FRIENDSHIP'S ROAD
I have a warm and friendly feeling
As I think of you today;
And I wish that we could visit,
But you're many miles away.
Separated by such distance,
Yet our emails bring us near;
Through the miles we share a friendship
That's become to me most dear.
Friends through correspondence;
Still, your face I need not see
For your soul shines through the words
Every time you write to me.
You have a special way of writing,
Warming as the sunshine rays,
Bringing joy and inspiration,
Brightening up my days.
You have enriched my life, my dear one,
And I'm glad God willed we meet,
"Friendship's Road" is that much nicer
Traveling it with one so sweet.
~Beverly J Anderson
A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully.
Before it blossomed, he examined it.
He saw a bud that would soon blossom.
He also saw the thorns, and he thought,
"How can any beautiful flower come from a plant,
burdened with so many sharp thorns?"
Saddened by this thought,
he neglected to water the rose,
and before it was ready to bloom, it died.
So it is with many people.
Within every soul, there is a rose.
The "God-like" qualities planted in us at birth,
growing amidst the thorns of our faults.
Many of us look at ourselves and see
only the thorns, the defects.
We despair, thinking nothing good can
possibly come from us.
We neglect to water the good within us,
and eventually it dies.
We never realize our potential.
Some don't see the rose within themselves.
It takes someone else to show it to them.
One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is
to be able to reach past the thorns and
find the rose within others.
This is the truest, most innocent, and gracious characteristic of love -
to know another person, including their faults,
recognize the nobility in their soul, and yet still help another to realize they can overcome their faults.
If we show them the rose, they will conquer the thorns.
Only then will they blossom, and most likely, blooming thirty, sixty, a hundred-fold, as it is given to them.
Our duty in this world is to help others,
by showing them their roses and not their thorns.
It is then that we achieve the love
we should feel for each other.
Only then can we bloom in our own garden.
I GOT A DOZEN RED ROSES
FROM A FRIEND THE OTHER DAY;
BUT I ONLY HAVE ONE LEFT,
FOR I GAVE THEM ALL AWAY.
I GAVE ONE TO MY SISTER,
WHO TO ME IS VERY DEAR,
IN HOPES THAT IT WILL BRING TO HER
A LITTLE FLORAL CHEER.
I TOOK ONE TO A FRIEND
WHO'S NOT FEELING VERY WELL;
THE FLOWER OR THE VISIT -
WHICH HELPED MORE I COULD NOT TELL.
ONE WENT TO A FRIEND
I HAVEN'T KNOWN FOR VERY LONG.
SHE STRUGGLES, SO IN SOME SMALL WAY
I HOPE THIS HELPS HER CARRY ON.
THE REST WENT TO THE ONES
WHO'VE HELPED ME IN SO MANY WAYS;
THEY HAVE BEEN A CHEERFUL PRESENCE
ON MY VERY DREARY DAYS.
THE ROSES WERE SO PRETTY
I JUST COULD NOT KEEP THEM ALL,
EXCEPT ONE SINGLE BUD STANDING
BEAUTIFUL AND TALL.
MY FRIEND GAVE ME THE FLOWERS
TO HELP BRIGHTEN UP MY DAY,
BUT THE BIGGEST JOY I RECEIVED
WAS IN GIVING THEM AWAY.
~Quiet strolls on moonlit nights,
a playground's endless laughter,
blooming roses in the spring,
the glow the morning after.
Walking barefoot in the grass,
a poem that makes you cry,
the feel of silk upon your skin,
an eagle when it flies.
Love songs on the radio,
old couples holding hands,
newborn kittens nursing,
enthusiastic fans.
Sitting on a porch swing,
sipping lemonade,
admiring the beauty in all
that God has made.
Watching for a shooting star,
a breeze that cools things down,
the first snow of the winter,
a night out on the town.
Little acts of kindness,
a loving word or two,
simple things to treasure,
these things I wish for you~
