A Young Man I Knew

I once knew
An amazing young man
Whose spirit was
So pure and bright
He touched the lives
Of all those he knew
With love and laughter
And joy

I remember when he
Would play with my son
He never once
Made him feel left out
He talked to him
Played with him
Helped teach him to love
Never once did he brush him aside

Some time ago now
We lost this young man
Heavenly father
Called him back home
I remember the look
In my son’s eyes
When I told him
All he asked me was why

Now I watch my young son
Growing into a man
And I see him with
Another young child
He talks to them
Plays with them
Gives them a smile and his love
Never once does he brush them aside

The young man I knew
Has been called home again
In this mortal life
We will not hear his voice
But his spirit lives on
In the smile of my son
And all the others he touched
In his life

Butterflies

Every day
as I drive home from work
I see dozens of
little yellow butterflies.
Beautiful little creatures,
seemingly floating
from place to place.
Amazing little creatures, really.
They spend most of their lives
as little caterpillars,
eating their way
slowly through life.
Then they seal themselves
up in a cocoon
and emerge as
beautiful creatures
that fire the imagination.

Their lives are brief,
at most days.
Their sole purpose
in life seems to be to reproduce.
Yet something about these
creatures creates a sense of
mysticism and magic.
As they float
from flower to flower,
you can almost see
the fairies of old,
trailing pixie dust in their wake.

In other ways,
they seem to symbolize
much in our culture.
Living a quick
but fulfilled life,
and leaving a beautiful corpse.
Unless of course,
they end up splattered
across someone’s windshield.

Blurred Lines

Sometimes we get so busy
So wrapped up in our lives
We say we’ll call tomorrow
They know how much you care

A month goes by, sometimes a year
You see them now and then
Then suddenly, out of the blue
They seem to disappear

You look back and you wonder
What chances did you miss?
Did you ever tell them thank you?
Did you say how much you cared?

It always seems so sudden
We are never really prepared
To say goodbye to those we love
To say how much we care

The little things that mean so much
Are quite often ignored
A quiet kind word, a gentle hug
Or just a simple smile

Those people who have touched your life
Who have made you who you are
Don’t let another day go by
Assuming that they know

My Little Angel

The moonlight glints off his hair
Casting a silvery glow
Betraying the golden nature
Of his soft, curly hair
The soft pale light
Gives a milky pallor
To his smooth, perfect skin
While giving his slightly parted lips
An unnaturally dark cast
His eyes, closed and relaxed
Hide their sky blue brilliance
The long eyelashes,
Slightly damp with tears
Recently shed
His soft breathing,
Catching occasionally
At half remembered sobs
Any second, you almost expect
Angel wings to sprout
From his back
This beautiful, angelic child
Hard to believe he is the same child
Who just screamed his way to bed

A Simple Prayer

It feels a little awkward
Down here on my knees
My arms are crossed
My head is bowed
Yet I can’t think
Of what to say

I wonder if it’s really
Something that I need to do
I know he knows what’s in my heart
And just what I need
I quietly speak my thoughts aloud
“Lord, I don’t know what to say”

Then suddenly
I am overwhelmed
Barely holding back the tears
The feelings flowing
Through my heart
Overwhelming gratitude

I see in my mind’s eye
Everyone whom I have loved
I see the faces of old friends
I haven’t seen in years
I see my friends, my family
Everything that I hold dear

I see the figure of my Savior
His head bent down in prayer
I know the pain he felt for me
The sacrifice he made
So I may one day have the chance
To live with him in joy

Quiet tears slide down my cheek
As I sit here on my knees
My head bent down
My heart contrite
I know now what to say
“thank you”

Sunlight

For most of my life
I have simply stumbled along
in the dark
living day to day
in my inelegant
but simple way

Occasionally I would
get glimpses
of the beautiful sunlight
that always
seemed to shine
on other peoples lives

Vainly I would rush
from place to place
from sunbeam to sunbeam
trying to stand
in the warmth
of that beautiful light

But it seemed
I was always
destined to fail
I always seemed to
reach the light
just as it faded

Then suddenly one day
the light was right in front of me
radiating from your eyes
your smile, warming the hearts
of all in need
and inviting them to join in

You guided my steps
brought me out of the dark
and showed me the path
you lit my way
and now I too feel
the warmth of the sunlight