A Rainbow

June Rainbow ©2007 Terry Gorley

I received this wonderful poem written by Jacqueline Ramm from Jocelyn Chouinard in her inspirational newsletter.

A RAINBOW

When you think your road is rocky and a bit too steep to climb,
When you think your guardian angel needs to work some overtime,
When your personal jigsaw puzzle has some pieces that won't fit,
When life has no rhyme or reason and you can't make sense of it,

YOU NEED A RAINBOW

When the clouds are dark and stormy and have blocked the sunshine out,
And perhaps you start to wonder what this life is all about,
When your trials and tribulations seem to be so hard to bear,
And it seems there is no justice anytime or anywhere,

LOOK FOR YOUR RAINBOW

When the molehills seem like mountains and the obstacles are great,
When you feel so heavy laden and your worries just inflate,
When you can't see any ending to the problems that you face,
For they just keep on increasing and you need some breathing space,

PRAY FOR YOUR RAINBOW

It may be you need to look a little higher than before,
Or perhaps a little further to see past the clouds once more.
But you'll know it's worth the effort when your rainbow you can see,
And you understand the love behind God's creativity,

SEARCH FOR YOUR RAINBOW

For your rainbow holds a promise that this turbulence will cease,
And your inner conflict will become, instead, deep inner peace.
But if, though searching, you can't find your rainbow at this time,
Until you can, I say with love, you're welcome to share mine.

~Jacqueline Ramm~

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Crabby Old Man

Pansies ©2008 Terry Gorley


A Crabby Old Man ....

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in North Platte, Nebraska, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.

Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.

One nurse took her copy to Missouri . The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the St. Louis Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.

And this little old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous' poem winging across the Internet.


Crabby Old Man

What do you see nurses?.........What do you see?What are you thinking...........when you're looking at me?A crabby old man...........not very wise,Uncertain of habit..........with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles his food..........and makes no reply.When you say in a loud voice..........'I do wish you'd try!'Who seems not to notice..........the things that you doAnd forever is losing..........A sock or shoe?

Who, resisting or not...........lets you do as you will,With bathing and feeding...........The long day to fill?Is that what you're thinking?..........Is that what you see?Then open your eyes, nurse..........you're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am...........as I sit here so still,As I do at your bidding..........as I eat at your will.I'm a small child of Ten...........with a father and mother,Brothers and sisters............who love one another

A young boy of Sixteen..........with wings on his feetDreaming that soon now..........a lover he'll meet.A groom soon at Twenty..........my heart gives a leapRemembering, the vows.........that I promised to keep.

At Twenty-Five, now...........I have young of my ownWho need me to guide...........And a secure happy home.A man of Thirty..........My young now grown fast,Bound to each other...........With ties that should last.

At Forty, my young sons..........have grown and are gone,But my woman's beside me...........to see I don't mourn.At Fifty, once more.........Babies play ' round my knee,Again, we know children............My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me..........My wife is now dead.I look at the future...........I shudder with dread.For my young are all rearing..........young of their ownAnd I think of the years...........and the love that I've known.

I'm now an old man............and nature is cruelTis jest to make old age...........look like a fool.The body, it crumbles...........grace and vigor, departThere is now a stone..........where I once had a heart

But inside this old carcass...........a young guy still dwells,And now and again..........my battered heart swellsI remember the joys...........I remember the pain.And I'm loving and living...........life over again

I think of the years .. all too few..........gone too fast.And accept the stark fact...........that nothing can lastSo open your eyes, people..........open and see Not a crabby old man.Look closer..........see.........ME!!



Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within..........we will all, one day, be there, too!

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