Chad's Poetry

(These are basically a few poems I've written-in order).

How to Live?

What to do? What to do in life?
So much of it seems to be in strife.
Conflicting matters of fun and sin,
can ruin even the best of men.
With God, up above, and the Devil, down below,
it’s hard to keep in the right flow.
The path is narrow; the hill is steep.
To pass the test, you must dig deep.
You’ll face The Trial all by yourself,
so don’t put your good upon a shelf.
The secret of life is Jesus and God.
We didn’t come to Earth in a little pod.
How can you keep from straying away?
To keep your fire from ebbing each day?
Sin works its way in and takes its toll,
so work your way out of your deep hole.

By God’s grace we live;
by our own sin we die.
We tend to take and not to give;
the best we can do is to try.
All fall short of the glory of God,
but we don’t have to make it worse.
That is what makes it odd;
many people don’t read any verse.
We rob, and hurt, and lie, and cheat;
yet, many think that that it’s okay,
As long as you don’t get caught it’s neat,
and what else do I have to say?

With all this wrong, where is all the good?
You don’t see much, in some neighborhood.
How to live?
What to give?
I do not know.
I really don’t know.
You need to find your own way to glow.
You need to get out and go, go, go.
For me, I know I’ll find my way,
if I look for it each day.

As Life Gets Easier

Life gets easier with each new thing, yet it always seems to stay the same.
Technology advances and computers can sing, yet it always seems to stay the same.
People can help others, and all can be well, yet it always seems to stay the same.
We should have stopped for those that fell, yet it always seems to stay the same.
Peace has been lacking through all the years, yet it always seems to stay the same.
Wars break out and there are many fears, yet it always seems to stay the same.
Humans are killed in many lands, yet it always seems to stay the same.
We can help each other with our own hands, so it seems we need to have a change.

The Sun

The sun that burns up in the sky,
without it we would surely die.
It brings life to the planet Earth,
it is a star with unlimited worth.
Through the sky it flows like a dancer,
it brings good things and yet causes cancer.
Red, yellow, orange, a mix,
allowing trees to grow strong with branches and sticks.
Energy flows from it and comes down here,
but one day the fire will not burn, I fear.
The gaseous reactions will cease to burst,
unless we advance I'm afraid of the worst.

USMA

Here at West Point, seniority is the key.
If you are a plebe, then you are unlucky.
Us freshman must greet and walk upright;
stress is all around and cadets get uptight.
A cadet will not lie, cheat, or steal;
this honor code is a cadet run deal.
We will lead the way with these terrorist attacks;
we are preparing for war but also learning facts.
So pray for the victims and cheer USMA,
because our Army will be the victors today.

You Never Know When

This is dedicated to my mom, Tammie Johnson, with all of my love.

Mom, I want to thank you for all the good times that we had.
I'm sorry for any problems I caused, sorry for being bad.
I know we did our best to get along each day.
I realize now that you were right, so hear what I have to say.
You never know when someone will be taken from you,
so I want to thank you now before this day is through.
You were my role model when no one else was there.
You got me through the bad times, the ones I could not bare.
You gave me courage and hope, when strife was all around;
you picked me up and dusted me off when I fell upon the ground.
You gave life to me and taught me to walk, talk, and sing;
come to think of it, Mom, you taught me most everything.
You taught me to pray when things got rough;
you helped me deal with life by seeing you-so tough.
So hear my small thanks and I hope they are enough.

Hourglass

Life is an hourglass with many grains of sand. Each granule appears the same, and yet they are not. To a child, the sands seem enormous, but to an adult they are small. Life is also a difference in perspectives. A child sees a year as way into the future. A teen feels their 18th birthday will never come, but they reach 18 and can't wait to get older. Adults see time as small grains that pass quickly. Their childhood is gone, and their time as a young adult fades. They grow old, and soon the elderly reminisce about being middle-aged adults. As their wrinkles become deeper, and their skin sags a little more, they see the last grains of sand leave the hourglass. They long for the days when the grains never seemed to disappear, but even the hourglass must empty before refilling with new sand. Time wins in the end.