True Self

TRUE SELF

As I look at you
What do I see
Is it the person now
Or the wrinkled one to be
Is it what you do
Or who you know
Is it what others say
Or what you show

Do I see your mistakes
and judge you for them
or do I see
how you overcome them

do I see what I want to see
the reflection of what
I want you to be

At some point and time
If I am so inclined
I overlook that outward chaff
And hone in on the inner you
And amazed I am anew

For when we go beyond
And look within
The outer shell doth scatter
Leaving only what
Doth truly matter
-Shiidon, June 2008


This is the second of two poems I just wrote. The previous one is how we are within. This is how we see each other. What is it that tells us that someone is too good to be true. What is it that tells us that someone is not good, or unworthy, or not the right person. Too many times we look to the outward person, the person that is not real. The true person within does not always arise to the forefront. There may be pain that hides that person or some test they are facing. If we take the time to learn the true person and not what we want to see, good or bad, we can begin to understand ourselves. It is how we want to be seen as well. Do I really want someone to see me for what I have or what I do or the mistakes that I have made or how others view me? No, I want them to know who I am inside, the real me. To do that, I must see them in the way I want to be seen.

Within

WITHIN

Wants and needs
Drive us indeed
Eat, drink sleep and more
Some looking to others
As if keeping score
You have things,
But I have more

These distractions arise
Of earthly needs they comprise
And succeeding at times
To overcome
Our virtues in danger
Of compromise

Our true selves are found within
Sometimes open, sometimes hidden
When focused on those thoughts on high
We sometimes find those needs we deny
And a taste of what can be
In the netherworld we see
The beauties and joys of what will be
No distraction of things
As on this earthly plane
Only to the source
Of the bounties that doth rain

And falling back to earth
To the needs and distractions
Of which there is no dearth
Tested again and again
Arising and falling
Repeating and growing
And as if knowing
With each step we go
We doth grow
-Shiidon, June 2008

This is the first of two poems I wrote tonight (well it is 1:39 in the morning so maybe I should say the morning). I was reflecting on how we have distractions in this world that are not to follow us. We have a physical "reality" that we must answer to. In the other world, as I understand it, it is not so. We find ourselves rising to higher and more loftier planes but then we find ourselves returning to the world of dust. This is not just the physical needs of food, sleep etc. but as one friend recently put it, our egos as well. We find ourselves at times thinking too highly of ourselves or at other times too little of ourselves. Either one is a sign of ego and in a sense, another manifestation of the tests we must overcome.

In My Grandfathers Hand

This story I wrote some time ago and it is a reflection of what it would be for my grandson or great-grandson asking about and trying to understand what it was like to be alive today, the day you and I are living in now.

IN MY GRANDFATHERS HAND

The sky lightens up before dawn. At first it is not noticeable, yet the birds seem to know it and begin their day with songs of praise. Today is the anniversary of the passing of my grandfather. Thoughts come to mind and memories rise up and, at times, overwhelm me. My thoughts are with him as i begin my morning prayers. As i meditate, my thoughts go back to the time when i was much younger and my grandfather was taking care of me while the parents were out of town. We woke up on a day not much different than this one.

i was fast asleep when i felt a gentle kiss on my forehead. i opened my eyes to see my grandfather smiling with his deep brown eyes and grey hair. His eyes, those eyes of wisdom, smiling on their own, independent and contributing to a radiance that i would always relish in.

“It’s time to get up already?” i asked.

“Yes dear one,” he responded. “Get ready and have some tea with me.”

i got up and got ready. The wrist watch he gave me the day before was still on my arm. i was unwilling to take it off. i still have that watch, without the lens, and cherish it so much, the faded leather and exposed face notwithstanding. i went down and had some juice as he finished his tea. Today was a special day; it was to be a day to remember. It was a Holy Day, the Birth of the Báb.

We silently left the house and started walking down the street. We joined others as we all headed to the same place, the bright dome marking our local House of Worship. Dawn was approaching and we were headed to say our dawn prayers. i still remember the feeling of my small hand in his as we walked. He was smiling and singing a song softly, a simple and lyrical song. i had never heard that song before and asked him what it was. He told me that it was a song that he had learned many years ago in children’s classes. He told me that it was an old song from the days he was a child and his mother had taught it to him. It was about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

“Why have i not heard that song before,” i asked him.

“Little one,” he said in his deep and loving voice, “there are many things that do not pass from generation to generation. These are the things of no consequence.” He paused and resumed. “What is important is prayer, reading the writings, being of service and all the other things that your parents and teacher help you with.” There are songs from the early days of the faith that are lost to us just as some of the songs that i learned will pass with my generation. What brings joy to me,” he continued, “is the new and beautiful ways that you children find to praise God and His creation.”

As we were approaching the House of Worship the light was glowing at the predawn and illuminating the top of the House of Worship. It reminded me of some of the original writings of Bahá’u’lláh illuminated by the artwork; a back-drop celebrating the object illuminated. The closer our approach to the House of Worship, the quieter it seemed to get. That silence just before the break of day. Birds were singing, the same sounds that i hear outside my window today.

There were eighteen steps leading up to the entrance. i thought of the eighteen Letters of the Living that the Báb had sent out to prepare people for the coming of Bahá’u’lláh. i remembered some of the names from Children’s Classes but not all the names. We entered into a large auditorium with seats all facing towards Bahjí. We sat in my favorite spot, the center of the room directly below the Greatest Name. We sat in silence waiting for the program to begin. i remember looking at my grandfathers face and seeing him deep in prayer. i could tell he was either praying or reciting the writings. His face was at peace and i could see his lips barely move as he was reading to himself. The program started, i remember someone telling me that if i did not understand the words to think about the suffering that Bahá’u’lláh went through in the Most Great Prison. The program ended and we left to spend a few minutes in the gardens before going to breakfast. We sat amid the beautiful flowers and a question came to my mind.

“Grandfather?” i asked, “What was it like when you were my age?”

He sat and thought about it. “What about my childhood would you like to know?” he asked me.

i thought about it again, i thought about how special this day was and then it became clear to me. “Did you go to the House of Worship with your grandfather when you were my age?”

“Ah,” he said, “when i was your age we did not have a House of Worship in our town. We would go to our neighborhood Bahá’í Center for our Holy Day Celebrations. There were not as many Bahá’í’s back then as there are today.” “In my grandfathers day there were so few Bahá’í’s that they would meet in people’s houses.”

This brought new thoughts to me as the history of the Faith came to my mind and i realized that what he was talking about with his grandfather was much of what i thought of as history.

“Do you mean,’ i asked, “that they would have devotionals in their homes similar to what we have with our friends in our house, but the people who came were the whole community?”

“Yes, dear one,” answered my grandfather.

“Grandfather, did they also have Study Circles in their houses back then?”

“Yes they did.” He paused then continued. “It is because of those activities and their devotion and dedication to the guidance from the Universal House of Justice that we have as many Bahá’í’s as we do today.”

My grandfather grew silent and i could tell he was deep in thought. i knew that he would eventually tell me what was on his mind. Slowly he came around and spoke.

“Little one, my grandfathers grandfather lived in the time of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Many times i wondered while growing up what it was like in those days. It became clear to me, and this you should pay attention to, each of us is asked for a form of sacrifice for the time we live. It was important for those early believers to do what they needed to do and we have our plan for what we need to do today.”

“i will,” i immediately responded. Then i thought again about it and said: “Really, grandfather, i will remember.”

After that we left on the way to have breakfast with friends and family and then i had the park to look forward to and sailing with him in the small boats that they had there.

It was a day to remember and one that brought into perspective what history is all about and how important it is for us to do what we are asked to do. These thoughts of that long past day come to my mind as i ready myself for this mornings walk to the House of Worship and dawn prayers.

Its time to leave now, i am ready to walk coat in hand and, reminiscent of that long past day, i hold my grandson’s hand. This time it is his small and promising hand within my long tested and faithful hand.


Shiidon Bahí Hawley, March 15, 2007

Homecoming

HOMECOMING

Leaving sad
But with a smile
Knowing all the while
That return i would
To those i love
Trusting in Him above

When back i came
What i found
Was nothing quite the same

The place i left
Of me bereft
Did change in a way
i find hard to say

of the family and friends
i have left behind
changes also did i find
The love is there
Stronger than before
Not that i’m keeping score
The changes i find though
Reflect more

It is upon this
i did reflect
to which my thoughts and heart
i did direct

And suddenly it came to me
i could clearly see
like skipping chapters
in a book
returning from this journey
i took
The changes that surround, Of which i see
Are the changes that occurred
Within me
-shiidon, 2008


About a year ago I wrote a poem for Miranda, who went on her year of service to Central America. Today, I attended devotions at her families home and welcoming her back before she is off to college. I was reflecting on the drive over on my return from China. I remember How I noticed my surroundings had changed. The variety of potato chips was mind numbing to me and I stood for minutes in a daze that day. I noticed how my friends and even my family had changed. It only after a bit of time that the realization came to me that it was I who had changed. While I was not on a year of service, I did go and teach English in China. Many Bahá'í youth spend a year serving humanity is some way or another during the time between high school and college. Miranda taught young children in Central America and my cousin's son served at a Bahá'í school in California.

This poem came to me while I was sitting on the stairs. I contemplated my own son Shervin, about to embark on a four week sailing adventure with his uncle from Antwerp Belgium to Scandinavia (God willing). If all goes well he will board the sailboat on his eighteenth birthday and I know in so many ways he will come back changed as well. We don't always get to see the changes in each others lives but when we do it is so profound, especially when that change is for the marked good. I hope that Shervin, like Miranda, will be able to go on a year of service for the Bahá'í Faith.

Downs and Ups

DOWNS and UPS

With great sorrow
I contemplate the morrow
with each sigh
as if to die
Not knowing why
Of hope I decry

So alone it seems
As if in my dreams
I can find some hope
Within my scope
To escape this pain
Which over me doth reign
The answer it seems
unanswered remain

ti's not every day
This sorrow doth visit
But when it comes
It covers and warms
With a familiarity
That sharpens with clarity
The focus of the mind
To create and unwind
Eventually to see
What is meant to be
And like a mirror reflecting back,
watching what it is we lack

with this new eye
upon ourselves we spy
and bring forth
from those ashes of pain
a new creation
a glimmer of hope
we reach out our hands
and grab for that rope
-Shiidon, June 2008

First of all, I am alive and well. I am happy contrary to the way this poem starts off. This poem streamed out of me as I finished the previous one and it would not let me go to sleep until it was written down. We all go through ups and downs in our lives. Now, if anybody knows of anyone that does not feel blue or down at times, please let me know. I do not believe that anyone is immune from the up and down swings that life dishes out to us. It is how we deal with those ups and downs that make a difference. From the wisdom of my mother, "never be too happy, nor too sad." She attributes it to the Bahá'í Writings, regardless, it is sage advise. I just have to remember it more often I think. To remember always that there is a rope to hold on to helps keep ones perspective when things are low.

Dandelion

DANDELION

Standing in the fields
Where the dandelions grow
Contemplating how
Your life will go

Watching you pick
For the very first time
The flower that makes
Your face shine

slowly with caution
You doth blow
Into the wind
The rays do flow

As the rays go
Into the sky
I watch you ponder
this new wonder

And as I watch
It comes to me
That one day
I will see
You fly away
Into the world
On the breath of wisdom
That was unfurled
By those around
And me for one
Into the horizon
My beautiful dandelion
-Shiidon, June 2008

One day, while Winrik was napping with his mother, Shervin and I took a walk from our apartment to his Uncle Shahrom's house which was not far. I took my camera (not digital) and was able to take some shots. This one in particular has been in my mind for a very long time. I have loved it very much and think about that day with him often. Shervin said "Daddy" once when he was 11 months old. After that he did not speak another understandable word until he was four years old. Because of the lack of speaking we communicated on a much deeper level. We bonded this particular day when I showed him his first dandelion. This photo was taken February 13th, 1992.

I am watching these children, mine and their close friends, and seeing them begin to take off on the winds of life. I see them as the rays of a dandelion being blown into the winds of life. They are our trust. Cat's in the Cradle was a song that I listened to when I was younger. I vowed to not allow myself to take for granted my children as they were growing up. I took advantage of each and every moment that I could and still do. One problem with teenagers is that they do not want to hold your hand anymore. In the case of girls, they want you to take them to the mall, but God forbid you go with them. So, when the moment comes and they want to cry on your shoulder or come in and interrupt something you are doing, remember what is more important, the child or you. Never put off for tomorrow something that can be done today, tomorrow may never come.

Wings

WINGS

Walking hand in hand through life
With souls uplifted, man and wife
Many a challenge did they face
Many a dream did they chase

The love between them,
So precious and strong
Truly together do they belong

Through rain and snow,
Joy and sorrow
They journey through
This world we knew
as two wings
together they flew

to the eyes of others
inseparable they seem
a true sign of the love
it doth redeem

The peace it brings to my heart
To see them as one
And not apart
To know that there is love around
To them and others it doth abound
That one to another
They hath found
The beauty of love that doth surround

Truly this love is but a sign
Of that most glorious love, divine
In its own way, sublime
this love for each other doth show
that together we all shall grow

As I watch from my place
A smile comes to my face
And I find that I cherish
That love that will not perish
a tear of joy doth cross my cheek
words do not come, I can not speak
for it is this love which we do seek
-Shiidon, June 2008

For some reason I am finding it easier to first share the poem, then my thoughts. This way the poem is read without the narrative of explanation and read without prejudice.

This poem is for everyone that has someone special in their lives. I know a dear unnamed couple (R and S) for thirty years now. I was best man at their wedding in 1981. To this day they are no different in their love for each other than they were that day they got married. That is a special thing to have. I thought about my parents, married these forty eight years. I see my friends and their marriages, the ones about to happen (congrats to J and S), and even my fellow human family members as i see them in the grocery stores, shops, libraries and other various adventures in life. I find it strange to at times when i happen to see two people, of whom I do not know, and am wishing in my heart for their happiness. I am not sure where this comes from but I know that in some ways it brings me peace to know that people are happy together.

I have mentioned before that a realization came to me that it is natural for us to want to be with someone as that is how God intended it to be. This does not mean that everyone will have someone in their lives as is shown in this poem. One can also be happy and alone. There is, however, something special when two people, who are right for each other, find each other in this life.

Butterfly

BUTTERFLY

Struggling in this darksome night
no sign of hope or joy in sight
working so hard to break free
with the hope and promise of destiny

The struggles go on and repeat
Pouring, never ending, replete
One by one
They are overcome
Time goes on, and they lessen
Each one overcome, a new lesson

Light begins to shine outside
Encouraging, working harder inside
As the world around me disappears
The new and real world doth appear

With each step more is revealed
What till now had remained concealed
Encouraged and hopeful,
i begin to break free
looking around,
at the new world I see

Outstretched my new found wings
Finding the strength my struggles did bring
And with a push, a shove
From those winds above
I fly up into the sky
like a new found butterfly

No more need
To ask why
The struggles indeed
Allowed me to fly
And now I float up in the sky
Pondering the value of tests
No longer denied
-Shiidon, June 2008

Summer approaches, I watch the birds around me and the butterflies in mass. What a joy to see nature and within it bask. Yikes, i am still rhyming..... OK, so anyway, I fixed my AC last week only to have a catastrophic failure of the fan that I could not repair. I had just finished paying the repair man and saw my neighbors son starting to mow the yard. I went to him and asked him how his mother was doing. He said both good and bad. She is being moved to an assisted living center. The good about it is that it is near his home and his sisters work. For me it was thought provoking as Ms. J is the same age as my parents. Now, I must say, my parents for some reason have aged well and look years younger than they are. It is one of those waves of life and a new test or struggle to contemplate. each year we move up the ladder and those above us disappear into the next realm. As each year goes by we get closer to the top of the ladder and the line below us seems longer and longer. As I was working outside with the repairman and talking to the neighbor this poem came to me. How much we struggle in life and see no reason for our seemingly hard struggles and tests. We question the purpose but don't always look with the eyes of wisdom that comes from reading any of the Sacred Texts of whatever Faith we believe in and see that there is a wisdom and if we only knew that wisdom we would embrace our struggles. :-)

Searching

SEARCHING

I have searched hard and long
For the person with whom I belong
From youth to now
Not knowing how
Or when it may come
To find the one

The one who is there
Through highs and lows
Through pain and joy
And sharing the blows

To share with, laugh and cry
To turn and ask why
To know
No matter where you go
They will be with you
And together will grow

One day it came
Like a bountiful rain
The answer so clear
The person so near
For in looking I found
The one searched for
These many years
For whom I have shed
So many a tear

The one who has always been there
Who always did care
Is to be found
And in a way most profound
Within my own heart
That voice from within
My other self

And so it begins
Searching no more
For time will tell
If it is meant to be
For someone else
With whom to be
-Shiidon, June 2008



It felt right to post the poem first, then my thoughts. So many times we search and search for an answer and find the answer lies within ourselves. I was reading Prophet's Daughter, the life of Bahíyyih Khánum (Bahá'u'lláh's daughter) and other books recently when the subject of asking ourselves questions and listening for the answer. This stuck to me and added to the already mounting comments and conversations that was leading me to the poem being written. We know the answers to so many things and yet feel we have to ask others, almost in self doubt.

There is a song that is sticking to me these days that inspires and brings reflection at the same time. If you want to hear it and enjoy it look it up on you tube. While I do not care for the movies I love this song. Look up the following: music clip - Danez Prigent & Lisa Gerrard {black hawk down

One of the recent events that brought this poem on as well was something that occurred this last Friday. I was getting ready for work and the door bell rang. It was 5:30 in the morning. I walked carefully over the sleeping bodies of teenage boys, collapsed in their places from video game and card exhaustion and answered the door. It was my neighbor, Ms. J. She stated that her grandson was gone and that she did not know where he was. She thought that he might have been picked up by his parents. She gave me a piece of paper and I called her daughter for her as her phones seemed to not be working. She conversed with her daughter and it turns out the boy is 6 years old. She was assured by her daughter that the boy was fine. Ms. J then thanked me and went back home. About fifteen minutes later her daughter called and asked for her. I informed her that her mom was safely home and that all was well. I told her and she confirmed that my mother had befriended her mother and that I was keeping an eye on things. Her daughter let me know that her mother forgets sometimes that she has moved (3 years ago) and that her grandson is in another state. I told her daughter that I was here for her anytime and that I would keep an eye on things. I assured her that Ms. J. was OK.

This is my neighbor who is elderly and lives alone. She has herself and the occasional visit from her daughter. Her son-in-law comes and mows the yard once a week. She is a happy person when I see her around and seems at peace with herself. A great example for us. By the way, her name is special, it is Devota.

****Correction***** The previous peom, Aigerim, is now corrected to say "a life of service instead."

Aigerim

Last night I took a group a boys to a friends house to celebrate the declaration of their mutual friend Aigerim. In the Bahá'í Faith, at the age of 15, a person has reached the age of reasoning. This means that they can make the decision as to what they believe in and other significant issues facing them in their lives. The age of maturity is 21. If you are raised in a Bahá'í family there is nothing an individual does to remain a Bahá'í. However, in my generation we were required to sign a card stating that is what we intended. As a result of this and other factors, many families have made an event out of a child who has reached the age of reasoning. One of the beauties of this Faith is that there is, for the most part, no traditions or rituals. Last night we gathered for celebrating Aigerims declaration. It was a wonderful event and everyone had fun.

I grew up with Aigerim's parents in the Houston area and was at their wedding. I remember when I heard that they had adopted Aigerim from Kazakhstan and how intrigued I was at what turned out to be the first of four adoptions, bringing to total 8 children. I have watched Aigerim grow up since they moved here in 2001. Last night, before everyone gathered together, I thought about her and the years that have passed. I reflected and found this poem coming to me.

AIGERIM

You come from the East
In hope of peace
On wings of love
from Him above

With your love you bless
Serving mankind
Working hard you press

Your smile brightens our day
Your soul flies up and away
Bringing to all
As today you heed His call

Looking forward
to your life ahead
no thoughts of sorrows
a life of service instead

So many you will reach
So many you will teach
Many a formidable wall
Will you breach

Remember as you go through life
Through the joys and strife
That never alone will you be
For we are always with you
Your family
-Shiidon, June 2008

Duty

Reflection brings direction and these thoughts then find their way to pen and paper. This is the case of the poem just written. When I think about duty I think of God and family. Many times we are asked to either be or not be somewhere. To be with or without a loved one. We are asked this by our sense of duty. The easy route is almost always to turn and flee, however, after time, standing ground brings a strength of its own.

DUTY

When we are duty bound
a place of strength
Must be found
For in this place must
We hold ground

We may desire another place to be
Past the mountains, or across the sea
But fortitude holds us to our task
Within His obedience do we bask

Many times when we stand our ground
No one else is found around
Of these tests that us surround
Are ours alone to pass or fail
Holding to task or off track derail

With duty comes a great price
Nothing less than sacrifice
What we want may disappear
But if meant to be
Will reappear
But if not meant to be
With tried and tested wisdom
Do we see

So stand your ground with certainty
That what will happen is meant to be
Fulfilling our true destiny
-Shiidon, June 2008

Open Windows

I finished grading my assignments tonight and was reflecting on life. There is a really good book called "Einsteins Dreams," by Alan Lightman. It is different viniettes on time. One of these stories is about time being frozen and everything is at a standstill. Thats it. Then he goes on to tell in what way everyone is frozen and what they were doing and a story that comes from a place where time stands still. I was reflectin on time standing still for all of us and there are so many of us, friends and family, that are at different phases of life.


OPEN WINDOWS

For a moment I reflect
Frozen in time
Reflecting on events
Like bells doth chime

As if looking through windows
We see each other
Experiencing what we have done
One to another

The joy and pain
That falls like rain
Effects us to heights
Of both suffering and delight

Through one window we see
The impending loss of another
And reflect on that loss
To our sister and brother

Through another we doth see
The loneness that surrounds
Another loved one
With no one around

I reach out with hand on that pane
Hoping somehow
To take away the pain
When outside on me
It doth rain

What is that glass
Through which we cannot pass
Keeping each other
From connecting
One to another

Dare to open
Those windows in life
Let in the loved ones
And ease the strife

We must dare to share
Our joys and pains
Together so much more
To gain
The answer still
Doth remain
-shiidon, June 2008

Pause

There was a lot to reflect upon the last few days. Two poems were written that will be shared at a later date. Suffice it to say that these words do not come without a cost. Reflecting on the ease in which poems have been coming to me lately has brought some interesting thoughts. First of all, whatever it is that is connecting with me is easier to draw upon. There are the muses that inspire and the other worldly effects on my thoughts. Music has a profound effect on me as has already been brought up. Recently I have been listening to not only Enya or Sarah Brightman but also Lisa Gerrard. You may know her singing from the movie Gladiator.

What seems to be effecting me the most is the connection that is being made person to person. Two of my customers came in today. Both had events in their lives and both told me how they thought about me during those events. One, a World War II and Korea war vet was at his granddaughters graduation from college and thought about me and what I am doing with my boys and Shahdi in particular. The other, a man approaching his sixties quit his job. He said he had lost his son to his job and he would not lose his grandchildren. I told him how happy I was for him. I thought about my poem for my father and told him that, while hugging my dad was a lot like hugging a tree, the greatest joy was to see him with my children and the love he embraces them with. He said that I made his day and we hugged at least three times before he left for work. I bring this up for a reason, there seems to be a greater and greater need amongst us as people to reach out and connect with each other. The world is becoming a frightful place and people are hungry for a touch of humanity. I thought about this and reflected on what a friend said recently about feeling like they were in a rut of sorts. What came to me was this poem. We do not realize sometimes that it is the simplest things that people appreciate the most from us. Each person reaches out and connects with another. I am grateful for each and everyone that I know or have known for enriching my life, for sharing with me their love for another human being.

PAUSE

When i think upon my life
All the happiness and the strife
i sometimes wonder what I’ve done
am i ending or has life begun
looking back in some dismay
at how things came to such disarray

With clouded eyes do i see
Not how others see you or me
The countless lives whom we do touch
Would disagree so very much
For each step we take day by day
Effects others in many a way
One small gesture can mean so much
To one who has felt so out of touch

The bird that calls,
The river that falls
The flowers that sprawl
Bring great joy to one and all
What more can come then
from you or me
When towards each other
Love do we bring

The smile on the street,
The way that we greet
The respect we bring to those we meet
Enriches their lives with love replete

At this point when we pause and reflect
On where life did us direct
We should open our eyes and observe
And share with each other unreserved
The joy and love much deserved
-Shiidon, June 2008

Daybreak

This morning I awakened to the sound of the birds and the breeze blowing through the trees. I so love the morning and sunrise in particular. My favorite time of the day is just before the dawn. My name is supposed to be the first light of day. Of this I am not certain but that is what I have been told. Today was a day of peace, a day to reflect and a day to appreciate this world of dust. I am not certain what has taken hold of me to have so many poems come to me in such a short period of time, but I am taking them down on paper as frequent or infrequent they come.

DAYBREAK

At the break of day
with anticipation doth come
the first bright ray
of the loving sun

It reaches out and touches all
Hearkening, With its life giving call
Beaconing with its light
Illuminating all in sight
Causing nature to sing in delight

Washing away the dim and dark
Re-awakening all
With its life giving spark

Our soul, wandering each night
Recalled each morning
From its other worldly flight
Reminding us that we are still here
Nature surrounding us with its cheer

Refreshed and ready
for another day
We choose to keep or pass on
From that life giving sun
Those bountiful rays
Of each blessed day
-Shiidon, June 2008