Peace in Poetry

If you have a favorite poem you would like to see on this page, 
please email it to me at bigpaw@cox.net

Those we love remain with us,
for love itself lives on,
and cherished memories never fade,
because one loved is gone....
Those we love can never be
more than a thought apart,
for as long as there is memory,
they live on in our hearts.

~Author Unknown~

We Can Never Lose

What we have once enjoyed 
we can never lose. 
All that we love deeply 
becomes a part of us. 

~Author Unknown~

Memories are treasures
time cannot take away.
So may we be surrounded
by happy ones today.
May all the love and tenderness
of days and years well spent
Come back today to fill our hearts
with beauty and content.
And may we walk down memory lane
and meet the ones we love,
For while we cannot see them,
they'll be watching from above...
So for their sakes' be happy
and show them that their love
Has proven strong and big enough
to reach down from Above.

~Mattie Brainard~

Remember Me

To the living, I am gone
To the sorrowful, I will never return
To the angry, I was cheated
But, to the happy, I am at peace
And to the faithful, I have never left
I can not speak, but I can listen
I can not be seen, but I can be heard
So as you stand upon the shore
Gazing at the beautiful sea, remember me
As you look in awe at a mighty forest
And its grand majesty, remember me
Remember me in your hearts,
In your thoughts, and the memories of the
Times we loved, the times we cried, the
Battle I fought and the times we laughed
For if you always think of me, I will
Have never gone.

~Author Unknown~

I Am With You Always

As you hold me close in memory, 
even though we are apart, 
my spirit will live on, 
there within your heart... 
I am with you always 

When you lean on trust friends 
and their caring hugs enfold you, 
within their loving arms, 
I'll be there to hold you... 
I am with you always 

And beyond the far horizon 
when we'll finally be together, 
where love will be eternal 
and life will last forever... 
I am with you always 

~Author Unknown~

Do Not Weep

Do not stand by my grave and weep. 
I am not there. 
I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow. 
I am a diamond glint in the snow. 
I am the sunlight on the ripened grain. 
I am the gentle Autumn rain.

When you awake in the morning hush
I am the swift uplifting rush 
of quiet birds in circling flight. 
I am the soft star shine at night. 

Do not stand by my grave and cry.
I am not there... I did not die. 

Anonymous

When You Smile

When you smile
gray clouds disappear.
Hearts are filled with happiness.
Your warm smile dries the falling tears.
Your smile is filled with compassion
and it shouldn't be a surprise.
Because everyone can see that your smile
can make any situation a paradise.
Broken hearts begin to mend,
at least for a little while.
The world is a beautiful place,
when you smile.

~Carl Beckwith~

And You Learn

After a while you learn the subtle difference 
between holding a hand and chaining a soul…

And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning, 
and company doesn't mean security… 

And you learn that kisses aren't contracts, 
and presents aren't promises… 
And you begin to accept your defeats with your head up
and your eyes open… 
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child… 

And you learn to build all your roads on today, 
because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans… 
And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight…

And after a while you learn 
That even sunshine burns if you get too much… 
So you plant your own garden, and decorate your own soul
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers…

And you learn that you really can endure.... 
That you really are strong... 
And you really do have worth…

And you learn, and you learn.... 
With every good-bye, you learn…

~Author Unknown~

If Tomorrow Never Comes

If I knew it would be the last time that I'd see you fall asleep, 
I would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door, 
I would give you a hug and kiss and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise, 
I would video tape each action and word, so I could play them back day after day. 
If I knew it would be the last time, I could spare an extra minute 
or two to stop and say "I love you," instead of assuming, 
you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your day, 
well I'm sure you'll have so many more, so I can let just this one slip away.
For surely there's always tomorrow to make up for an oversight, 
and we always get a second chance to make everything right.
There will always be another day to say our "I love you' s", 
And certainly there's another chance to say our "Anything I can do's?"

But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get, 
I'd like to say how much I love you and I hope we never forget, 
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike, 
And today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight..

So if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today? 
For if tomorrow never comes, you'll surely regret the day, 
That you didn't take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss, 
And you were too busy to grant someone, 
what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today, whisper in their ear, 
Tell them how much you love them and that you'll always hold them dear, 
Take time to say "I'm sorry," "please forgive me," "thank you" or "it's okay".

And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today.

~Author Unknown~

Star-Gazing Wanderer

The mountain is conquered
My sky is red
Peaceful giant
and nothin’s said
Star-gazing wanderer is what I am.

Eternal heaven grasps my mind
And carries it to a starburst field of flowers.
Can’t count the hours
And the ebony god grants a vision.
My soul is arisen.

Flightless clouds in timeless night
suspend me with them
Such unearthly delight is mine.
Perhaps a sign.
Silver threads of a golden dream surround me.
My being will be free.

~Mark Jonathan Smith~

The Universe Is You

A gentle voice comes to me, saying:

“You are leaving your home,
Becoming human so that you may
Experience & learn & advance.
The memory of the paradise you
have dwelt in
will be removed; otherwise you
could not bear the pain and sorrow
of life on earth.
You will forget your true identity,
believing yourself to be
a physical being.

The parents you have chosen
will feed you, clothe you, protect you
and give you love.
Be not deceived by those who will
try to convince you that life on
earth is the important, the only,
or that you must secure yourself
to their beliefs in order to be “saved.”
They have been misled.
Open your mind to all things:
experience the many paths,
always do your best,

and you may one day
be granted Enlightenment
and realize that you
have the life of Buddha,
the life of Krishna,
the life of Baha ‘u’ llah,
the life of Christ within you.
Then you will be freed from the
bonds of the flesh, the bonds of
rebirth, of space and time.”

The way is before me,
I will my molecules to slow
their vibration, and
hover above my mother-to-be.
She is sitting in a chair,
knitting.
I slip inside her and enter
her womb,
the unborn fetus,
now my body.

The woman feels a movement
of life
within her,
and she smiles.

* * * * * * * *

The night is lonely, the
air chilled and silent. i
walk the sidewalks slowly.

Wondering, what is real?
studying my hand:
is this body mine?

Probing the bark of a tree
with my fingers
becoming the tree
sprouting buds
soaking up warm sunshine
drawing moist earth up through
my roots.
How am I different from this tree,
from the blades of grass on the lawn,
the stars in the heaven above?

Why do I have a border
why do my molecules not
blend with the air
Why is there always me and it? -
my essence apart from all other existence
where do my thoughts come from?

The shadows on the ground
the reflection in the window say
I am.
Travelling along the myriad roads
so many lead to nowhere
the happiness they bring
is there and gone
after reaching the highest point

they allow
one may go no further.
But the Joy of being
One with the Universe
knows no limits,
for the Universe is without limit.
Absorbing the teachings
of the inspired
brings an understanding:
the Lotus Sutra, the Bible,
Hesse and Rampa, Rembrandt and Dali,
Beethoven & Brahms & Mozart & Chopin
Socrates and Shakespere and the Moody Blues,
the artist and the thinker.

* * * * * * * *

Making good causes
brings good effects:
“Love thy neighbor as thyself,”

“Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”
“Be still and know the I within.”

What would it be like to be
an air bubble,
drifting upward
from the lake bottom
through the deep waters,
and rising above the surface to
burst
then become one with the air
and mingle with the atmosphere
and course through the veins
of the winds?

A great voice speaks:
You have walked your path
with a sincere heart
and an open mind,
you have strived with all your effort
to find truth

never turning from your goal
no matter the obstacles
that lay before you.

Be at peace now,
for you have found yourself
you are fulfilled
the Universe is You.

~Gary R. Smith~

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