Shades of Life

Birth


We are born,
Dependent on love and care

Childhood
Walking, talking, schooling, lessons we learn

Grown
Working, loving, making mistakes,
Teaching our own

Elderly
Happiness, sadness, sickness
Our history we see
From all who follow
The family tree


    Motherhood

    She is a 14 year old baby
    having a baby,
    alone and scared
    in a hospital labor room

    A doctor, how can he have this calling
    When he wants to teach
    The little girl a lesson

    As the young girl suffers
    Through hours of labor
    This man who calls himself a doctor
    Gives no medication
    to relieve her from the pain....
    she must endure

    The little girl so fragile herself
    Finally delivers
    A baby girl
    And begins Motherhood


    "Wedding Picture"

    Painting, the picture
    The canvas of life,
    beginning this day
    becoming man and wife

    Dipping the brush, we begin
    Our work of art,
    From this moment until
    Death do us part

    Starting with pastels
    Touches of red and blue
    Flashes of orange,
    Streaks of green and purple too

    In the finished portrait
    There will be silver and gold
    For sickness and health,
    To have and to hold

    Finally a dab of white
    Dark shadows complete
    Our picture of married life


    "My Baby"

    You have been given to me
    I promise to love and care
    I will teach you the lessons of life
    I will always be there

    I hold you as you sleep
    I touch your tiny face
    With my fingers your eyes,
    Nose and face I trace

    Your hands and your feet
    I check them all
    You are so perfect
    My child my love
    As I hold you,
    I thank my loving God from above


    "A Mothers Love"

    When I was born
    The voice I heard
    Was the same one
    It was you Mom
    The one who hummed to me
    And told me I would be loved

    When I was a child,
    It was you Mom,
    Who taught me right from wrong
    How to give and take
    And to get along

    When I was a young adult
    It was you Mom
    Who taught me to do
    A day's work for a day's pay
    To search for the silver lining
    And to find a rainbow
    After a rainy day

    And now that I am grown
    I watch as you still teach
    It is you Mom
    Telling me to never give up
    It's possible to get
    What's just beyond my reach
    It is you Mom
    I thank you
    For the gifts you gave,
    The love, the understanding,
    The forgiveness, the thoughtfulness
    And to know that God blesses
    A Mothers Love


    "Father Time"

    While your Dad is with you
    Why not spend one hour with him
    Go to visit or make a call

    While he is living
    He is your link to the past
    He knows the answers
    To the questions you will ask

    Take the time to forgive and let go
    As the man you have become, he will know
    Sometimes the hardest thing a man will do
    Is to say dad.... I love you

    As a youth we are taught to be strong
    Inside we kept rights, which were wrong
    The grudges we carried, the pain we did hide
    Feeling of self-worth and stubborn pride

    When a father is gone
    And the memories are sweet, bitter and sour
    A man thinks to himself
    I wish I could see my dad for just one more hour


    "Just Like a Little Girl"

    She is so sweet
    Her smile so bright and cheery
    It can't be beat

    A laugh and a special little giggle
    She walks with a bouncy step
    Her ponytail moves with a jiggle

    Watching her as she jumped the ocean waves
    Holding my hand, seeing the excitement
    showing in her eyes all ablaze

    Her smile was out of this world
    This woman of mine,
    Spinning around in a whirl
    Making me the happiest man alive
    She was just like a little girl


    "Saving Me"

    I am sure you have heard some say
      Without them I would not be here today
    It could have been a doctor, a fireman or the police
      It may have been a stranger who saved thier life

    For me many times....
      My life has been saved by my wife

    You see I am a diabetic with an insulin pump
      I am unique I don't get the normal signal
    When my blood sugar is low
      I can take care of this during the day
    It is when I am sleeping that I do not know

    My wife is aware and notices the signs
      She will awaken me if she can
    Testing my blood sugar getting me to drink
      If it is critically low she know what to do
    There is no time to wait
      She calls 911 and gives me a shot
    Once again it was not too late

    My angel has saved me again
      She carries this burden of worry and strife
    My wife, I thank you for another chance to share your life


    "Grandson"

    I watch as you grow
      Rolling over, crawling and walking
    First tooth, laughing, cooing and talking

    One, two three the years yet to come
      Ever growing, learning more each day
    From trial and error comes true knowing

    In a short span
      I see you change
    You will go from a baby,
      To a boy and someday a man

    All my dreams and prayers are for you
      Your parents will teach
    Many of life's lessons
    The right from wrong you must do

    You will succeed from the times you fail
      One step backward, leads to many steps forward
    There is no shame from failure,
      Only if you don't try, it's the man in the mirror
    That you look in the eye

    So Godspeed my grandson,
      I will watch as you grow
    Enjoying your day to day
      Seeing you travel along life's,
    Wonderful highway
      May god always bless you
    And keep you safe
      May his kiss; put a smile on your face


    "Artist"

    An eye that can see
    beauty, transferring
    It from the mind to the hand
    In a drawing, a painting of people,
    Things or landscapes of the land

    A brush stroke, shading
    Placed just so
    This is what an artist
    Can only know

    Some who look at his work,
    See something quite different
    Think they interpret what he meant
    Critic's they become judging
    The time he has spent

    The satisfaction the artist
    Gets from his work
    Is feeling a thought
    Has been completed,
    A statement has been made
    If only he understands,
    Then he has succeeded
      He leaves himself naked


    "Word Painting"

    I am a writer, words I put on paper
      A line that leads to the next
    Hoping it will make some sort of sense

    Weaving a story or describing what my mind
      Can conceive
    I give you a vision, a thought something to believe

    On golden sunsets, falling leaves
    A new born baby cuddling her mother's breast
      A halo around the moon
    An old woman sitting in a chair
      Alone in her room

    We all recall images that we once saw
      Ah, but to see something in our mind
    That is given to us by the descriptions we read
      It comes from a gifted writer.... indeed

    We all know of one greater writer
    One who influenced us to think or act
      Whose words we can quote,
    From a passage we read either fiction or fact

    A writer an artist, whose brush is his pen
      His canvas is the paper
    His words flow and roll across his canvas
      Giving life to his art with vivid color and shades
    Building characters and weaving a story and painting
      Pictures to your mind heart and soul


    "Changing"

    Can one evolve to change?
    Can one become different?
    Without becoming strange

    While making a conscious
    Effort to mend a way
    Do you become different in what you say?

    Do you become someone who you don't know
    If change is good
    Where does the rest of you go?

    Can one be selective?
    While changing for the better
    Does one follow change?
    Like a law to the letter

    I just wonder for a person is a sum of the whole
    As a picture with sun and shadows
    Can one change his soul?

    Traits have been instilled since birth
    All are different some less,
    Some more, as their worth

    The basic things like
    Honesty, character, truth and sincerity
    These are what are important
    To the people we see


    "The Piano"

    A touch of the keys
      Softly the notes rise to ones ears
    Close your eyes dreaming
      Calming all your fears

    The lullaby gently
      Rocks the spirit within
    Key to key
      A musical interlude begins

    The pianist sitting so tall and straight,
      Hands so gracefully caress the keys
    Making love to ebony and white
      The tinkling like the wind
    Blowing thru the trees

    The piano and her master
      Who commands the music that we hear
    We become the music as it fills the room
      It carries us from high to low
    One last solitary note ends the ebb and flow


    "St. Pete Beach"

    You on the sand
      Walking with me hand in hand

    The sky so blue
      Puffy clouds so white
    The sun sinking low
    We held each other tight

    As we danced the sand on our feet
      Music played you smiled so sweet

    The soft sound of the lapping waves
      Caressed by the warm breeze
    Under gently swaying palm trees

    We were the lovers
      Holding and kissing
    Lost in each other
      Nothing was missing

    A memory for all time
      We had created,
    This very special moment
      From the dreams we had awaited

    Pictures were snapped
      From wherever our sight did reach
    Forever etched in our mind
      The special moments at St. Pete Beach


    "The Black"

    A Magnificent stallion he stands
    High on the hill
    Above it all so beautiful and still

    He is the master of his domain
    The king looking at the valley below
    Scratching at the dust,
    His hooves preparing to run

    A black beauty so strong
    His statuesque silhouette
    Against the setting sun
    As he lifts his head his eyes ablaze
    A fire burns inside
    This black stallion
    She dreams to ride


    "The Chair"

    Sitting in a chair
      Is not complicated
    Nothing to it
      Sitting there

    Now you add a desk,
      A computer and a key board
    You slide the chair into place
      "Help I can't get out"
    I hope they don't see the redness of my face

    I am laughing there is panic in my eye
      I am stuck and can't get out
    Again and again I push and try

    To my rescue comes help from next to me
      Lifting up the key board
    A gentle push at last I am free

    Smiling, laughing tears are in my eyes
      In the future I won't take sitting in a chair
    For granted, getting stuck has made me wise

Shades of Connection

    "Searching for your Spirit"

    I am searching for your spirit,
      I know it is here, but where?
    It eludes me, floating free

    I am searching for your spirit,
      As close as a touch, this feeling,
    A misty mystery in my mind I see

    I am searching for your spirit
      Just when it seems I have found it,
    I reach out and it is gone with the wind

    I am searching for your spirit
      I shut my eyes and make a wish
    I ask for your spirit to touch me once again


    "One in a Million"

    It was at her birth the doctor said she may not survive
    The fragile little girl they would try to keep alive

    It would be a one in a million chance
    Her mother was told,
    To the mother the sweet little baby was ... more precious
    than gold

    The daughter survived
    Growing stronger throughout her life
    She became a young mother herself suffering
    Thru sacrifice and strife

    She is one in a million
    God blessed her with his special touch
    He had sent her an angel
    A little girl of her own who she loved so very much

    I have also come to see,
    I have been touched by love and affection
    From the one in a million that came to me


    "All Woman"

    She ... is all woman
    She ... is light
    She ... is day
    She ... is night

    She ... is the air I breathe
    She ... is my nourishment
    She ... is my laughter
    She ... is All Woman

    She ... is passion
    She ... is smart
    She ... is my music
    She ... is my heart

    She ... is my future
    She ... has been my past
    She ... lives in my present
    She ... is All Woman
    My search has ended at last


    Fate

    Night in the hills
    Of Tennessee
    My love, you are here
    I can feel you touching me

    Listen to the lone owl,
    Calling for its mate
    It is you and I darling
    We know this is fate
    Yes—we know this is our fate

    Looking at your eyes a glow
    In your heart and mind you know
    This is our fate, it must wait
    And—we will

    Fate is when two points intersect,
    They meet as one
    The right place, at the right time
    Destiny be—done


    Surrounded

    I feel it; I know it is with me
    The gaze of your eyes of blue,
    Surrounded by the love I see

    Not a single word is spoken,
    The eyes say it all,
    Your warmth and caring is like a blanket,
    Surrounding me

    I am lifted up; I am in peace and tranquility
    This cocoon of protecting love
    You are here now and always,
    Surrounding me


    Ahh—

    Ahh—such sweet love
    Touched me, warmed me
    Surrounded me, enfolded me
    You my darling ... it was you

    Ahh—such sweet bliss,
    Comforted me, caressed me,
    Kissed me, loved me,
    You my darling ... it was you

    Ahh—such peace,
    Carried me,
    Lifted me,
    Joined me with you,
    You my darling ... It Was You


    You're Heart of Gold

    In my hand I hold a pin
    It is shaped like a heart
    You gave it to me
    To keep while we are apart

    As I turn it
    And press it to my lips
    This golden heart held by my fingertips

    I think of you and send my love
    Praying that you are watched over by God above

    Oh so very far away, my wish for you
    Is a wonderful day
    I will wait and bide my time
    For that day when you will be mine

    I will make it through another lonely night
    Holding in my hand your heart of gold,
    So tight


    My Judy

    I see a mischievous smile
    Hear her giggle, it is bubbly
    I see the way she tilts her head
    Her eyes all sparkly and bright

    I watch her perky walk,
    Her hands on hips
    As if to question my stare
    This the woman I love who is standing there

    Judy has a confidence, she walks tall
    Her head held high
    There is nothing that she will not try

    A heart full of love giving so much,
    I melt when she looks at me,
    My heart skips when I feel her touch

    Her hair of red,
    Long and flowing
    This is the woman of who I dream
    Thank you God for the love she is showing

Shades of Love

    "What is Love"

    Over the years it's been debated
      By scholars and those educated
    What is love?

    Now I don't claim to know more than most
      I get my answers from the heavenly host
    For his only son he came from above

    I do know love is not sex, nor is it lust
      It's not a young a lady with an overdeveloped bust
    It begins with deeds, words and gestures of good will

    Love is a cup overflowing, with caring and good wishes
      As the son fed the multitude with loaves and fishes
    If we empty our hearts each day, each night it will refill

    It is all living creatures and every living tree
      The flowery meadows, the lakes and rivers we see
    The sun, the sky, the clouds of white
      The air we breathe, the darkness of night

    Love is a fiber woven into the strands,
      The fabric of each day
    Open your hearts and give it away
      When I awake each morning the first thing I say
    Thank you God for one more day!