navigated by political wisdom, choose the weakest rope:-
Then, go forth in future works to bring about equity,
Irrespective of the POTUS’s chosen political party:-
love …
was the air
that you breathed …
there was no course navigated
no interaction made
no thought processed or
act completed
no example set as people or parents
that didn’t have that concern as
its primary edict …
and while life has blessed me far
beyond what a fool like
me could ever hope to deserve,
there is not and never will be
a grace granted me that exceeds the
very simple, very precious gift
of having been your son …
time does NOT make the loss of
you any easier or kind
but I have found strength in the
promise of carrying on,
at least in my best efforts and
hopeful intentions,
your inestimable legacy …
of love.
~ for Mom & Dad - I miss you like lovers miss moonlite ~
( photograph of my mom and dad taken from family archives )
Copyright © 2024 Gregory Richard Barden
A force of nature, with a heart so grand,
She walked this earth, a light in the land.
Our Auntie Dana, fierce and free,
Like the hammerhead shark she loved to see.
She navigated life's deepest, darkest seas,
Finding solace and strength on her bended knees.
In the Bible, her compass, she found her way,
Guiding her through each and everyday.
For her three boys, her love knew no bound,
In their triumphs, her greatest joy was found.
Then came the grandkids, a new chapter to start,
Each one a treasure held close to her heart.
Aunt to so many and mother to all,
With laughter and cheer,
she banished our sorrows, our every fear.
Her witty humor, her infectious grin,
A beacon of warmth, from deep within.
Though she faced tempests and trials unkind.
A beautiful spirit, she left behind.
So let her memory live, a whisper on the breeze,
Among the vibrant, sunlit, whispering trees.
A testament to a beautiful, brave, and loving heart,
From which we never, ever, have to part.
Love you Aunt Dana, We will miss you!
They walked with me across the bridge,
Holding onto the sides to keep it steady.
I took careful steps,
But they assured me that it was firm.
I walked across unhurt.
They accompanied me through the meadow,
Where I was afraid of the taunting shadows.
They promised to brighten their lamps,
And the light dispersed the shadows,
Leaving us no longer trailed by the night.
They journeyed with me through the mire,
Though I feared the depth beneath us.
They held my hands and lifted me,
And as I looked to my right and left,
They smiled at me,
So I navigated through the muck but didn’t sink.
They travelled with me across the sea,
They carried me on their shoulders.
When we reached the middle of the sea,
Suddenly, they disappeared.
I fell, plunging into the depths,
Struggling to rise to the surface.
As I sank, I saw an approaching hand,
And I remain within this vision.
September 1, 2025.
It’s too high, far too high, I cannot look down at the floor’
Said the bird who realised she suffered from vertigo
‘But it’s only a bird bath’ this really is too silly
Said her impatient friend, who by now was rather chilly.
‘Why me, why me? I can’t believe it’s happened to me!’
Said the bird to her friend, wishing she could flee.
We’ve got to get this sorted, we’ve got to get this right
If you are to ever take your very first true flight.
‘I have an idea, I think it might just work’
Said the bird to his friend, as she might just go berserk
‘If you simply close your eyes and imagine you can float
As if you’re perched safely, on a magic flying coat
The bird with vertigo said ‘maybe I can try’
Then closed her eyes tightly, as she flew up in the sky
She dare not even look, for fear that she may fall
But her friend was right beside her, at her beck and call.
‘You’re flying!’ said her friend ‘I’m so very, very proud’
As they both navigated carefully, each and every cloud,
Now you are a bird who is not afraid to fall,
You can do it if you try, is a lesson for us all.
Pain that rips across my head
Like a bullet in the sky
Other problems are the cause
Answers to which belie
Clearly it’s not straightforward
As a multi-faceted mind plight
The road still being navigated
With no clear end in sight
What does it take, one wonders
To strip me from this shell
I must somehow battle endless angst
And fight my way out of this hell
The tendency to go insane
Is soothed by the sounds of drops of rain
Providing consolatory solace to
The prison in my brain
On an excursion of investigation
To a solution momentous
A dilemma once explored by Freud
My ‘non compos mentis’
Healing, a path
Will take much time
Dealing with each of the root causes
Obstacles, I’m yet to climb
Bearing little room for pauses
Settle in
Let me take you on a ride of a lifetime
The twists the turns
The fears we all have
It's a game of chance
This life we lead
Oh the dips the crosses the estrange
We all walk amongst the Graves
We ponder the conclusions
We captivate the creations
It's all around us this carnival of chaos
The clowns come running
The lions are roaring
We all want you to hear the screams
It's not for the fate of heart
It's much more then a ride
It's a discovery of uncharted land
A key to our emotions
A border for the strange
It's gamble on us
A bet for our riches
It's a common place
But yet so unfimiar
It's a realization that we control this ride
We take it in stride
We watch it go faster and faster
The days of our lives how do we fill this ride
How do we get pure satisfaction
We buckle in and enjoy the ride
Because in the end it's all about what we have become and how we navigated the change in us.
As ships in a storm,
Let’s not be dashed to pieces;
God being our rutter:-
Navigated by God,
Faithfully sail life's waters:-
~ for Mom & Dad ~
love …
was the air
that you breathed …
there was no course navigated
no interaction made
no thought processed or
act completed
no example set as people or parents
that didn’t have that concern as
its primary edict …
and while life has blessed me far
beyond what a fool like
me could ever hope to deserve,
there is not and never will be
a grace granted me that exceeds the
very simple, very precious gift
of having been your son …
time does NOT make the loss of
you any easier or kind
but I have found strength in the
promise of carrying on,
at least in my best efforts and
hopeful intentions,
your inestimable legacy …
of love.
( I miss you like lovers miss moonlite )
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