PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

We are a country of diversity…

We may have originated from different places…

we may have different cultures, different traditions…

wear different clothing…have different faces…

We may not always understand what each other is saying…

who we love, the way we live…or what God to whom we are praying.

But…when you stop to think about it… 

we can’t help but to proclaim:

despite all of our differences…we are basically…the same.

Being born exactly who we are is something we didn’t choose.

Certain traits we can’t surrender….

can’t give up…forget…or lose.

But there is a choice which we can make…

that helps determine our ultimate destiny…our fate.

We can choose to love…

or we can choose to hate.

Our diverse country stands divided on what exactly makes us great…

with people on both sides claiming they are the ones who love…

and it’s the other side who hates.

Ultimately…it does not matter what we think…how adamantly….how strong

Love knows which of us are right…and which of us are wrong.

On the eve of this election…may we look deep into our hearts

and may it be true love we choose….

because with love we have so much to gain…

and with hate…so much to lose.

Isn’t it amazing how the word love when used as a noun

has such a wonderful meaning…is a word of great renown?

But, for me, the word love is most magical

most breathtaking

and its meaning most wonderfully superb…

every time we choose

to use it as a verb

Before a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, fire or flood…

we seem to have evolved into the kind of society…

that sees as an enemy anyone with whom we disagree.

Politics, religion, the right to choose, gender identity,….

we position ourselves on opposite sides…and see the other side as our enemy.

Before Mother Nature unleashes her wrath and fury our way 

we have a tendency to let our fear, our prejudices and our hate…

lead our hearts astray.

However, when Mother Nature is angry, saddened or aggrieved…

her hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes fires and floods

don’t care what side we’re on…what we do or don’t believe.

And after she devastates us with her earthquakes, fire or weather

we tend to forget how we are enemies as we all come together.

We put away our differences, our disagreements, our hatred and our madness…

with one shared goal…to come to the aid of anyone in need…

and help to ease their sadness.

Yes, after Mother Nature wreaks havoc on our land our seas and shores

our compassion and our love for one another 

reminds us what our hearts were created for,

I only wish it wouldn’t take Mother Nature 

shattering peoples lives and hopes and dreams

to remind us we should not be enemies…

that we’re all on the same team.

When someone for the first time says I love you…

when they find the courage to commit…

You try their words, ‘I love you’ on…

to see how well they fit.

And if you’re lucky…if you’re truly blessed…

when you’re wearing their words of love…

you feel comfortable and warm inside their words…

because they fit you…like a glove.

I heard these words whispered in the bookstore yesterday…

words I’ve heard a thousand times before.

One person whispered, “I love you” the other smiled and whispered,

“I love you more.”

These words can bring a smile to one’s face…or tears of joy into one’s eyes….

For some reason, yesterday, I started wondering…just what this phrase implies….

When we respond , ‘I love you more’…I think these four words should…. 

Mean…I love you more…than I ever thought I could.

I love you more than rainbows…more than anyone I’ve ever met.

I love you more than chocolate…more than Romeo loved Juliet.

I love you more than life itself…more than vodka or champagne.

I love you more than bees love honey…or the flowers love the rain.

I love you more than ice cream…more than bluebirds love to fly.

I love you more than sunsets, pepperoni pizza…more than pizza or French fries.

I love you more than hiking in the mountain…or walks along the shore.

I love you more today…than I did the day before.

Yes, whenever I hear the words ‘I love you more’

shouted from across the room…or whispered soft and low…

I like to think what these words mean is….

I love you….more than you can ever know.

May we all be blessed to find the kind of love…

that’s filled with understanding, compassion and support…

Which becomes one long and beautiful conversation

that in the end will always seem too short

On my early morning walks…I always walk alone

It’s a quiet, peaceful…walk I take all on my own.

I was lost in sad thoughts this morning about guns and war 

about a world filled with hate and animosity

when I heard what I thought were footsteps coming up behind me.

I turned to greet whoever it was and immediately stopped to stare

because not only had the footsteps stopped…but…there was no one there!

Thinking it was my imagination…I continued walking…but then

the sound of all those footsteps started up again

I wasn’t frightened, however, I felt a comfort…a peace and harmony

I was either going crazy…or some of my ancestors were walking with me.

I have a wonderful family and friends in my life that help to see me through

but I imagine my ancestors just wanted to remind me…they are with me too.

Reminding me that when I walk…even when I think I’m on own…

I’m not…for if the footsteps were any indication…I never walk alone.

And though my ancestors did not speak to me…my spirits began to soar 

and when they did I could not hear their footsteps anymore.

I walked the rest of the way home in silence…

thankful for their not-so-subtle reminder….

to remember the world is also filled with people 

who are loving…generous..and kinder.

And for reminding me that although there is hatred in the world…

what I should be thinking of

Is how I am an invaluable link in a long ancestral chain of love.

A chain of love that stretches as far back as I can postulate…

A chain of love that is stronger and will last longer…than any chain of hate.

If you want to know how much you love

this simple test I have designed…. 

Say the word LOVE out loud

and see who pops into your mind.

]I try to say ‘I love you’ as often as I can because I know the power that these words pack.

Like yesterday when Ollie, our 3 year old neighbor said ‘I love you’ and is said ‘I love you’ back.

Like when Deborah and I say it to one another…or when it’s repeated to family and friends…

How even after we stop saying the words…their echoes never end.

When I was teaching…Chris, a 16 year old student, to my classroom was referred.

Chris was nonverbal…he would grunt and groan and point to things he wanted…

but he could not say a word.

Chris lived with his grandparents…his surrogate Mom and Dad.

and as frustrating as it must have been for him to communicate…he rarely ever got mad. 

This was around the time the first augmentative communication devices were created…

We were able to get one for Chris…and, man, was he motivated.

He would press a button to tell us things he wanted…mostly food and drink

and occasionally he’d tell us about the weather.

He could even make a simple sentence by stringing a few words together.

He learned some simple expressions…Like ‘I love’…’I want’ and ‘I need’ to name a few.

With his machine he even learned some manners…like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ too.

When I explained over the phone how well Chris was doing with his machine

his parents had a skeptical reaction…

So I invited them to come to school and see their boy in action.

Before they came I asked them to send in pictures of themselves…I wanted to program his pad

thinking it would be great, when they came in, if he said ‘hello’ to Mom and Dad.

Such is the nature of teaching…you never quite know what your students are going to do…

When his parents came in…he did say ‘Hello, Mom and Dad!’ 

Then added, completely on his own…‘I love you’ too.

Immediately his mom began to cry…her husband caught her as she dropped down to one knee

and when her tearful eyes met mine she said, ‘I never dreamed he’d say those words to me!”

The next time I met with his parents…his mom said to me with the biggest smile…

“He uses his machine to talk so much…sometimes we ask him to be quiet for a while.”

I think that’s why I’m a believer in saying ‘I love you’ as often as we can…

with our neighbors…with our friends…with our family…

whenever we are near them…

Knowing, when it came to those three words, 

it took Chris’s mom 16 years to hear them.