Leaving Your Gold Behind

November sends the cooling breezes
Grandfather Time has won
He's swaying the giant maples
Undressing them in the sun

The Reaper rides along the wind
Ebbing the cycle of shine
Fleeting along life's circle
Leaving the gold behind

Mother's breast now holds the seed
Protected from the snow
Awaiting it's chance in Springtime
For a small maple tree to grow

Such is the ambit of your life
A very brief moment to shine
Fleeting along life's circle
Leaving your gold behind

My Treasure Chest

I keep them in a treasure chest
I have carefully stored away
Those tiny pieces of many souls
I've collected along my way

Some random gems of kindness
And pearls of generosity
Many of which helped to mold
The man I have come to be

One day I sat and open it
To ponder the memories inside
When suddenly it occurred to me
As I gazed on it with pride . . .

In order to preserve that cache
Which is something that I must try
I have to give them all away!
Or those treasures with me will die

Row Toward Shore

Should you ever get caught up in the tide
And it's dragging you out to the sea
Or the promising wind to you has belied
Taking you where you don't want to be

You surely must not just sit there and weep
Or depend on some power from above
Expecting help to arrive while you are asleep
To deliver that much needed shove

While there's no harm in praying
To help you be strong
You really must do something more
Put your oars in the water
your back to the wind
And briskly start rowing toward shore

The Wanderer

I wandered along the valley floor
Beside an impatient stream
When I tired and could walk no more
I sat on a stump to dream

A furry creature bounced up to me
A plump and spunky mouse
He started to complain to me
For sitting on his house

Because he stopped to chastise me
And hesitated a bit to long
In the time it takes to blink your eye
The spirited mouse was gone

I saw the shadow moving
As he let out his last squawk
And then that little ball of fur
Was in the talons of a hawk

Life is such a fleeting thing
You must not hesitate
To take a step and follow your bliss
Before it becomes too late

And as you wander on your way
Waste no time to squawk
So then your journey can become
A much more pleasant walk

In His Eyes

An old Hindu holy man
Gave to me years ago
These sagacious words of wisdom
A lesson I needed to know . . .

"Whenever you meet someone new
The first thing you must do
Is search their eyes for a God
Some day you'll find it's true . . .

You cannot ever hate some one
When in their eyes you see
The God that's dwelling in them
Just like in you and me"

When toward a man I became enraged
It came as no surprise
That my anger simply faded away
When I found God in his eyes

And since that day I have tried
To apply his lessons and yet
Now and then when anger strikes
Sometimes I do forget

So, I have decided now to write
His wisdom into this poem
To display it in a plainer view
These words till they hit home . . .

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