Poems...

Untitled poem by Mary Oliver

Every morning
the world
is created.
Under the orange

sticks of the sun
the heaped
ashes of the night
turn into leaves again

and fasten themselves to the high branches-
and the ponds appear
like black cloth
on which are painted islands

of summer lilies.
If it is your nature
to be happy
you will swim away along the soft trails

for hours, your imagination
alighting everywhere.
and if your spirit
carries within it

the thorn
that is heavier than lead-
if it's all you can do
to keep on trudging-

there is still
somewhere deep within you
a beast shouting that the earth
is exactly what it wanted-

each pond with its blazing lilies
is a prayer heard and answered
lavishly,
every morning,

whether or not
you have ever dared to be happy,
whether or not
you have ever dared to pray.

Two Desires

There are two desires Man can have
And he has them both
Conflicting as they may be
But only one offers hope
Between two worlds he’s torn
He wants to stay, he wants to go
To the perfect world where he was born
But he loves his dream world so
It’s a tough decision for Man to make
He believes that he is flawed
Still judging himself not good enough
To walk in peace with God
Choosing instead to seek his treasures
Here in the realm of death
He calls himself king and kills everything
And pretends his will is blessed
But he can’t forget the one he killed who miraculously survived
The outlaw preacher of love and peace is apparently still alive

-Mickey Johnson writes poems & songs, and is part of our Soundbooth Tech Team at Unity.

Open the Door

Open the door
And enter into life.
Walk thru the doorway
And learn how to live.

If you open your mind
To the endless possibilities
That life has to offer
You can open your heart
To the endless love
The mind has to give.

When you open your life
To the endless love of the heart
You can open your mind
To the unending love of God.

~Daniel Hauckes, 10/06

Kings and captains
Mount your horses!
On to glory ride!
Fame and fortune
Laud and land
On to glory ride!

Foes you meet
And friends beside
And some you cannot tell;
Dark of day
And light of night
Go on your way through hell.

Lo beside the churning stream
Pause to sleep an hour-
But be watchful lest you dream
And lose your sense of power!

Go fast, ride swift!
Naught for comfort
On to glory ride!
The Kingdom at hand
Laud and land
On to glory ride!

And when you have all you want
You’ll find it is thus;
Though you have great things to flaunt
Peace on Earth starts with us.

~Joseph Allen, Unity Chaplain

Live your life with kindness

Live your life with kindness,
Give a smile and a good deed
The world’s entrenched with blindness
Go and help those in need!

A kind word, a smile, that’s all it takes
To make someone happy today-
Mountains, valleys, oceans and lakes
Can remove themselves from your way!

Live your life with kindness,
Go and “Love as I have loved”;
Remember all our Oneness
And in that thought be moved!

A kind word, a smile, that’s all it takes
To make someone happy today-
Mountains, valleys, oceans and lakes
Can remove themselves from your way!

~Joseph Allen, member/Unity Chaplain

DESTINY

I am your Heavenly Father.
My wisdom waits deep within you, if only you will listen.
My protection and abundance are all around you, if only you will look.
I will take you from the wondering stream to the surging river to the boundless ocean of Myself,
if only you will give Me leave.

For from you, that ocean's shores,
we shall someday build a world where the only political system is designed for the good of us all,
where the only race is the human race,
where the only religion is the relationship among Me and all My Children.

~Tom Reilly

The Measure of Man

The measure of man,
who measures and how?

To laud and afford him
the praises that be....

He deserves while alive.

~Gale Kilmer

I've never made a fortune,
and it's probably too late now.
But I don't worry about that much,
I'm happy anyhow
and I go along life's way,
I'm reaping better than I sowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

Haven't got a lot of riches,
and sometimes the going's tough
But I've got loving ones all around me,
and that makes me rich enough.
I thank God for his blessings,
and the mercies He's bestowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

I remember times when things went wrong,
My faith wore somewhat thin.
But all at once the dark clouds broke,
and the sun peeped through again.
So Lord, help me not to gripe,
about the tough rows I have hoed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

If God gives me strength and courage,
When the way grows steep and rough.
I'll not ask for other blessings,
I'm already blessed enough.
And may I never be too busy,
to help others bear their loads.
Then I'll keep drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

On The Vanity Of Earthly Greatness
~ Arthur Guiterman

The tusks that clashed in mighty brawls
of mastodons, are billiard balls.

The sword of Charlemagne the Just
Is ferric oxide known as rust.

The grizzly bear whose potent hug
was feared by all, is now a rug.

Great Caesar's bust is on the shelf,
And I don't feel so well myself!/p>

OZYMANDIAS
~ Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1818

I met a traveler from an antique land
 Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
 Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand,
 Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
 And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
 Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
 Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
 The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed.

 And on the pedestal these words appear:
 "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
 Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

 Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
 Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
 The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Near your breastbone there is an open flower.

Drink the honey that is all around that flower.

Waves are coming in:

There is so much magnificence near the ocean!

Listen: Sound of big seashells! Sound of bells!

Kabir says: Friend, listen this is what I have to say:

The Guest I love is inside me!

~ Kabir (Translated by Robert Bly)

In a hidden recess of my untamed heart
beyond the reach of time or space
in the realm where everything is nothing
unexpected, you found me in that place

in the haunting refrain of unwritten music
in the deepest silence of sacred sound
in the infinite void of dreamless sleep
unexpected, I was found

in that timeless pause between heartbeats
we are seared by the cosmic flame
burning away all illusion
unexpected, we are One and the same

~Janet Schalk

Have you ever...

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round,
      or listened to rain slapping the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight,
      or gazed at the sun fading into the night?
You better slow down, don't dance so fast,
      time is short, the music won't last.

Do you run through each day on the fly,
      When you ask "How are you?" do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,
      with the next hundred chores running through your head?
You better slow down, don't dance so fast,
      time is short, the music won't last.

Ever told your child, we'll do it tomorrow,
      and in your haste not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die, '
      cause you never had time to call and say "hi"?
You better slow down, don't dance so fast,
      time is short, the music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,
      you miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
      it's like an unopened gift thrown away.
Life is not a race, so take it slower,
      hear the music before the song is over.

--Author Unknown (came in email)

Stopover
by Carroll Thompson, 10/12/96

This lifetime on this Earth
Is only my stopover on my way to
The wealth of the stars.
Lights of those stars
Beckon and invite me.
I see and I hear.
The stars will see me
And will feel my feet.
Best that they prepare for me.

A Unitic who lived in Asheville, Carroll Thompson traveled nationwide as a fundraising consultant. He passed away in 2001.

In Memory
by Rev. Shay St. John

"It is finished."
And so I know it is with your suffering.
The veil has been drawn
Between your Spirit and your body.
Your Spirit has cut the silver cord
To free Itself of this temple.
We who are left call it death.
But I honor your Birth into a new life.

Pain and loss resonate inside me.
I love you...
And I find my human side attaching
That love to your physical body...
A body that responds no more to these words.
But I know that my love reaches you
And vibrates in harmony with your Being.

I bless you.
I rejoice in your new Birth.
I cry for myself.
And I sing for our real Selves
That have grown so much together.
I thank God for your presence -
For His Presence through you in my life.

Memories rush in to ease the pain...
To fill the vacuum.
I see you with me,
Walking along familiar pathways,
Gently guiding the child in me into the adult of today.

What beautiful times we have shared!
What precious pearls we have discovered together.
You taught me the meaning of flowing with life -
The true value of wealth -
A wealth not based on money, but on inner peace.
You shared with me the joy of unconditional love,
The Truth that we attract to us that which we are,
The gentleness of inner strength.

I release you now to your Highest Good.
I know that God is within you,
And I see us One in the Light of God's love.

Rev. Shay St. John was the Director of Development for The Association of Unity Churches, Lee's Summit, MO. She writes, "This poem was written as I sat beside my mother's casket and said my goodbyes to her physical body. I continue to feel her love and support in so many ways - and it has been over 20 years."

living, breathing essence,
present, always enough.
yearning, searching vacant
spaces, faces empty.
dusty, hollow eyes view
nothing, search out something
never there, but never
caring, wearing lifeless
smiles.
to gather wisdom,
knowledge, facing truth and
seeing truth in earth space,
takes more courage, daring,
caring, beyond human
living, loving, lasting.

by Julia Brown, a poet and former editor-in-chief of "The Student Voice" at Pellissippi State (Knoxville). She lives in Asheville.

The Universal Rx
~by Henry Matthew Ward

No moving parts, no batteries.
No monthly payments and no fees;
Inflation proof, non-taxable,
In fact, it's quite relaxable;

It can't be stolen, won't pollute,
One size fits all, do not dilute.
It uses little energy,
But yields results enormously.

Relieves your tension and your stress,
Invigorate your happiness;
Combats depression, makes you beam,
And elevates your self esteem!

Your circulation it corrects
Without unpleasant side effects
It is, I think, the perfect drug:
May I prescribe, my friend,... the hug!
(and, of course, fully returnable)

~ first published in "A Cup of Chicken Soup for the Soul" ©1996

Inclusiveness
by Ania Potempska

Meaning of my life
Can be measured
By the extent to which
My heart can accommodate
Other beings

Glory in the Day
by Carroll Thompson

There is glory in this day
Beyond all we can ever know
For this day is a link
In a chain molded so

It reaches from our soul
To the starts circling high
Where we can read the road map
Of our future in the sky.

Be quiet, oh, my heart,
Listen to your future told
Hear the calling of the Cosmos
Be bold, be bold, be bold.

~ 4/5/97

A Scientist Prays
by Elizabeth S. Andrews

God, do you mind if I look and I find
Your face in all faces; a sameness in races
And your power in the power of man's mind.

Do you mind if today we cancel the prayers
And I go tell my neighbor and friend,
And tell her I found by watching the ground,
That ants have no concept of sin.

Do you mind if my church is the life that I live
If it's lived in a loving way
And the hymns that I sing is the joy I bring
To my brother as he passes this way.

Do you mind if the wind as it touches my skin
Becomes Your touch to me,
And the love that we share for the rose in my hair,
Makes us one; you, the rose, and me.

Do you mind if you are the light of the star,
That I saw from my window just now,
And the frog in yon tree sounds god-like to me,
Do you mind if I sing and not bow?

God, do you mind?

Taylor Reese is co-author of Raising With The Moon and You and the Man in the Moon, books about using the almanac for gardening. A retired court reporter, he is now a free-lance writer who has published over 200 poems and short stories, and writes humor and non-fiction articles.

Taylor Reese is co-author of Raising With The Moon and You and the Man in the Moon, books about using the almanac for gardening. A retired court reporter, he is now a free-lance writer who has published over 200 poems and short stories, and writes humor and non-fiction articles.

Aching Cold

Endless shivering makes sleep impossible
      Thoughts of frostbite enter in
I must keep rubbing my feet.

Alcohol seems the only escape from reality
      the only avenue of slumber
But I have none.

I think of our rich nation...
      I can picture people I know
in overly warm beds
      I know tomorrow I too will
be snuggled in mine

      But thoughts of the homeless
will haunt me every cold
      and rainy night and never
ever again will I say "I am cold".

-- Author unknown... I'm sorry but this was in my file without a name on it. (If you're the author, please call me!) I believe it was written in the late winter of 1996 after a Sleep-out for the Homeless event in Asheville, where folks slept out in the park (on a particularly cold night) to draw attention to the plight of the homeless and to understand through experience what it's like.

Leisure
by William H. Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Meditation

The late summer days
Fill me with warmth,
And I am content.
My life flows as a river,
Rushing to the sea
Wherein all become One.
As I go, I share the waters of my life
As the laden trees share their fruits
With all.
And as the river does not wish
To be a mountain,
So, too, am I content with me.
For in the river is mirrored
The essence of All.

-- Danaan Parry, Essene Book of Meditations and Blessings

The Blessing

As the richness of my life brings peace
To my soul,
So do I actively share this peace
With all.
Peace with those I love,
Peace with those who trouble me,
Peace with those I fear,
Peace with beings far and near.
For it is I who chain the dove of peace
Or I who let it fly.

-- Danaan Parry, The Essene Book of Meditations and Blessings