To My Young People

 To my young people 

It’s going to get better

Some generations have to be stronger than others, it seems

Some generations as children had to contend with world wars

Instead of playing with toys

Now, the age of not feeling safe in your classrooms, 

No more carefree times at the mall…

Threats of climate change catastrophes

And/or the emergence or reemergence 

Of some dreaded disease

Has caused young years to be replaced

By seemingly unfair adult like tears

Due to unnatural occurrences 

That have given rise to faith destroying fears…

Don’t despair; it’s going to get better 

You ask me how I can say this

How do I know

I come telling you about my best Friend

Who my Momma introduced me to

A long time ago

If life has called upon your generation to be strong

Talk to GOD in prayer 

And watch Him turn your thoughts 

Away from despair

And deliver peace to you then and there.

Yes, like Joseph in the Bible and David, too

Your carefree days may be through

Because GOD’s next leader

Is somewhere among you.

But, I don’t want you to despair

Because this old soul who was once young like you

Can tell you, young folks 

Our great GOD, The CREATOR of this world

Loves you and will bring you through!

So, what am I asking you to do?

Keep loving, praying and trusting

In Him and you will see that

Just like He did to that old Covid Virus

He’ll wipe out your problems

And bring you right on through!

You ask me how I know

That’s easy enough

I started praying when I was just a kid

And now I stand a seasoned warrior 

Telling you about the miraculous things

That GOD, Our FATHER did!

So, keep praying or start

My sweet little innocent souls

And you will one day be like me

And brag on Him as He brings you through

And molds and holds you with tenderness 

As He allows your dreams to come true.

 

Without Ceasing

Before the advent of the Covid-19, I marked the year by the yearly or seasonal events that occurred within it. But the year 2020 will be marked by the epidemic, and so too will 2021. "How," you ask. Well, we have been told that the vaccination process will be in full swing by then and that the fears of Covid-19 will be a thing of the past. I look forward to that time, don't you?

The poem below is how I looked at a year according to seasonal happenings in a normal year. And below it, in green type, is a poem about the way I look at the advent of Spring in 2021.

Voracious Appetite

I was excited this year when Spring first arrived

Along with the usual signs of Spring

The songbirds, the robins and baby birds

With tiny voices filling the air with

Their wee-throated chirping

Oh, and lest I forget, there is that

Dreaded annual termite swarming.

That swarm is not something that

Any homeowner wants to ever see

Well, guess what folks, the homeowner

Who saw them this time happened to be me.

Was I happy to see the winged insects whose voracious

Appetite could damage or bring my home down around me

My answer to that needless query is a resounding, “No siree!”

Had to find capital for the depleted till

So that I could pay the exterminator’s bill!

Did I allow this latest sign of Spring

To take my Spring found joy away from me

No, not me, no, siree

Because when I looked out of my window

I found, with joy,  that the hummingbird family

Having made another pilgrimage back to me

Was flying around for all to see.

Now, you know I would not be me if I

Did not make an application to the Lord by

Using this poem that I just wrote to prod

Us onward in our quest to please our God

Would that we be like the termite and the hummingbird

And feed with relentlessness upon the Written Word

And share the news with our fellowman because it

Would be the best sharing that they had heard

Yes, siree!© (Chopping My Row)

 

Look at the last verse of this poem. You can see that the writer likens our sharing the goodness of God to, being prepared by being Bible well-read. This preparation allows us to be the vessel by which our acquaintances can be fed.

 

The Advent of Spring 2021

I am looking forward to 2021 and the advent of spring

And along with it, the eradication of COVID-19

For due to the vaccines, that virus will

No longer be around to be alarming

Though there will still be the annual termite swarming

And other signs of spring mentioned in the poem above

But there won’t be any COVID-19

Because GOD will have saved us because of HIS love.

Yes, the sweet little hummingbirds

Will be welcomed, as before

But there will be no COVID-19

To keep me inside of my home's door.

And just as the termites and hummingbirds

Seem to feed without ceasing

I, as a COVID-19 survivor, will

Offer prayers of thanksgiving

To GOD without ceasing!©

********

 

Walking by faith,

Alma L. Carr-Jones

 

A Message Written in the Eyes

Today is the 29th of November

And as far back as I can remember

This begins this season

Of strong anticipatory joy

As can be attested to by

The parents of every girl and boy.

Yet, the children of today have had

To eat a slice of wisdom‘s pie

Because they have had to look

The evidence of the COVID-19

Pandemic right in the eye.

They have had to learn what

Hoping and praying for a vaccine means

They have had to grow up fast

Though they, like everyone else, is

Longing for this pandemic to be past

So that they can live with

The carefree abandonment of youth again

Meeting with friends, shopping

And having fun...

Yet when you look into their young eyes

You will always be able to see

The evidence that they ate a slice

Of wisdom‘s "wizenedberry" pie

And learned from their slice

A deeper appreciation and love for

The GOD of heaven who answers prayer;

Yes, that is one of the things that you will

Find in the eyes of today’s youth

Should you take the time to look there.

And you and I both know that

Once you eat a slice of wisdom‘s pie,

There remains a faith that will

Be several generations strong

Because the impact of the telling of the story

Will last, at least, that long.

And what about you and me

When the world takes a good look at our eyes

What will be there for them to see

Will it be a renewed discovery of the

Importance and practice of family prayer

Along with a resilient faith and heartfelt joy

Oh may it ever be, fellowman, may it ever be!©

********

Walking by faith,

Alma L. Carr-Jones