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Best Poems Written by Julia Shaw

Below are the all-time best Julia Shaw poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

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Nightmares

Nightmare are dreadful things
They creep into subconscious minds
And tear at sanity's fragile strings 
Turning our thoughts to things unkind

I was a teacher of children small
And loved the years I spent with them
But soon after leaving I recall
That nightmares started my mind to brim

The sweet ones eyes began to glow
Within my fevered brain so fraught
Red demon light seemed to flow
From every eye that I had taught

Then even stranger thoughts assailed
As each child grew in size
It seemed to me their fingernails
Upon my body sought a prize

They gouged my eyes and ripped my skin
I could not seem to escape
Although I tried to stop the din
Alas it was too late

Another time a stranger dream
Came to me late one night
It was scarier than any dream had seemed
It caused me sinister fright

I was in my old frame school
Twenty-five students joined me there
But one small boy had broken a rule
And slipped a gun in without a care

We teachers never checked the hooks
Where all the schoolbags were sorted
They must be filled with pencils and books
No weapons had ever been reported

But in this dream, he took us all hostage
Then brandished the gun about
He placed in front of us a blockage
So no one could get out

With all my heart I entreated him
To let one small child go
It seemed that even the room went dim
As he looked at us row by row

At last he motioned with hands spread
That I should walk one child
Out the door and down the hall
Outside where parents were reconciled

So one by one I went with each
Dear student held that day
Until they all had safely reached
And end to their dismay

Then S.W.A.T. moved right in sync 
And whisked that bad boy away
I never knew what to think
Because suddenly I was awake

I jumped up from my bed undone
And ran frightened with a scream
I grabbed a phone to cal 911
Before I realized it was only a dream

Nightmares can be ever so real
They'll make you do strange and eerie things
Nightmares always come my dreams to steal
I wish they would all take wings

Details | Julia Shaw Poem

Rewind

Rewind
By Julia Shaw

At seventy-two my life has been so very fine,
That I'd like to push a button and just rewind.
I'd go back to my wedding day so exciting
And marry again the man I found so inviting.
He's been all things to me in every way,
And I'm sure there's not much more I can say.

I'd pick the same daughter and son once more.
I'd love them and teach them just as before.
Both have turned out so very successful in life,
That rewinding those years would be such a delight.

I'd love to play again with them in our pool.
Our summers were great, free from work and school.
Jumping and splashing like silly clowns,
Yes, of course, I'd rewind all that, every sound.

The times, as a family, we all went tubing,
Down the French Broad River, that was ever so cooling.
Over rock and rapids, we went merrily shouting,
On our huge inner tubes, what a wonderful outing!

We screamed and cried as we surged ahead,
Pulled along by swift currents, where the river led.
I'd love every trip to rewind once more,
And redo it all, as in days of yore.

Our daughter had a playhouse of her very own.
It was the best playhouse that she ever had known.
There were chairs and a table, with tea for two
It was painted two shades of turquoise blue.

She loved her playhouse with its open door
It even had soft carpet upon the floor.
An oven and frig made up the rest,
The good times she had there were the very best.

Her dad built it for her when she was three
And she really wanted everyone to see,
How great a dad she had for her very own,
She felt like a Princes up on her throne.

Her brother was also very busy working.
By twelve he had a job that never caught him shirking.
His best friend and he went out summers and after school
They worked hard cutting grass but always tried to stay cool.

After long hot days trimming hedges and grass
They would hurry to our house after work at last.
Into our pool, they'd jump with a bound.
Ah.... Such a cooling, refreshing way to cool down!

Our daughter also learned early to work.
She did lots of babysitting without many perks.
So attached to some of her charges was she
When she had to leave them it was very sad indeed.

At 19 our daughter didn't know what she wanted to do
Her grandpa said a career in healthcare would be true
People always get sick and their health they sometimes wreck
So she considered her choices and decided on X-Ray Tech.

She finished her studies and graduated from Spartanburg Tech.
She's always had work looking inside people from toes to neck.
For more than twenty years she has done a great deal,
To help people get better from broken bones and heal.

At 20 our son grew tired of trimming hedges and cutting grass.
He was thinking of joining the army, but I was aghast.
He said he would think and pray about his problems
And he spent a week with his grandparents trying to solve them.

To our great relief, he came home and told all,
I've decided that in college I'll enroll this fall.
He studied aerodynamics and learned to fly a plane.
Now he has a B.S. Degree and he's making great gains.

We have seven grandchildren that we truly adore
But we wish we could be with them a lot more.
They are so always so busy with work and school.
But we hope they'll always remember the golden rule.
And be respectful and always kind to others,
And especially nice to their sister and brothers.

My career in teaching was also great fun.
Every school day I was up with the sun.
Rushing to dress and be ready once more,
To greet every student that came through my door.
“I'm so glad you came to school today.
Let's learn all we can and then we'll play.”

Teaching first grade was really a blast,
It seemed that the minutes flew too fast.
Reading and writing, and then came math
I was their leader down learning's path.
Also a nurse, counselor, and friend,
A teacher is all of these in the end.

For eight years all my kids did a school play.
I wrote out a script that clearly did say
All the wonderful happenings in one fine book,
About a magic green hat that hung high on a hook.

I really wanted to record every scene,
But video recorders weren't behind every screen.
So now I truly want to rewind,
To that wonderful, fairy tale, fanciful time.

As I think back now on my 72 years,
I could fill many pages with laughter and tears.
But if I had my way, there's one thing I know,
I'd rewind the good and bad times of life's flow.

Details | Julia Shaw Poem

Winter

I dread the winter's coming on
The trees without their dressings
I fear the winter's dark, cold moan
Long shadows without blessings

Bare tree limbs are upward reaching
Where the sunlight seems to fail
I hear the sound of great owls screeching
Trees look like witch”s fingernails

I hate the cold that winter brings
Dark, dank weather for each day
It seems as if I'll never sing
Or see again sun's lovely rays

My body aches and hollow feels
Furnace and fireplace are roaring on
But to me they don't seem real
No heat can reach into my bones

Oh, winter will you last so long
With dreary rain and colder mist
Oh, how I wish that you were gone
And Spring would put on me it's kiss

Details | Julia Shaw Poem

Scrapbooking

My favorite hobby has always been scrapbooking
It's such a creative activity to do
For pictures and poems, I'm always looking
Forever scanning magazines through and through

I look for pictures of people and places
Some happy, some excited, some tired, some sad
I try to find real emotional traces
And whatever I like, to my scrapbooks I add

Over the years many books I have made
Scrapbooks of poetry old and new
Old web sites and online pictures I raid
Some of my scrapbooks are happy, some blue

Certainly, on this hobby you can say I'm hooked
There's nothing like it to keep me involved
No one would believe how hard I have looked
For rhymes and riddles that will never be resolved

I started this past time at our church
Each Wednesday all the ladies would look
Each one in her chair quietly perched
Consumed with finding the perfect hook

Everyone knows that you  must create ideas
Inspiring and intriguing to reel in a person 
Someone who will cast off all their fears
And stop to read your poem for a life lesson
 
I love scrapbooking, it's so rewarding
It brings childhood memories back to me
School days when with friends consorting
Times that were so happy and carefree

Often I reread through my many books
Books I've created  by myself
Sometimes I find things that I've overlooked
Words that reveal how I once felt

Poems about family and friends so dear
Poems about God's creatures so lovely
Poems about Nature, Seasons, and Fears
Poems about things you can't buy with money

I'm planning on leaving my scrapbooks all
To my kids and grandkids after I'm done
When this life with its troubles are just a sad pall
And all they have left is the legacy I've begun

I never had many pictures or prose
Left me by parents or other relations
That's why I suppose I strive to compose
Scrapbooks to leave to younger generations

I want them to always remember me as
The Grandma that loved them so
I hope they realize that I had pizzazz
Even though I can't leave them much dough

The things that are important in life
Aren't always the things that are seen 
When you live through all the sorrow and strife
You'll understand just what I mean

A love of poetry is what I will leave
For my children and grandchildren too
For what is a life and to what will you cleave
If great poetry is missing from you

By Julia Shaw
May 2020

Details | Julia Shaw Poem

Thank You Teacher

Thank You, Teacher
       
Teachers all on knowledge dine
And they unlock their students' minds.
So they can reach the path  divine 
We really are a special kind.

We are mentors that push student's yearning
We teach them how to read.
Then they can always read for learning.
We really are a special breed.

We are like shepherds guiding  sheep
Showing them how to take the right path.
Without our nurture, they would sadly creep
Through all the world unending wrath.

Yes, teachers, turn the pages
Of many wonderful books.
Our training reaches down through the ages
We teach our pupils for knowledge to look.

Thank you, dear teacher, 
For all you have done.
In a  world of many
You are a special one.

Details | Julia Shaw Poem

Pain

Pain

Trying to check my email today
I sit at my computer when I
Suddenly feel shards and rays
Up from my feet sharply pry

I rush for my pills to stop the awash
Of pain that I had not expected
It came on so fast that I was tossed
Into agony so deep it was never suspected

It seems to get worse day after day
Though meds I've been given
Docs don't have the guts to try and assay
The horrid world of pain that I live in

It seems new guidelines have been set
That keep docs from treating chronic pain
But their families won't feel bad I bet
They'll have relief from going insane

While the rest of us must try and go on
With our horrible lives forever
I wonder if life's worth this dreadful song
Should I try and pursue this vain endeavor

Truly in Christianity, I sincerely believe
And have paid all my many dues
I ask God this painful condition to relieve
But so far all my prayers are refused

Nor for pity do I beg of you
But what is the right answer
Must I endure such a life untrue
I would rather just die of cancer

Details | Julia Shaw Poem

Twenty Years Together

By Julia Shaw
     May  2019

Two people met many years ago,
Their hearts would soon embrace,
They wouldn't let each other go,
Love could not be erased.

They married in a garden fair,
With flowers all abounding,
Their love they promised to always share,
While family watched surrounding.

Now twenty years have passed away,
And still, their love is growing.
They've passed through many weary days,
But e'er their love they're showing.

Because two people fell in love
And married one summer day.
God above, has sealed their love
With children here to stay.


Joseph, Nehemiah, Jonathan, and Anna
Have come to their lives to bless.
Four children and no more, Hallelujah, Hosanna!
Their home's no empty nest. 


They've been through bitter days of pain,
When hearts grew sad and stressed, 
But love stayed true and never rain
Could harm such love possessed.

I pray that all their coming life,
Their love will always be
As sure and steadfast, without strife.
For love's the heavenly key.

Details | Julia Shaw Poem

Thank You, Teacher

We teachers all on knowledge dine
And we unlock our students' minds.
So they can reach the path  divine
We really are a special kind.

We are mentors that push their yearning
We teach them how to read.
Then they can always read for learning.
We really are a special breed.

We are like shepherds guiding  sheep
Showing them how to take the right path.
Without our nurture, they would sadly creep
Through all the world unending wrath.

Yes, teachers, turn the pages
Of many wonderful books.
Our training reaches down through the ages
We teach our pupils for knowledge to look.

Thank you, dear teacher, 
For all, you have done.
In a world of so many
You are a special one.