A PHOENIX FROM THE ASH

They crushed your spark,
Put off your fire,
Laughed at you,
When you lay there as ash.

Little did they know,
The more they burn you
The more you'll rise
Like a Phoenix from the ash.

~The Luna|

THE HONEY BAR HOTEL

By Shadowjo


*

The air hangs sluggishly in the room

The lights are dim and flickering

Spiders have long ago abandoned 

The stench and the bickering.


*

There once was much love here

Many-a-heart danced and fluttered

Where oaths and promises

Were frequently uttered.


*

But now the color has turned beige

It has lost the magic of its spell

All that lingers are the shadows

At the Honey Bar Hotel.


*

Source: Shadowlands

June 30, 2014

THE SERMON OF THE TREES

by Rado Gatchalian

i see the veins of man flowing

in every branch of a tree,

rushing through from earth

to the sweetest eloquence of air.


beneath the inhale, exhale, of life —

all roots speak of an immutable decree

that every matter shares the same ingredients,

as a leaf enthroned in the sky

so as the genius of a child.


whether you deny its existence

or glorify its infinite power —

a tree looks at you, and you look at the tree:

and a beauty is born in eternity.

ALL GOOD WILL COME BACK TO YOU

Sometimes, you are unsatisfied with your life,
While many people are dreaming of living your life.

A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead
And dreams of flying
But a pilot on the plane sees the farmhouse
And dreams of returning home.

That's life!
Enjoy yours!

If wealth is the secret to happiness,
Then the rich should be dancing on the streets.
But only poor kids do that.

If power ensures security,
Then officials should walk unguarded.
But those who live simply, sleep soundly.

If beauty and fame bring ideal relationships,
Then celebrities should have the best marriages.

Live simply, walk humbly, and love genuinely …
All good will come back to you.

~Anon~

THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS

By Wendell Berry

When despair for the world
grows in me
and I wake in the night
at the least sound
in fear of what my life and
my children’s lives may be.
I go and lie down
where the wood drake
rests in his beauty
on the water,
and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace
of wild things
who do not tax their lives
with forethought
of grief. I come into the
presence of still water.
And I feel above me the
day-blind stars
waiting with their light.
For a time
I rest in the grace of the world,
and am free.

A MESSAGE FROM HEAVEN

By Robert Clancy

Just because you can't see me,
doesn't mean that I'm not there.
I'm the gentle breeze that kisses your face;
I'm the warmth of the passing air.
I've become every note
of beautiful music you've ever heard,
I'm the songs of love in your heart.
I know how much you miss me
And how hard you've tried to restart.
I'm always right there beside you,
I've become what we're all meant to be.
I'm the essence of every precious flower;
I'm the blossoms on every tree.
If you look to the heavens you might see me;
I just might be that bird passing above,
but the best place to see me
is the place we all call love.


🕊 🕊 🕊 🕊 🕊 🕊 🕊 🕊 🕊 🕊

A LIFE OF JOURNEYS

*

I have flirted with damnation

I have danced with the damned 

I have cried with the angels

I have laughed with the lost

I have endured with the sufferers

I have fought with the peaceful

I have lost to the rich

I have shared with the poor

I have dreamed of freedom

I have hurt with loved ones

I have learned from the ignorant 

I have taught the uneducated

I have drunk with the thirsty 

I have fed on crumbs

I have loved the loveless 

I have been loved with magic

I have lived a life of journeys

And now I have finally reached

My far horizon.


*

Words © by Shadowjo
April 16 2015

Source: Shadowlands

WHILE THERE IS HOPE THERE IS LIFE

By Wilfred A. Peterson

The well-known maxim, "While there is life there is hope," has a deeper meaning in reverse:
"While there is hope there is life."

Hope comes first, life follows.
Hope gives power to life.
Hope rouses life to continue, to expand,
to grow, to reach out, to go on.
Hope sees a light where there isn't any.
Hope lights candles in millions of despairing hearts.
Hope is the miracle medicine of the mind.
It inspires the will to live.
Hope is the physician's strongest ally.
Hope is our shield and buckler against defeat.

"Hope," wrote Alexander Pope, "springs eternal in the human breast."

And as long as it does we will triumph and move forward.
Hope never sounds retreat.
Hope keeps the banners flying.
Hope revives ideals, renews dreams, revitalizes visions.
Hope scales the peak, wrestles with the impossible,
achieves the highest aim.

"The word which God has written on the brow of every person," wrote Victor Hugo, "is Hope."

As long as we have hope no situation is hopeless.

"KEEP LOOKING UP..."

Source: "In the Garden of Faith, Hope and Love"

HIS JOURNEY'S JUST BEGUN

By Ellen Brenneman

Don't think of him as gone away -
His jorney's just begun,
Life holds so many facets -
This earth is only one.

Just think of him as resting
From the sorrows and the tears
In a place of warmth and comfort
Where there are no days and years.

Think how he must be wishing
That we could know today
How nothing but our sadness
Can really pass away.

And think of him as living
In the hearts of those he touched …
For nothing loved is ever lost -
And he was loved so much.

NB -
A poem contained in a sympathy card sent to Carol Smith of Orange, NSW.
SADLY, Carol too had passed-away.
My sincere condolence to Karen

THE BLINDFOLD

By Surf Reyes

In the brightest of days,
with the sun in our eyes,
we chose
to put on a blindfold,
covering our sight.
Then drowning in darkness,
where fear arose,
we wallow in wailing,
crying in prayer to the Sun
to give us light.

DID YOU EVER IMAGINE HOW HEAVEN WILL BE?

Did you ever imagine how heaven will be, 

what color the sky, the land or the sea?


I wonder if maybe the sky could be gold, 

with flowers too beautiful to behold.


I picture the trees with leaves colored pink,

near waters of crystal for people to drink,


and then in my mind I can see drops of dew,

all sparkling like diamonds, with bright crystal hue.


I am envisioning some soft snow or rain,

as warmly it melts on each window pane.


The birds will be every color and hue. 

They’ll land on your shoulder to cuddle with you!


The animals, able to smile and talk,

though some wild on earth, with you tamely will walk


I feel we might also be able to fly,

above trees and flowers, as we soar through the sky.


The homes and the mansions, breathtaking in sight, 

will thrill us and give us enormous delight!


Envision the gardens and water so clear, 

that of purest crystal to us will appear!


The food will be of such delectable taste, 

that not even a morsel, we will let go to waste.


Our family and friends will all be by our side, 

as in perfect love, we will gladly abide.


God in magnificence will smile and say,

“Welcome my child to eternal day!


Come let Me embrace you and show you the place,

in heaven you’ve earned for completing the race.


Now finally as you pass, through heaven’s door,

we’ll both be together, forevermore.


The things I have shown you just cannot compare, 

with all of the others that soon I will share.


Together in paradise we’ll stroll arm and arm,

eternally safe from life’s every alarm!”

Author: Anon(?)

Source: A Poem For Every Occasion
June 8, 2020