A friend who stressed the comfort these poems bring suggested I compile some of the best poems into a booklet to give to children’s hospitals and hospices (and how about veterans’ hospitals, too?) The idea, I think, was inspired. It’s perfect. I can see “Messages of Hope, Vol I” in my mind right now, sitting on a waiting room table, ready to comfort someone who’s hurting. I’ve begun a search for grant money for my step-daughter Susan’s foundation (Susan Marie Giesemann Foundation – a non-profit we established in her memory) to help in printing and distribution costs of the booklets (any ideas of how to make this happen are welcome).

Meanwhile, this morning I asked the Council of Poets for an appropriate poem for Vol I. I could barely write fast enough as they gave me Poem #165:

Oh, so sad
You see the little tears.
You want to make them stop.
Hip hop, little bunny, hip hop.
But no smile comes.
Where is God
In such a place as this?

Look under the covers.
See the tiny fingers.
Slender reminders
He is everywhere.
Even in a nail so frail.

The smile you give
Even when your heart is breaking
Is the pill.
Sweet medicine to cure a thousand ills.
Far better than pills.

Lunacy
To watch the pain.
Yet hope is not in vain.
Dry the tears.
Calm the fears.
God is there
Under the blanket.

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Do you want another? (Yes, of course I do…)

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Poem #166

Pain and sorrow come to all
Burdens you must bear.
Who is there
When troubles come?

Never do you walk alone.
No solo road do you wander.
The Spirit takes your hand.
You walk together ever yonder.

Do not fear what lies ahead.
It’s not for you to know.
Simply trust.

In your hand you hold a treasure…
Unseen wealth
Squeeze and feel the strength.
He will go to any length
Walking by your side
From His help you cannot hide
There can be no stealth.

You are not alone
As close as the phone…

Make the call.