Happy Mother's Day to a dear aunt,
As loving as a mother ought to be,
Pleased to act when parents won't or can't,
Pleased to act when moms go out to sea.
Yet yearning cannot make an aunt a mother,
Melding aptitude with milk and blood.
One finds joy in giving joy to others;
The other has her joy, if she but would.
Heaven knows the way across the darkness,
Enduring through all manner of regret,
Returning, turning to the fount of stillness
'Mid mountains of accumulated debt.
So may you this day be satisfied
Despite the grace that fortune has denied,
Alive with love, both given and returned,
Yet blessed with nothing less than you have earned.

Maybe time is like a snowdrift. Spring
Opens up its secrets. And perhaps
There you find what you've been looking for.
Harsh winters wait, of course, but there are more
Ecstasies than sorrows under wraps,
Retained in drifts till their awakening.

Stirling is our little star,
The princeling of our skies,
Infant on a throne of love,
Ruler of our dreams!
Long may he reign! For such gifts are
In lieu of paradise:
Notes that do all music prove,
Grace that life redeems.

Death, departure, walk away, walk out
Should I or should I not pout

Family and friends
Lovers and one-night stands

I have loved, lost and lived
How do I trust, how do I love again

I should move on, it's all in my past
But my pain remains, continues and lasts

This pain lingers in my heart, mind and soul
Damn it - why is this world so cold

How can I have faith in God and family
When people I love are taken from me

Where can I find true and loyal friends
I'm sick of the lies, fights and revenge

Hurt continuously, hurt at a young age
How do I love again with all of my rage

How do I get past all of this, show me a sign
So I can leave my sadness, pain and crying behind

I look up
as a tear rolls slowly
down my cheek
I think about better days
and wonder if I'll feel that way again
you look at me
with those eyes I know so well
always serious, so deep and insightful
as though you're always in control
But not today
not now
Now you look so scared
like for once you don't have the answer
I gaze at you
looking deep into those hazel eyes
Hoping to understand
why you've said those things you did
I wonder for a moment
if this is all a dream
if I shall wake in the morning
and be relieved
you look at me
with a confusion I have never seen
slowly pull me towards you
and wipe the tears from my cheek

I live through my dark existence
only to bask in your beauty
your eyes that shine like sapphires
your smile that brightens even my sad existence
I envy the wind that runs through your hair
that touches your lips
I long to touch you
to hold you in my arms but I cannot
for your heart belongs to another
so, I can only love you from afar
your friendship means more to me
than anything this world provides
but like an angel you touched my heart
in a way that I've never felt before
cause I've never known what love is until this day
I know that we are only friends
but my heart wishes it to be more
so I will still hope and dream
that one day I can feel your lips pressed to mine
to hold you in my arms and say, "I love you"

When you came to your door tonight,
And your beautiful eyes gazed at me
From the darkness within,
The world around me came to a stop,
For just a few seconds,
As I saw the love from within you.

You looked at me with your warm smile,
Your black hair around your face,
And whispered softly, "hi baby",
And once again,
I was at your mercy.

For when you look into my soul
And I hear the sound of your sweet voice,
My heart opens to you my love,
With all of my dreams now fulfilled.

I never knew that a love like this
Could ever exist,
A love that consumes me,
A love so powerful,
And so overwhelming,
That I fear if I were without it,
My heart would no longer have a meaning
To its existence,
For the love that flows through it now,
Is what keeps me alive,
Keeps me whole.

As I gaze into your eyes my love,
Down into the depths of your very being,
I can see the love you feel for me,
A love as strong as my own,
A love that fills me so full of emotion,
So full of hope for the future,
That I pray I will spend the rest of my days,
Gazing into your eyes.

- Jim Caspary -

Can We Still Be Friends?
by Kathleen Sheppard
I was cold and hurting
lost out in the night
wandering and searching
for heaven's light

I saw the night sky clearing
when you spread your rainbow wings
But little did I know
what joy you would bring

From that moment on
a friendship did start
you kissed away my tears
and sheltered my heart

I bless the day God
sent him from above
But then I grew fearful
for I had fallen in love

I told you this feeling
and what did you say?
You said you liked our friendship
and that's how it would stay

I cried for a friendship I thought I lost
But then felt your warm, gentle hand
You then whispered in my ear
that by my side you'll forever stand

Happy Sixteenth Anniversary

Happy sixteenth anniversary!
After all these years, still in love!
Perhaps not more or less, but differently,
Perhaps because we know what time has proved.
Years flow past our bit of riverside
Singing inconsolably of beauty.
In sympathy, we watch the boats go by,
Xeroxing our poems in praise of duty.
There is in home an antidote for time,
Even as love lasts beyond a life,
Each passion pressed into a paradigm
New realized in the grace of man and wife.
The love that lasts is stubborn, tough, and strong,
Having need to need, both plain and long.

In You I trust
Believing the promise set before me
That I should be anxious for nothing
For You are with me.

'Never leave you nor forsake you' You once said
Till now I'm still holding on to that
For every step I take I'll pray
Its with You I walk with, how I wish theres no end!

Before You I'll wait
Faithful with the little things given to me
For its in my heart that You'll see
A woman after Your heart so earnestly.