Poetry Page

Let all mortal flesh keep silence

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This page features poems I like, some by members of the GCUC congregation.

Life, and Teenager by Kauri Dahl
This is what you did to me by Kauri Dahl
We all need God by Fred Williams Jr.
Christmas is by Mabel Boucher
I like to hear by Mabel Boucher
Ode to the moon by Mabel Boucher
Knee deep in summer by Sheila Green
Desert Song by Laurie-Ann Zachar Copple
Promises in the valley by Laurie-Ann Zachar Copple

A Cross in the Path by Howard Lancaster
Qing Ping Le by George Dai

Nian Nu Jiao by George Dai

Seeking Forgiveness by Badia Kashgari
Trance by Badia Kashgari
The Hand of Christmas by David Wybou
T'was the night before the Christmas Party

A Cross In The Path
by Howard Lancaster

Through his eyes for the first time I looked.
I saw the grandeur of his vision before me.
The greenness of the trees, the blueness of the skies.
The clearness of the rivers deep.

I followed the foot prints laid ahead of me.
The steps of souls before.
A pathway through the unknown is the journey.
I travel, but not alone.

Two hands are pressed upon me at a cross in the path I come.
The firmness of the dark is felt with the rising of the sun.

The wind through the trees sings its melody, a song of hope and faith.
At the cross in the path I hesitate, which direction now to take.

The path ahead it ends abrupt, crowned with a thicket of thorns.
To the left lies a path of many, a wide and well beaten trail.
To the right lies a path less worn, its lush but for a trail of two.

From the left a voice it beckons.
It confuses right from wrong.
The light in the path diminishes, then darkness does abound.

To the right there is no voice, only the wind passing through the trees.
The light in the path has no ending, it travels for eternity.

To the right my heart it’s drawn.
My feet press lightly upon the ground.
No longer is there silence.
His music is all around.

There's calmness ever present.
My soul awakened my spirit now reborn.
I will journey down this path unknown.
I'll travel, but not alone.

Read more of Howard's poetry.

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Life
By: Kauri Dahl
Life
What is life?
Life can be happy,
Life can be sad,
Life can also be confusing.
Life is what you make it,
You can make it good,
You can make it bad.
But either way,
It’s your life.
Some think that life sucks and then you die.
Some think that life is a wonderful thing.
Some believe that life never ends...
To me,
Life is fragile.
You need to treat it with care,
If you do one thing wrong,
It could mess up your whole life.
Life is simply this,
Confusing,
Unfair,
Maddening,
But it can also cause this,
Happiness,
Wonderful memories.
Life is what you make it.
Life isn’t very long,
Treat it with care.
Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Life?
Teenager
By: Kauri Dahl
Some days I might be mad,
Some days I might be stressed.
But the truth is this,
I am a teenager.
My mood changes,
My views on life change,
My thought of mind might change too.
I am growing everyday to be just like you,
To be a mature adult,
Soon enough I will have to leave you,
I will have to buy a place of my own,
I will pay to pay bills,
I will no longer depend on you.
So right now,
Remember this.
I am a teenager,
I am not a child,
Nor am I an adult.
So every time I yell at you,
Every time I say I don’t like you,
That is not true.
I don’t mean any of those things,
I am just a teenager,
I get mad over the littlest things because it seems they matter.
Please enjoy the time you have left with me,
For I am enjoying the time I have left with you.
Because soon enough I will have to move out,
And make a life out of what you have shown and taught me.
I am just a teenager...

This is what you did to me
By: Kauri Dahl

The feeling of hurt,
The feeling of betrayal,
The feeling of abandonment,
This is what you did to me.
You left me here.
All alone.

I have many questions that are now left, unanswered.
They will always be unanswered.
You are supposed to be there,
But you aren’t and you never will be.

I will make it on my own,
I don’t need you.
You left me hurt,
You left me unsure,

You left me confused.
This is what you did to me.

I will always have this feeling,
No matter how long has passed.
I will live my life without you,
Life goes on.
I wish that mermories would last,
But they fade.
I will do my best.

This is what you did to me,
You left me unsure,
And confused
That is what you did to me.

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We all need God
by Fred Williams Jr.

Some people go through life,
and think they do not need God, who governs their everyway.
Because their loyalty lies in their riches,
that helps them get through their everyday.

But there are many reasons why we all need God, to be so close and near,
and to comfort us when life’s troubles arise and turn our thoughts to worries and fear.

God can be our sheltering harbour when life’s high seas get rough,
because we can always find refuge in his peaceful waters
when we think we have had enough.

And one day we will all need his undying mercy
to pardon an unforgivable sin,
and ask his son Jesus Christ to be our saviour,
so that we can redeem our troubled soul from within.

And we all need God to sow a seed of inspiration in our heart,
so that we can possess an enduring spirit and finish whatever we start.

Or God can be the balancing beam that stabilizes us as we walk on life’s tight rope,
and keep us focused through all of life’s commotions,
on the centre of love, faith, and hope.

And there may be certain moments in your life
when you feel you are completely all alone.
And you will need someone to talk too and keep you company
when your time is all your own.

But God will always be nearby to hear whatever you have to say,
and give your spirit the courage to go forward and live another day.

Or he will assign you your own personal guardian angel,
who will watch over you and observe,
and make sure that you are OK
by assisting you with everything that you deserve.

So as you can see each man needs God
to administer everything that they so dearly require.
And be the nutrition that nourishes their soul,
so that they can grow in faith and become all that they aspire.

Read more of Fred's poetry.

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Christmas
by Mabel (Hamilton) Boucher, 1912-2005

CHRISTMAS. . .
is for cards, carols, a crown;
children who sing;

is for hearts, health, hope,
healing in His wing;

is for righteousness, a royal robe,
Christ reigns above;

in Bethlehem, Israel,
one Christmas morn, He was born;

is for a story that is told,
something more than gold,
He is the shepherd, we the sheep
are safe in the fold;

is for talents, time, the tree,
for these we give our thanks to Thee;

is for miracles, many more,
for His mercy our thanks
we now give!

is for all things bright and beautiful
all things great and small,
the dear Lord loves them all;

is for the Spirit of Christmas-Santa Claus
there is a star it is shining in Heaven afar;

is for stripes.
for by His stripes
we are all healed

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Desert Song
by Laurie-Ann Zachar Copple
June 1997

I wander through a dry, thirsty land
A land of refining and biting sand
The wind as I walk is shrill in its cry
That despite all appearances, God does not lie

Time in the desert does not mean God's quit
Surrender your striving and climb from the pit
Self pity is only running from Him
And burrowing deeper in unneeded sin

Relinquishment is like a valley of dross
Where slowly you realize that you're not the boss
Where what you thought best is no longer a joy
Its empty, so barren, of life it's a void

Yet Abram and Sarai sojourned in a tent
Believed in His promise and did not relent
When wavered, God did not give up on them
To show that He meant it he gave them new names

The Lord's loving mercy it never ends
He promised to nomads that they'd be His friend
He promised a land, a blessing and son
Passed through the pieces, to reveal He's solemn

Promise did come to this couple of Old
For the Lord is more steadfast than all we uphold
And if I trust in Him as I ought
The way won't seem so hard as I've sought

Just like in Proverbs, I choose to trust
Not my perception, but you, Lord, I must
With all of my heart Lord, I say this in faith
You set your path before me quite straight
If I follow you in all of my ways

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Trance
by Badia Kashgari
Abu Dhabi, March 5, 1999

The final day in the calendar of my stars;
My consciousness renders me unconscious
I leave the darkness and the nadir of the brain,
Among bleaky flames of madness
Shrouded by waves
I cross the threshold of a trance
Like the light, I unfold my wings from my ribs
To nurture in a distant garden, a birth,
And from the rites of a wilderness pervaded by a desolate neighing,
The elements of my being take shape
Unarmed, I call you,
Embroidered by a cascading glow
That dwells in the amber of the soul,
As another form,
I dissipate into the void before creation.
To reincarnate afresh,
Look you in the face, and become one with you,
Free of former weakness
And liberated from my past aberration.

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Seeking Forgiveness
by Badia Kashgari
Ottawa, January 5, 2000

I wept
For a stream of love whose source dried up
For a firebrand that consumed itself
For a widowed moon
That witnessed the senses flare.
I wept for the lotus tree of the soul
Whose fragrance penetrates the cycle of dryness.
I wept profusely
For each bleeding part
For a song that followed
The funeral of my lightning
I wept long
Until I gave up seeking forgiveness from my tears
Look at me!
Am I not the eyelid squeezing the grapevine?