Change

A Change In You

I love the way you see nothing but good
In everyone you meet,
It makes me realise how cynical I am
When you act so naive and sweet.

I used to be just like you,
I loved everyone too.
But time has made me different,
Now I can spot a bad one in you.

I always used to love you,
No matter what you said,
But now I realise the love I had,
Was only in my head.

By Victoria Hughes

***

A Change Of Air

Now, a man in Oodnadatta
He grew fat, and he grew fatter,
Though he hardly had a thing to eat for dinner;
While a man in Booboorowie
Often sat and wondered how he
Could prevent himself from growing any thinner.

So the man from Oodnadatta
He came down to Booboorowie,
Where he rapidly grew flatter;

And the folk will tell you how he
Urged the man from Booboorowie
To go up to Oodnadatta –
Where he lived awhile, and now he
Is considerably fatter.

By Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis

***

A Change Of Heart

I’m full of joy and richly blessed
Of Christ I’m never shy
I’ll journey through this world as guest
Until the day I die

Though old, grey near worldly dead
The grave my flesh may see
But souls who’ve eaten Heaven’s Bread
Will rise complete and free

Free of sin of eternal wrath
Free through innocent blood
Free to travel Christ’s trodden path
And live the way I should

It’s not too late to change your ways
Seek Jesus’ help on high
Fix on Him your fervent gaze
Or least of all to try

For God can see a troubled soul
The heart of those still blind
Seeking someone to make them whole
Searching for peace of mind

God sees the filth that keeps us bound
Lost, through satanic lies
He sees who seek the higher ground
In righteousness to rise

He sees who kill, rape, cheat, connive
Deceivers greedy for gain
Liars, thieves believing to thrive
Hoping with Christ to reign

Only who turn to live anew
Washed clean in Heaven’s Flame
As virgin bride God’s chosen few
Receive The Bride-Groom’s name.

By Michael P. Johnson

***

A Change Of Luck

It is said that a four leafed clover
Brings good luck to those that find
In the middle summer I looked all over
For a magic leaf of four… a rare kind

Then one day I discovered a quad-leaf
Inconspicuously growing in the lawn
Good luck would mine… this was my belief
Tomorrow will improve starting at dawn

The next morning I brushed my teeth
Then splashed warm water on my face
I did not notice the cat beneath my feet
Tripped and fell with no time to brace

Standing with bruised knees I wondered
How can this happen, how is it possible?
What twist of chance caused this blunder?
In too much haste… I was accountable

Then I realized that maybe I was fortunate
It least I did not break my bones in the fall
Hope for luck, turned out to be a distraction
Maybe an uneventful day is the luckiest of all…

By Theresa Ann Moore

***

A Change Of Seasons

Autumnal winds caress my face
as summer’s heated breeze expires.
The years have quickened in their pace,
foregoing my misplaced desires.

As winter lurks not far ahead
my memory drifts to warmer days,
where on a greener grass I tread
absorbing love’s adoring rays.

Beneath the August moon we’d dance,
embracing ’til the blaze of dawn,
but violent gusts would steal my chance
and whisk away the dreams I’d drawn.

Through fallen leaves of yesteryears
I sift for blades of thriving hope,
to help me cool these caustic tears
and find the strength and will to cope.

For in the autumn of my life
is when I’ll gain a peace within,
discarding weights of pain and strife
and letting reigns of joy begin.

Then when the days of fall conclude
and winter takes its turn on stage,
I know my soul will be renewed
as life records my final page.

By Jo Lynn EhnesAllen

***

A Little Bird Am I

I ask but this one small thing.
Give me the worldly skies
For I cannot stay trapped here
A little bird am I….

Let me leave this here land.
Don’t keep me in a cage.
Let me fly to the highest heights.
Let me come of age.
Let me soar among the clouds.
Let my wings spread into flight.
I need to be free; I need to see
The world without a fright.

I have spent my life so grounded,
But my instincts pull me up.
They tell me to go, to see the new,
To finger each buttercup.
I need to witness greatness,
need the sorrow of poverty.
I need to show the world my wings
And shed this gravity.

I want a life of freedom,
And I want to know what’s real.
I want to step to the edge of earth
And watch the sea reveal.
I want to take the longest ride,
And I want to feel the wind
I want to share this life with you,
So, forgive me, for I have sinned.

For I know I’m leaving you behind
To shadow in my wake,
But I cannot stay in these four walls
Simply for your sake.
I will keep you in my mirror.
With me you’ll always be.
I will share with you my tales,
And I will return to thee.

So I ask but this one small thing
Give me the worldly skies
For I cannot stay trapped here
A little bird am I….

By Hanna Eardley 

***

A Prayer For Change

As children of the universe
Our destination earth,
We ride upon the solar winds
Until the hour of birth
When scattered, weary travlers
Who’ve journeyed from afar
Begin their incarnation
On this cold and dying star;

What used to be so beautiful,

So vibrant green and blue
An oasis for the many
Has been wasted by the few,
What purpose in this torture
Of the motherhood of man?
What evil child will desecrate
His home because he can?

We’ve overstayed our welcome
It’s time for us to leave

And after our destruction
Will no man be left to grieve?
Sweet children of the universe
With hearts so pure and free
Release this star from bondage
With love’s celestial key!

Return these souls to heaven
Wrap this earth in slumber deep,
Awaken us with dreaming,
Let your love inside us creep
Then as buds upon the branches
Of Life’s tree on some spring morn’
We shall blossom into beauty
And this earth shall be reborn.

By Linda Ori

***

An Old Man’s Lament

When I was born
The world was waiting there for me
To smell, to touch, to taste, to see.
What wonders filled my little eyes.
Sounds and sights I’d never heard or seen.
I crawled, I stood on wobbly legs,
I fell, I walked, I ran,
I babbled, spoke,
I learned to read, I learned to write.

Then new wonders appeared before my eyes.
The Milkman in the early morn,
The Iceman with his blocks of ice,
The Organ Grinder and his dancing Monk,
The candies for our little store,
The sizzling buns with slabs of meat,
The hungry nurses with their dancing feet,
The midnight drive when work was done.
My days were filled with joy and fun.

The world was very good to me.
The years rolled by, and I became a man.
The girls I knew were pretty and bright.
I worked by day and loved by night.
I married late but married well.
Our children flourished and theirs did too.

For them, the world was bright and new,
Filled with wonders I neither knew nor learned:
I-Phone, Zoom, Instagram.
Somehow, the world had passed me by.
The Milkman and the Iceman had long since gone.
The Organ Grinder and his Monkey, too,
Were no longer there.

Corona filled the empty space.
Old in body, young in heart,
We vowed to never let it win.
The Nazis could not kill my wife.
This Virus, too, must spare my life.

So here we sit, alone, and wait
To reap the wonder of our fate.

By Moshe Sonnheim 

***

As Seasons Change As We

To everything there is a season,
A time of gladness, grief and cheer,
Smiles of laughter, sadness of tears,
For every sunset there’s a sunrise,
There is no rainbow without the rain,
No summer time without the spring,
Golden days and frosty nights,
Icy winds thoughout the days,
With winters newly fallen snows,
Whose years are like the seasons,

Let the future hold no doubt,
There’ll come a change of scene,
With rain bound skies of hope and love,
I have seen your different faces,
Life is like the changing seasons,
Upward always climb,
As the seasons change as we.

By Deborah M. Vanderwood

***

As You Grow

As you grow up, the view will start to change.
The embrace of the first morning’s light,
Running for hours beneath the blue.
All of it seems to be there just for you.
The days were long and hushed.
When did it all become such a rush?

As you grow, the view starts to change.
Your hours are no longer free.
It is just the way it has to be.
The price to pay for growing up
Will be the bill you fear the most.
Age may be just a number,
But no one talks about the word that tags along:
Responsibility!

As you grow, the view will start to change.
It may be odd to say,
But it will be okay.
The road is long.
The price is steep,
But dare I say…
It is worth the leap.
For one simple reason.

As you grew, the view changed.
Long gone are the hours of endless blue.
The hours have passed.
Your time is up.
Was it all well spent?

Your view has changed.
But another’s eyes have just opened up
To the morning’s first light,
The endless hours of blue.
The price has been met,
All just for one reason,
To give this gift to you…
Of nothing else but
Simpler times.

By Tasha R. Dragoo

***

Before I…

Before I became strong, I knew what it was like
To be weak,
How difficult it is to love yourself,
To find the wholeness that you seek.

Before I knew the light,
I have had my fair share of darkness, too,
Where my world fell into a hopelessness
And I didn’t know how to get through.

For I have known the tears it takes,
The courage to stand up again,
When you are broken down and bruised
And you know nothing but the pain.

You forget to appreciate love,
If you haven’t seen the hate,
Till you forget the meaning of smile and laughter,
And your heart is left abate.

I have known the strength and courage
It requires to get it right,
To face the things that hold you down
And hold your head up and fight.

Before I was who I am now,
I was someone I didn’t want to be.
I was lost, battered, and defeated,
Before I knew how to be me!

By Insiya K. Patanwala

***

Brotherhood Among Us

Can’t we all come and meet each other
And no matter what colour we may be
Be able to show we love one another
And then together we’ll stand, you and me
The leaders of Tomorrow,
Planning for what is to come
Otherwise there will be lots of needless sorrow
Over killing which is quite dumb.

So come closer now and grab my hand
And we’ll accept each other as brothers
And then together we’ll be able to stand
To show our Father and Mothers
We want to plan for a common future
No matter what our race, colour or culture.

By Milton Louw

***

Can’T Change The Weather

Crisp and white and cold
It was a beautiful snowy day
Life seemed devoid of turmoil
As I watched the ducks at play

Trees covered in their lacy winter white
The sky was gray with threatening snow
And yet a bit of white peaked through
It was the best kind’a day I know

And as I drove across a bridge
Slush was forming and the snow rearranged
It seemed as though there was a pause
I knew something was about to change

I love the changing of the weather
A cold and blowing storm
And then as quick as fingers snap
It would be sunny and sweet and warm

I guess whatever the season
Or whatever the weather right now
We might as well just settle in
Can’t change the weather anyhow!

By Marilyn Lott

***

Can’T Change Who I Am

i walk in clothes you don’t like,
i hangout with friends you don’t like,
why can’t you just excpet the way i am,
i can’t not change, its who i am,

this is who i am,
the person i am growing up to be,
don’t you understand,
i am who i want to be,
can’t you just let it go,

because this is who i am,
you can’t change a thing.

you let her walk in skimpy clothes,
when all i want to wear is black,
she goes and dates older men,
when i only date guys my age and you still won’t let it go.

you don’t have to worry,
don’t you want me to be happy?

if you do then let it be.

this is who i am,
the person i am growing up to be,
don’t you understand,
i am who i want to be,
can’t you just let it go,
because this is who i am,
you can’t change a thing.

By Katie Huntress

***

Chance And Change

For one ruined in love, the old status quo
Offers comfort of a kind tho’ cold.
Suffering neglect, your heart is a wreck,
Yet one’s vow demands payment of debt.

Honorbound to see old promises through,
Despite the cost and the loss, you do.
For years it’s been wrong, and forever’s so long,
Wanting to be held, to be known, to belong.

Chances to let go, to be free and to know
How good it feels as love flowers and grows
Have come and gone just as dusk chases dawn,
Like pretty dreams light a world dark and wan.

Change is a Chance taken – – not another need
Forsaken to spare one whose tight heart will bleed.
Don’t fear that long leap o’er the abyss of trust,
Just close your eyes… life without love is but dust.

By Esther Leclerc

***

Change

Changed? Yes, I will confess it – I have changed.
I do not love you in the old fond way.
I am your friend still – time has not estranged
One kindly feeling of that vanished day.

But the bright glamour which made life a dream,
The rapture of that time, its sweet content,
Like visions of a sleeper’s brain they seem –
And yet I cannot tell you how they went.

Why do you gaze with such accusing eyes
Upon me, dear? It is so very strange
That hearts, like all things underneath God’s skies,
Should sometimes feel the influence of change?

The birds, the flowers, the foliage of the trees,
The stars which seem so fixed, and so sublime,
Vast continents, and the eternal seas, –
All these do change, with ever-changing time.

The face our mirror shows us year on year
Is not the same; our dearest aim, or need,
Our lightest thought, or feeling hope, or fear,
All, all the law of alternation heed.

How can we ask the human heart to stay,
Content with fancies of Youth’s earliest hours?
The year outgrows the violets of May,
Although, maybe, there are no fairer flowers.

And life may hold no sweeter love than this,
Which lies so cold, so voiceless, and so dumb,
And will I miss it, dear? Why, yes, we miss
The violets always – till the roses come!

By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

***

Change

Thoughts broke down from my dreams demise
As I shut my dreaming eyes
Stars flickered out
My wish lost truth
As I cried in a phone booth
The string untied
Memories faded away
I cried all night and I cried all day

Missing you

And you haven’t even left me
Missing who
You used to be
I’m missing you
And I wish
That you’d leave me,
Just wish
That you’d leave me alone

Knowledge broke through

Hope lost touch
I cried too much
Just thinking of you
The pain came down
My smile turned to frown
And I wish I could walk away
I just with that I could walk away

Missing you
And you haven’t even left me
Missing who
You used to be
I’m missing you
And I wish
That you’d leave me,
Just wish
That you’d leave me alone

By Christal Carpenter

***

Change Is All

No one will ever know how I feel,
For I cannot even explain it all.
Nobody to love,
Nobody to blame,
Everyone always the same.
Nothing to care about,
No reason to lie,
For I am me, myself, and I.
No one sees what I see,
Nobody left to care for me.
It’s kind of sad knowing what’s true,
‘Cause then you know who’s there for you.
Most of them just put on that act.
A lot of them talk bad about me behind my back.
Thanks for making me feel this way,
There’s nothing more I should have to say.
All the times I was alone
Makes me feel weird when someone’s home.
No family for support, no friends to care.
People wonder why I don’t go anywhere.
Every night crying myself to sleep,
Sometimes I wish someone loved me.
No hope, no love, no life, no friends.
The pain never ends.
Sometimes I ask what did I do to deserve this.
But nobody answers.
A voice in my head tells me to forget the bad and remember good.
But then I answer to myself saying there is no good to remember.
I always yell at myself asking why me? Why?
Sitting in a empty spare room.
No one to talk to about how I feel.
No one to ask me what I feel.
Is anyone out there in this harsh world we live in?
Sometimes I begin to wonder.
Sometimes I’m harsh on myself.
Morn comes and I wake up wishing I was never born.
Please help others, because today’s lives
Are being taken out of this world just as easy as they are coming in.
You can change someone’s life.
Make a change.
It’s a tough world.

By Olivia Libby

***

Change Of Adress

Dear Friend, please note that my adress
Has changed since you were last my guest
When you just walked in through my door
And one weeks stay turned into four
You made me stay up late at nights
While you put all the world to rights
But everyday you’d stay in bed
While i went out with aching head
And later with the setting sun
I found the dishes still werent done

And there you were just watching cheers
and drinking one of my cold beers
You took control of my whole life
I’m sure you thought i was your wife
And when at last you went your way
Not a penny did you pay
So now i’ve moved you’ll want to know
And maybe come again and so
In case you feel that way disposed
My new adress is not enclosed

By Bridgid Patrick

***

Change Of Seasons

The Summer season gradually fades away,
Nature’s way of bidding a humble farewell to all.
A change is seen as the leaves fade in unison
As the beautiful Autumn season comes to call.

September – the sounds in the garden are quiet now,
The song birds are no longer to be found.
Flying high up in the cloudy sky,
Many feathered friends are southward bound.

October – the trees are covered with tantalizing colors
Of red and gold and yellow and even brown,
And crimson, too, in a multitude of fashion
The leaves come wafting down.

November – fringed with frost and nippy cold,
The fading days of Autumn are everywhere.
A quiet state of melancholy days
With signs of a changing season in the air.

December – All of a sudden the winds of winter blow,
The falling snow begins to pile high.
We are delighted for the bounty Autumn has provided,
Uttering words of thank you – with an appreciative sigh.

By Joseph T. Renaldi

***

Change The Change

We jubilated that the masses
Took up arms against the soldiers
Who attempted a coup
We celebrated the free
And fair elections that won
With landslide
All these do not translate
To the fact that democracy
Has won.
We are in a vehicle of

Statusquo ante
Same hunger abode in our stomachs
Same lakes on our thoroughfare
Same sirens blaring on our roads
Same electors yearning for a change
And change won’t come
Until the change is changed.

By Tony Adah

***

Change The Winds

We cannot change the winds,
but the sails – yes, we can do
to find smooth paths without sins,
to suit direction for me and you.

Life’s struggles damage, without mirth,
and we need to move on and find
our true selves and our own self worth,
before we have our peace of mind.

‘Seek and ye shall find’ is a message sent,
and of that we should gain faith and hope
that our plea has gone to God – and went
to where an answer is found for us to cope.

By Colleen Wright

***

Change Upon Change

Five months ago the stream did flow,
The lilies bloomed within the sedge,
And we were lingering to and fro,
Where none will track thee in this snow,
Along the stream, beside the hedge.
Ah, Sweet, be free to love and go!
For if I do not hear thy foot,
The frozen river is as mute,
The flowers have dried down to the root:
And why, since these be changed since May,

Shouldst thou change less than they.

And slow, slow as the winter snow
The tears have drifted to mine eyes;
And my poor cheeks, five months ago
Set blushing at thy praises so,
Put paleness on for a disguise.
Ah, Sweet, be free to praise and go!
For if my face is turned too pale,
It was thine oath that first did fail, —

It was thy love proved false and frail, —
And why, since these be changed enow,
Should I change less than thou.

By Elizabeth Barrett Browning

***

Change, The Inevitable

Change is to one man the death of a friend,
To another the birth of a child.
Change is the shifting of soft winds of spring,
to a hurricane deadly and wild.

Change is the moving of the hourglass sands,
It’s the coming of dawn after dark.
Change is taking one step at a time,
The emotion in each persons heart.

But change in the end, will not change at all
The one constant in everyone’s lives
Change is the light at the end of the tunnel
The healer who opens our eyes.

By Jake Harris

***

Childhood Memories

I was happy when I was a lad.
It wasn’t all good, but it wasn’t half bad.
We played with sticks we played with stones;
we built ourselves dens that we called homes.

We explored the woods, we climbed the trees,
and we played with marbles on our knees.
Conkers in season we threaded with string.
If your opponent missed, your knuckles would sting.

We built trolleys with old pram wheels.
We were often too busy to go home for our meals.
We made catapults, bows and arrows and spears,
quite often resulting in painful tears.

We scrumped apples, plums and pears;
of getting caught, we had no cares.
In fact, we were often caught, and our ears clipped,
no smart replies – we never lipped.

During the long school summer holidays when the sun shone bright,
we played outside from morning to night.
War games, tin can tommy, hide and seek,
Such fun we’d have, what havoc we’d wreak.

Raiding allotments, pinching what grew.
We’d get a good hiding if our parents knew.
Round blazing open fires on logs we would sit.
In the pitch-black night our faces it lit.

We’d have singsongs and tell tales of ghosts,
of things we had done, exaggerated boasts.
Now looking back, such a long time it seems.
Sometimes I wonder was it all in my dreams.

But then I remember all the things that I did
could only be done when I was a kid!

By Paul L. Kennedy

***

Everything That Will Not Change

I want to remember the world this way:
The light, steadfast on the windowsill,
a breathless sky and the autumn as beautiful
as it is bitter.

The way it was just yesterday
when you held me against your chest, against
a backdropp of sunset: so many colors
evolving into darkness- rearranging themselves
into the first evening shadows.

I want to sleep with the memory of you
still fresh inside of my head, and the scent
of your kisses still clinging to my lips.
Your eyes: cathartic pools I wish I could dive into,
to drown myself in their prismatic vision.

How does it feel to see the world, to see life
through a third eye?

I wish I could see beyond my sorrow and live
beyond my darkness- then I’d see myself
not entirely unraveled, but tearing at the seams
to become something more, something other than
the girl with a big smile to sacrifice to the world,
who will always be just a little bit sad.

By Amberlee Carter

***

Going Forth

What will it take to free this mind,
Imprisoned long in apathy,
Now reduced to mundane thoughts
That stultify activity?

What words might somehow trickle up
Through dormant webs of talent,
Releasing from the tangled depths,
A joy once prevalent?

I stand and peer outside my cave,
Security behind me.
Am I afraid to take the chance
Success might someday find me?

Can I withstand the pounding waves
That new ideas foment?
Or shall I once again retreat,
In dullness be content?

Time laughs as I now hesitate.
It says, “Can I keep waiting?
Afraid to leave my placid nest,
Just stay there still debating?”

No! Not when new horizons
Are reaching out to find me.
The glove is thrown, the die is cast.
I close the door behind me.

By Alora M. Knight 

***

I Cannot Change, As Others Do

I cannot change, as others do,
Though you unjustly scorn;
Since that poor swain that sighs for you,
For you alone was born.
No, Phyllis, no, your heart to move
A surer way I’ll try:
And to revenge my slighted love,
Will still love on, will still love on, and die.

When, killed with grief, Amintas lies

And you to mind shall call,
The sighs that now unpitied rise,
The tears that vainly fall,
That welcome hour that ends this smart
Will then begin your pain;
For such a fauthful tender heart
Can never break, can never break in vain.

By Lord John Wilmot

***

I Have A Dream, Too

I have a dream, too
But must walk across the stage,
But in order to do that,
I must leave this day and age.

I’ll leave friendships and bonds
With friends old and new.
It’s gone by so fast,
It doesn’t seem true.

I’ve become a better person
It’s been so much fun,
And it seems like I’ve gone from a walk to a run.

I have a dream for the future
But I fear too much change.
I fear once I move on
It won’t be the same.

A family, new friends, a house, and a car,
To go to that from this,
It just seems so far.

I wish it would stop
But it goes faster and faster.
The more I struggle
The less I seem to last here.

By Cody Duggins

***

I Want To Change The World

I want to change the world
I want to impact it so deep
That I reach the core
I want to change the meaning of peace
To something permanent
I want to open doors
And shut out doubt
I want the past to dissolve
It makes my ears bleed
Mistakes linked in memory
Times so hard the world shakes in its boots

I want to change the world
The sun rises and then sets
But leaves its mark before it goes
It creates life and growth
The moon brings serenity and mystery
Both bring death too
I want the growth to shine through
But erase the death
I want to change the world
But I would not dare change the past

By Allyson Bogan

***

Men At Forty

Men at forty
Learn to close softly
The doors to rooms they will not be
Coming back to.

At rest on a stair landing,
They feel it
Moving beneath them now like the deck of a ship,
Though the swell is gentle.

And deep in mirrors
They rediscover
The face of the boy as he practices trying
His father’s tie there in secret

And the face of that father,
Still warm with the mystery of lather.
They are more fathers than sons themselves now.
Something is filling them, something

That is like the twilight sound
Of the crickets, immense,
Filling the woods at the foot of the slope
Behind their mortgaged houses.

By  Donald Justice

***

My Inner Child

Looking through the window
There is a small child
Sitting with his pillow
He has been there for a while

He is nervous about the room
And the place where he stands
His smile turns to gloom
When he sees my large hands

Looking deeper through the pane
To see what is wrong
He’s not sure he is sane
He has been there way too long

As I peer into the glass
This child starts to fade
Leaving no mass
And me standing in the shade

By Bryan P. Mix

***

My World With Love And God

My future is coming alive.
All tomorrows will be mine.
It’s just around the corner,
Just a pause in time.

I see into the days ahead
And what I want for me.
I see smiles and happiness,
All the love I want there to be.

A house is not a home
Unless with love it stands,
And I would not be full
Without the love of man.

A yard is just a yard,
But with pretty flowers to grow,
It makes the sight so colorful.
It makes you proud, you know?

And alone we cannot be,
For two together as one
Is what God wanted, you see.
Hand in hand with love.

So come with me to my world.
It’s a world of goodness and care.
Come with me, I’ll take you.
Never hurt, only love, will be there.

By Michelle Strattis

***

Nothing Stays The Same

The earth spins like a rolling ball.
Stars shine bright then fade away.
Darkness melts and turns to light.
The sunrise starts another day.
The sun dips slowly into the sea.
The moon will wax and wane.
The sea will rise and falls with tides.
And you will love again.

Nothing ever stays the same.
Mountains change with time.
Rivers flow and lakes run dry.
Salty tears will flood the eye.
Healing follows after pain.
A crush of grape becomes fine wine.
And you will love again.
Yes! You will love again.

By Carol A. Andrews 

***

Radical Change

Radical change occurs in all men, who from God are Born Again,
Born through the Spirit of Christ, and born again unto a New Life.
Change begins when you believe, as The Holy Spirit you receive,
This as Christ begins to reside, in The Spirit who now lives inside.

Change isn’t obvious at the start, but occurs if He’s in your heart,
Dwelling inside, to make you anew, helping you in all that you do.
You friend, now belong to Him, the One who died for all your sin,
And the new life that Christ gives, changes how the Believer lives.

God doesn’t change who we are, but changes us deeper and far,
Changes which go into Eternity, far greater than any eye can see.
The Lord truly changes everyone, who comes to accept His Son,
Changing the way we live, radically, as a testimony for all to see.

Changes we choose for The Lord; changes that won’t go ignored,
Radically changing all former ways, for living out remaining days.
Changes made by His power, transforming us each day and hour,
Through the power of His name, God creates in us lasting change.

From within God’s Spirit inspires, many changes to all our desires,
Directed by a power much higher, to guide every need and desire,
By Christ who had died for me, to direct my heart towards eternity,
With God’s power in my life, I’m radically changed for Jesus Christ.

By Bob Gotti

***

Sea Of Change

The clouds never break
Like blue waters do
On this Island of Pain.
How can I stand true?

The birds never sing
And the love never finds
This Island of Pain
Where the sun never shines.

The stars never gleam
And the moon never glows.
There’s never a dream,
And the river that flows

Is filled with my tears
That lead to the Bay
Of this Island of Pain
Where I’m destined to stay.

There, in the distance,
The fog starts to rise,
As I awaken
To warm, sunny skies.

No longer a captive
So long lost at sea,
This Island of Hope
Appears before me.

The Sea of Serenity
Waves at the shore.
Of this Island of Hope,
I just can’t ignore.

The birds always sing
And the love always finds
This Island of Hope
Where the sun always shines.

The stars always gleam
And the moon always glows.
There’s never a tear
And the soft wind that blows

Is filled with my dreams
That lead to the shore
Of this Island of Hope
Where I’ll live evermore.

By Douglas J. Olson

***

Seasons Yet To Come

They gave us all a calendar
At work this afternoon.
Suddenly it dawns on me,
The year is ending soon!

Comes January, cold and gray.
The new year’s just beginning.
And February, short and bright
With Valentine hearts winning.

Comes March, the windy roaring one
And warm the sun of spring.
Then April, bright of shining sky
And flowers blossoming.

Comes May, and school comes to a close
With children’s happy laughter.
Then June, with open city pools
And picnics soon thereafter.

July comes booming with a bang
Of red-glared rockets blasting.
Then August lingers with its heat
That seems so…everlasting.

September, gold September comes.
The year is growing older.
October with sweet Halloween.
The nights grow dark and colder.

November smells of harvest,
Of turkey and Thanksgiving.
December comes with joy and light
To fill hearts of the living.

Each page I flip and see these things
Of days yet to come.
My calendar is a door to me,
An adventure just begun!

By Rick W. Cotton

***

Seeds Of Growth

Water the seed, and a plant will grow.
Feed the plant, and a tree will grow.
Give a tree room, and it will bloom.
A seed to a plant,
A plant to a tree,
A boy to a man,
A man to a father.
Care for the boy, and the man will grow.
Teach the man, and a father will grow.
I see my boys.
I see my joy.
Care for my boys, and I, the man, will grow.
Teach me, my boys, and your father will grow.
You can’t have the tree without the plant.
You can’t have the plant without the seed.
I can’t be a father without being a man.
I, the man, can’t be a father without my boys.
The cycle of life.
The man, the boys, the father.
The seed, the plant, the tree.

By David Rivera

***

Sonnet 123: No, Time, Thou Shalt Not Boast That I Do Change

No, Time, thou shalt not boast that I do change.
Thy pyramids built up with newer might
To me are nothing novel, nothing strange;
They are but dressings of a former sight.
Our dates are brief, and therefore we admire
What thou dost foist upon us that is old,
And rather make them born to our desire
Than think that we before have heard them told.
Thy registers and thee I both defy,
Not wond’ring at the present, nor the past,

For thy records, and what we see doth lie,
Made more or less by thy continual haste:
This I do vow and this shall ever be:
I will be true despite thy scythe and thee.

By William Shakespeare

***

Than The Days Will Ever Know

Playing on the Grammar School lot,
In a uniform I’d rather not.
One of ‘The Boys in High School’
Yeah, pretty tough and sometimes cruel.

Then one day, love chose me
Through a girl, a last dance;
I knew
My wife she’d be.

We worked, we loved, and grew up together;
Raising three children through all life’s weather.
Traveled the country ’cause of my job,
Left family and home, late at night we’d silently sob.

One child left the nest to wed; now there are two
So many changes, life hurls us through.
With love we rejoice, yet we’re doomed to suffer equal loss,
So enjoy the day and those you love, at any and all costs.

For there’s one thing in life I’m certain,
As sure as the wind’s gonna blow,
Make each and every day count because
The years teach more than the days will ever know.

By Steve J. Clymer

***

That’s Life

This life is a wonderful gift .. accept it, embrace it. 
It starts with a new day .. wake up and greet it.
Life is a challenge .. take it head on and meet it.
Full of opportunity .. use it, don’t waste it.

This life is a mystery .. unfold it, solve it.
It starts with meaning .. wake up and understand it.
Life is a goal .. take it head on and achieve it.
Full of promise .. fulfill it but keep it.

This life is a tragedy .. face it, accept it.
It starts with pain .. wake up and help numb it.
Life is a struggle .. take it head on and fight it.
Full of sorrow .. sorry, just overcome it.

This life is precious .. hold it, treasure it,
It starts with hope .. wake up and feel it.
Life is a choice .. take it head on and make it.
Full of knowledge .. use it, don’t abuse it.

This life is adventurous .. enjoy it, explore it.
It starts with a duty .. wake up and perform it.
Life is love .. take it full on and love it.
Full of beauty .. praise it and behold it.

That life is life .. live it, learn and grow
Life is good .. be good with all that you know.

By Danny Joyce

***

The Change

She leaned out into the soft June weather,
With her long loose tresses the night breeze played;
Her eyes were as blue as the bells on the heather:
Oh, what is so fair as a fair young maid!

She folded her hands, like the leaves of a lily,
‘My life, ‘ she said, ‘is a night in June,
Fair and quiet, and calm and stilly;
Bring me a change, O changeful moon!

‘Who would drift on a lake forever?
Young hearts weary – it is not strange,
And sigh for the beautiful bounding river;
New moon, true moon, bring me a change! ‘

The rose that rivalled her maiden blushes
Dropped from her breast, at a strangers feet;
Only a glance; but the hot blood rushes
To mantle a fair face, shy and sweet.

To and fro, while the moon is waning,
They walk, and the stars shine on above;
And one is in earnest, and one is feigning –
Oh, what is so sweet as a sweet young love?

A young life crushed, and a young heart broken,
A bleak wind blows through the lovely bower,
And all that remains of the love vows spoken –
Is the trampled leaf of a faded flower.

The night is dark, for the moon is failing –
And what is so pale as a pale old moon?
Cold is the wind through the tree tops wailing –
Woe that the change should come so soon.

By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

***

The Change Of Time

The change of time
Affects us in days to come,
The future is unknown
Who knows where it’s from?
We run out of luck
If things stay the same,
Or we will be forever stuck
In the memory game.
Waves of time will play
With us and give us grieve,

Each year has a turning way
In all our thoughts and believe.
The change of things
Comes with each New Year,
Who’ll ever know what it brings
A smile or twinklings tear?
We love though alterity
When they are new and exiting,
Exotic things to be
In days ahead hiding.

Like glowing embroidery
Of drifting time gone by,
The moments dwell in me
Such souvenir can’t die.
The change in a life
Is beyond a reason,
Though regret is rife
For each and every season.
All old to new then sings
What comes and goes we bear,
Like silver bells it rings
In each of memories ear.
I can not futures see
Or what to me they bring,
Still they’re flying free
So playful is their wing.
The change, comes and goes
Produces us daily on,
The past mind’s eye glows
Who knows where it’s gone?

By Peter S. Quinn

***

The Ghost Of My Past

Fumbling, stumbling,
around in the dark.
Fighting, igniting,
flames from a spark.

Blinded, reminded,
of the fear inside.
Turning, yearning,
for a place to hide.

Soaking, choking,
struggling to breathe.
Hiding, abiding,
my ghost won’t leave.

Chasing, racing,
I stagger away.
Breathless, restless
in the mud I lay.

Dreaming, gleaming,
I escape the past.
Winning, new beginning,
I am free at last.

By Lee W. Barker

***

The Happy Change

How bless’d Thy creature is, O God,
When with a single eye,
He views the lustre of Thy Word,
The dayspring from on high!

Through all the storms that veil the skies
And frown on earthly things,
The Sun of Righteousness he eyes,
With healing on His wings.

Struck by that light, the human heart,
A barren soil no more,
Sends the sweet smell of grace abroad,
Where serpents lurk’d before.

The soul, a dreary province once
Of Satan’s dark domain,
Feels a new empire form’d within,
And owns a heavenly reign.

The glorious orb whose golden beams
The fruitful year control,
Since first obedient to Thy WOrd,
He started from the goal,

Has cheer’d the nations with the joys
His orient rays impart;
But, Jesus, ’tis Thy light alone
Can shine upon the heart.

By William Cowper

***

The Mentor

I paused to stand and watch a man who had come to the road’s divide.
My wonder soared as I watched his stare slowly shift from side to side.
He stood as if not noticing that many passed him by.
They moved without a second glance down the road most traveled by.

Then as I watched, he stepped full stride toward the path of lesser wear,
And soon he vanished from my view round a bend into the snare.
I soon, like him, stood center road, faced with that daunting choice.
My gaze down his road, causing fear, I quenched my inner voice.

For miles I walked the crowded road breathing dust from others’ feet,
Until in despair I stopped and stood, my heart and soul deplete.
I gazed about, still holding hope, the other path I’d see.
On yonder hill I saw him there, the man who mentored me.

The path between us steep and rough, unforged with dangers there,
Yet still I left my path of friends, ignoring their bewares.
I pressed through hardship, pain and fear o’er rocks jagged and bent.
In time I crashed limp on that path, my every resource spent.

But then a warming touch I felt, a friendly voice I heard.
It said, get up and tread this path. I rose without a word.
And as I looked, I saw him there, he continued on his way.
His only words as he walked on…”You’re on the path, now stay.”

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I chose in err.
But looking back, perhaps as well…all memories now seem fair.
Much time I spent on the beaten path, and what I learned, immense.
But I reached, at last, the other path, and it has still made all of the difference.

By Jeff Bresee 

***

The Need Of Women

I just know there’s more
In the sea of skies above,
Holding in those many things of her
Thoughts that come to mind,
Remembering her moments and mine.
There’s a cloud that rains and nothing but blame falls
I’m becoming a man ,
Every day I learn how to depend on myself
Instead of falling back into her lap and cry.
I resist and shout
And roar, I’m proud to say…this fight of life
Stalking you behind your back,
It seems all the girls walk in stacks
Wondering if fate plays a role.
The pain of mine can’t simply fade away.
Nothing worth what I had with you even if it changed a lot.
So much to do to make a life fit for again
Searching for the perfect soulmate
Taste of Change…

By Rayan Al Sheikh 

***

The Will To Win

If you want a thing bad enough
To go out and fight for it,
Work day and night for it,
Give up your time and your peace and
your sleep for it

If only desire of it
Makes you quite mad enough
Never to tire of it,
Makes you hold all other things tawdry
and cheap for it

If life seems all empty and useless without it
And all that you scheme and you dream is about it,

If gladly you’ll sweat for it,
Fret for it, Plan for it,
Lose all your terror of God or man for it,

If you’ll simply go after that thing that you want.
With all your capacity,
Strength and sagacity,
Faith, hope and confidence, stern pertinacity,

If neither cold poverty, famished and gaunt,
Nor sickness nor pain
Of body or brain
Can turn you away from the thing that you want,

If dogged and grim you besiege and beset it,
You’ll get it!

By Berton Braley

***

Villanelle Of Change

Since Persia fell at Marathon,
The yellow years have gathered fast:
Long centuries have come and gone.

And yet (they say) the place will don
A phantom fury of the past,
Since Persia fell at Marathon;

And as of old, when Helicon
Trembled and swayed with rapture vast

(Long centuries have come and gone),

This ancient plain, when night comes on,
Shakes to a ghostly battle-blast,
Since Persia fell at Marathon.

But into soundless Acheron
The glory of Greek shame was cast:
Long centuries have come and gone,

The suns of Hellas have all shone,
The first has fallen to the last: —
Since Persia fell at Marathon,
Long centuries have come and gone.

By Edwin Arlington Robinson

***

Winds Of Change

Oh, God the winds of change, they are blowing
Bringing a revolution to this life
Whether relief or challenge, not knowing
Always of benefit, even in strife

What of the days past of comfort and rest
Whose hours were filled with laughter and joy
To be a child once more: happy, blessed
For the simple things in life to enjoy

Oh, but these winds of change aren’t new to me
I am used to being tossed to and fro
Though these winds don’t always bring harmony
They all bring opportunity to grow

So, let the rain pour down upon my roof
Let the sun beat harshly upon my head
May this wind, no matter the storm, be proof
That you, oh God, are with us where we tread

By Danny Speicher

***

Yes, I’ll Go On Laughing

When worries and fears I claim for my own,
When I feel helpless and all alone,
When my deepest memories come to mind
And all my sadness I leave behind,
Then yes, I’ll go on laughing.
When I feel I’m going under with nothing
To hold onto,
When dark shadows cloud my senses,
My sadness and fears I’ll be through.
When sweet, gentle ways have come to pass
And I get my fill of sadness at last,
Then yes, I’ll go on laughing.
When I give up and go on living
And become wiser than I am,
I’ll try not to cry tomorrow
So this heart and soul shall mend.
Then yes, I’ll go on laughing.

By Jac Judy A. Campbell

***

You Cannot Change The Past

You cannot change the past ’tis gone forever
And worrying only turns your hair to gray
And remember ’tis the future’s all that matter
For we cannot change what happened yesterday.

Don’t harbour grudges for grudges only harm you
For a grudge like a cancer only grow
ill feeling on you can become a burden
And you’ll feel happier when you leave your grudges go.

Karma will take care of all wrongdoers
And all of those who harm others in any way
Will one day for their mistakes feel regretful
When to karma they will have a price to pay.

You cannot change the past what’s done is over
Before we walked we had to learn to crawl
And from the book of life we’re always learning
And the future’s all that matter after all.

The past is gone and the past is past changing
And let bygones be bygones so it has been said
And put more of your thought energy into your future
For your happier days for you might be ahead.

By Francis Duggan