poety of the random sort

We live in deeds . . .
WE live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths;
In feelings, not in figures on a dial.
We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives
Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.
And he whose heart beats quickest lives the longest:
Lives in one hour more than in years do some
Whose fat blood sleeps as it slips along their veins.
Life's but a means unto an end; that end,
Beginning, mean, and end to all things -- God.
The dead have all the glory of the world.

Philip James Bailey




Paper, Paint, and Crayons

Eighteen years, a thousand fears,
Yet countless joyful times.
A tiny baby smiles just once,
Her Daddy's heart it binds.

A toddler cries with tearful eyes,
That only Mom can dry.
The little girl so cute in pink
Decides what clothes she'll try.

Her favorite pastime soon becomes
All paper, paint, and crayons.
Some years go by, she's growing fast,
No longer holds our hands.

She struggles some along the way,
We hope she feels our love.
The strength she needs takes all she has,
She's all we're thinking of.

The sun breaks through, she finds her way,
The clouds begin to clear.
And every day that passes now,
Each one we hold so dear.

She'll leave us soon to spread her wings,
A dream or two to find.
We know her life's forever bound
To these roots she leaves behind.

We hope she knows how proud we are,
How deep our love resides.
How much we've learned along the way,
Seeing through our child's eyes.

The paper, paint, and crayons
Through graduation years,
Will always be our most precious ones,
Despite the thousand fears

Margaret Alliet



Sugar And Spice And Everything Nice
by JOY 14

I looked at her to see
mascara running down the sides of her face
Mixing with a lot of tears
Of frustration mostly

She glanced at me through tear glass eyes
Like a rain showered wind shield without window wipers
Stopping to take my hand
playing with my fingers
carefully fingering my rings

Then, something happened that surprised me
She smiled at me
A little smile
On her little face
What could I do but
Just smile back.

I took a tissue and wiped up the rain,
took her hand and walked with her to the playground
where she gladly played for hours on the swings

I sat and watched
perched
on slanted monkey bars
and knew better than to leave my makeup just laying around.

Goodbye Gramps
by Melissa
Today something happened that I thought never would.
I wish it could be undone, oh, if it only could.

I realize the memories I've made will be all there is.
My grandfather's memories, mine and his.

See, my grandfather passed away today and will never be back.
And now it's moments with him that I will sadly lack.

He won't be here to see me get my license or my car.
See me go to prom or graduate, because he is so far.

But I guess he's in a better place.
He resides in Heaven, and is surrounded by God's grace.

Now he can watch over me throughout the night and day.
And I can pretend that he's not really away.

He can stay with me in a place inside my heart.
And of me, he can still be a part.


Growing Up
© By Melissa S. Rawls

Life is so easy
when you are young.
When kisses heal boo-boos
and lullabies are sung.
It seemed that life could go on for years,
as long as the nightlight was there
to quiet our fears.
Why does growing up
have to be so hard?
When did the world become
bigger than our own back yard?
There is no more recess
to stop the stress of the school day.
There are no more falling stars
that can take our worries away.
Decisions are more complicated
now that we are grown,
why cant we go back
to when life was our own?