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2TheHeart Poetry Contest Winners and Prizes:
1st Place - $50, a 2TheHeart "Fun Pack" (T-Shirt, mug, bumper sticker and 2TheHeart candy bar), "2006 Poet's Market" book, award certificate, and publication on 2TheHeart.com. Awarded to.... KATHY NORRIS - "Still Missed"
2nd Place - 2TheHeart "fun pack", award certificate and publication on 2TheHeart.com. Awarded to...MARY-ELLEN GRISHAM - "Glimpses"
3rd Place - 2TheHeart T-Shirt, award certificate and publication on 2TheHeart.com. Awarded to...BONNIE CHURCH - "Brushed Serenity"
FINALISTS receive 2TheHeart bumper stickers and publication on 2TheHeart.com. Awarded to...
ROBERT WHITE - "Death of a Marriage", SHARON BRYANT - "Today", SUSAN STEVENS - "The Secret Room", SUSAN STEVENS - "The Special Angel", MARIE WILLIAMS - "Touched By The Master", KATHY NORRIS - "First Born", HOLLY SMELTZER - "Guiding Light", CORA CAMPBELL - "Homeless Soul"
HONORABLE MENTIONS will receive publication on 2TheHeart.com (this page). Awarded to...
ROBERT WHITE - "Living", SUSAN STEVENS - "Rainbows", MARIE WILLIAMS, "Old Barn", MARIE WILLIAMS - "Autumn Beauty", GINGER BODA - "Baby's Day Out", MARGARET DRYSDALE - "Winter Journey", NELL BERRY - "God's Goodness", KATHY NORRIS - "Grandma", KATHY NORRIS - "Someone In You", PAMY BLAINE - "There Is A Song That Must Be Sung"
First Place:
Still Missed
Kathy Norris
norrik52@yahoo.comI hugged her and said, "I love you",
She had received bad news that day.
The dreaded word called "cancer"
Would steal her life away.
I said, "Mamma, My life will be so empty,
I'll grieve and cry for you.
I had to give up Daddy,
I just can't live without you, too."
She didn't seem too bothered,
It was just another day.
I couldn't understand it.
How could she feel this way?
She said, "I know you'll miss me,
But don't grieve and cry for me.
My body will be all new again,
'Cause I'll be cancer-free."
She said, "My home will be in Heaven,
And I'll be in no more pain.
I'll always be watching over you, and...
Someday we'll be together again."
"I don't want to leave my family,
Oh how I've loved you so.
But the Lord has been speaking to me,
And I know it's my time to go."
And then one day it happened,
Her journey on earth was done.
She dressed up in her brand new body,
And put on the crown she'd won!
She was a precious mamma,
Loved more than words can say.
Many years have passed by now...
But I still miss her every day.
_____________________
Second Place:
Glimpses
Mary-Ellen Grisham
I remember the hands that soothed and held
open demonstrations of tough love
soft, supple fingers, smooth palms
so young and capable, holding tight
as I toddled, at my waist for assurance
in early photographs, healing cuts
and inner wounds with gentle caress,
ironing stiff white shirts, scrubbing floors,
pushing the white wood swing,
white hands, sensitive with care
Busy hands, through middle years
of work and family crisis
willing extensions of God's love
roughed with water and chores,
mature and efficient, sewing clothes,
heavy cleaning, volunteering,
aiding the elderly, family care,
fluttering quickly to hold my brother,
secure in his car seat, motions of
concern, the Master's touch,
busy hands, sensitive with care
Aged hands, gentle with service
blue-veined and lined
but ceaselessly soft and caring
pointing urgent messages,
twiddling thumbs, trembling fingers
still capable of cookie making,
simple sewing, and holding tight
ministrations to grandbabies
and aged friends, reaching out
to all in need, firm in action
aged hands, sensitive with care
Hands in final repose, treasures bestowed,
final dispensations complete,
the wrinkling, gnarled fingers gentle and strong,
a fruition of life well lived, a prayer for ongoing,
no jewels save the symbol of faithful marriage,
zirconium imitation, for the final pose,
granted willingly to the workman
in search of compensation,
the Savior's hand, a deathless treasure
they could not take as He led her home,
loved ones waiting, reunions of joy,
heavenly duties, nurseries for cherubs,
saintly hands, translucent and lovely
sensitive with care
_______________________
Third Place:
Brushed Serenity
Bonnie S. Church
The background of Your easel
Is the blue September skies,
You brush the dayshine lightly,
A feast for hungry eyes;
The foreground is a sheltered pond,
It's water in quiet repose,
The reeds and cattails unmoving,
A most peaceful scene You propose;
Leaves on trees in their final days,
Glow red and burnished gold,
Resplendent as they near the end,
Of a season not yet old;
Doves fly over still waters,
With angels, just barely seen,
Strokes You have brushed so gently,
To bring us a little serene.
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Death of a Marriage
Robert White
poeticrob@hotmail.com
Two torn souls jagged and ragged
Each to their corners drawn.
A ringside viewing a battle brewing
With hope bereft, forlorn.
Two sworn vows, iced frigid omens
Embattled, embittered, worn .
Aside vain trials, a lawless summons
An ending, to be born.
Youth's mourned voice, distant and stranger
Lamenting what ceremony adorned.
A voyage begun, ever in danger
Casted adrift, storm-torn.
Two sawn souls, aggrieved and grieving,
Each to their endings foregone.
No more a cleaving, now a leaving
A deadly severance shorn.
_____________________________
Guiding Light
Holly Smeltzer
blues@tru.eastlink.ca
God knows your situation
and the pain you feel inside
He grieves to see your heartache
and the tears that you have cried.
Just like the lighthouse lights the way
for ships tossed to and fro
God wants to be your guiding light
to show you where to go.
Determine now to look to Him
Let His light be your guide
He'll shine His light unto your path
and all your needs provide.
In Jeremiah, in God's book
Tis written there for you
His promise for peace and hope
- it's for your future too.
So take a deep breath, calm yourself
and rest your weary soul
His light it shines both day and night
He'll giude you as you go.
__________________________
TODAY
Sharon Bryant
Today I shall have heart tugs
As each year I always do
Today I will remember
When your life on earth was through
Today I will remember
The years that we had
And think of you my child
Even though it makes me sad
Today I will never forget
As each day I never do
How much my heart aches
Loving and missing you
Today I'll light the candle
For peace in my heart
And remember my angel
When death made us part
But today my child
I'll smile through my tears
And always wish God had given me and you
Just a few more earthly years
Today my child
Tomorrow too
A century from today
I'll never stop loving you
For my Angel Andy Dunbar
Mom
Sharon Bryant
IN MEMORY
of
ANDREW (Andy) Frank Dunbar
January 22, 1972 - October 24, 1977
____________________________
The Secret Room
Susan Stevens
There was a very secret room buried deep within my heart.
The key I kept well hidden so my world wouldn't fall apart.
Within it's dark and musty walls were a hundred different fears,
Discarded painful memories and a million unshed tears.
Cobwebs covered many failures, and anger I tried hard to hide.
Things the world would never see I kept boarded up inside.
Then I opened my heart to Jesus and He came to live within.
He began to change my heart and clear away my sin.
But, every time he tried to see that room behind the door,
I'd clutch the key more tightly than I ever had before.
I thought that He would leave if He knew the "real" me.
So, I put up more barriers, that room He'd never see.
He never did demand much, just that I give it all to Him.
He'd make it bright and new inside, instead of secret, dark and dim.
I finally looked into His eyes and saw how much He cared for me.
I then held out a trembling hand, and offered Him the key.
______________________
Homeless Soul
Cora Campbell
clc1@mts.net
I see you walking down the street.
Stumbling along on frozen feet
Layers upon layers to try and keep warm
Anything to keep out winter's raging storm
I think to myself, where have you come from
What brings you to this lifestyle so glum?
Is your spirit so broken as to not be found?
Must your bed remain the cold hard ground?
Your vacant eyes begin to haunt.
But I don't believe its pity you want.
An understanding of the person, the one inside
The one from the world you are trying to hide.
What have you endured to lead you this way?
Is today worse than any other day?
What caused you to give up on normal life?
Was it so full of conflict and strife?
Has time become an enemy to your soul?
Is there nothing left to fill the hole?
Has the world gone and lost your trust?
Have we given up on you? Or you on us?
______________________
The Special Angel
Susan Stevens
One day God called together all the angels in the sky.
He said, "I have a mission that one of you must fly.
It's going to take a special angel with sweet and tender song.
The trip is quite important, though it won't be very long.
Someone needs to know I love them, and that my love is true."
He turned to the smallest angel and said, "I'm sending you."
Then the smallest angel up in Heaven came down to live on earth.
The journey was accomplished through the miracle of birth.
She arrived very tiny and, boy, how she could cry.
But, during very quiet times there was a sparkle in her eye.
She set out to do her duty the first thing that day.
She began touching those around her in a very special way.
Each day she brought gentle beauty, innocence and love,
courage, caring, sharing, and peace sent only from above.
Then one day God said to her, "Your mission here is through.
It's time to come back home to Me, for Heaven needs you, too."
Thank you, Lord, for the little angel You allowed us to know
You didn't let us have her long, but we loved her so.
Even though some tears may fall, because we had to say good-bye,
We know she's in Your loving care, and the apple of Your eye.
______________________________
Touched By The Master
Marie Williams
I saw the darkest side of life,
With all its pain and sorrow.
Bowed beneath the heavy load,
My soul ached for the morrow.
Tossed about from wind and sea,
Turmoil gripped my sinful soul.
I longed for just one day of peace,
Freedom from the darkest hole.
With many tears and sleepless nights,
Held captive in harsh chains,
Controlled by Satan's evil lies,
My life, he had obtained.
Then the Master sought me out;
And touched my weary heart.
A miracle of love and grace,
To me, He did impart.
My soul forever magnifies,
The Master of the sea.
He calmed the waters deep within,
And then He set me free.
_____________________________
First Born
Kathy Norris
norrik52@yahoo.comOne day.... God decided the time had come, To send a blessing my way, So He searched over Heaven, 'til He found the right one... And started forming it that day. With His hands, he began to mold, A tiny little girl, Little did I know it then... But she would change my world! He carefully formed her big blue eyes, Then her mouth, her ears, her nose, With loving care He formed each part, From her head down to her toes! Then He brought her down from Heaven, All cradled in His arms, He placed her in my "secret" place. Safe and warm, away from harm. Just imagine! He brought this tiny angel, Already painted with a smile! He said, "She'll always belong to me, But, I'll loan her to you for awhile." "So remember, you must teach her, Of heavenly things above, She'll need to learn so many things, The most important is LOVE." "She will learn all things by watching, How you live and what you do, So, you must set a good example, Every day she's there with you." "And you must tell her she's a blessing, Sent down from Heaven above, And that I brought her to you, Because I knew... She'd be specially loved!"
____________________________
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Honorable Mentions
Autumn Beauty
Marie Williams
Wondrous beauty beckons you,
Lift eyes t'ward Heaven's brilliant blues,
Mountains regally draped with snow,
View golden hues of trees below.
Watch in silence, grazing deer,
As one lone buck guards very near.
A watchful eye keeps senses keen,
Guarding precious harem queen.
Babbling brooks sing their refrain,
From early morning's seasonal rains.
Yet the deer pants for reprieve,
From midday warmth, they seek relief.
Soon fall will fade to winter browns,
Snow-white fields shall soon be found.
See glistening crystals formed on trees,
Love offering from my Lord, to thee.
Four seasons offered from our Lord.
Bring joy to hearts in one accord,
All knowing God, How could it be?
You caress the earth exquisitely.
_______________
Living
Robert J White
I want to climb the highest heights
To soar and glide where eagle and hawk do rove
To look afar at far and distant shores
And beyond the looking .
To feel and hear the ocean's roar.
Yearnings come from inmost planted seeds
Encased in soils too deep to gaze within.
A heart of flesh bleeds unfettered fertile breeds...
?Free me! Let me be who I am and who I know I've seen'.
What is this cue that calls so much from such a place?
Is this not enough that a world of trial, sorrow and pain
Brings about a caution, a care about the end.
So man so much as covers himself,
Seeking not to be exposed .
Naked, standing out all alone.
On the cliff face, I peer upwards and out.
No backward glances or steps,
I breathe again, taking breath to draw in
Air so pure, so clean. And~~
Fresh~~
Driven landwards by the mighty winds.
No looking back, I plunder the fancy spoils
Which many miss for they are hidden, hidden away.
And yet there are those kindred kind who share my sight.
Lonesomeness need not be my plight.
Look, eyes of my soul. Look!
Over there . beyond the faint horizion
Where Sky and Earth do meet. Look!
What say you, my soul?
Is this not the time to launch and step right out?
Keep your eye upon God's Light from the other shore.
Listen for His Voice,
Attend to His Word,
Hearken His Spirit .
For He speaks to the depths within .
And there within I find that piece
I puzzled so long in looking for.
Life is found in the blessing of the living,
The joys new found in open giving,
And the freedom which comes to those forgiving .
How I fly and soar above the Earth.
Following eagle and hawk as their airstreams float closeby.
I gaze about to seek the hidden Springs
And follow them past river and stream and falls
Past sounds where seas and oceans call.
To a place where solace and rest are there, for all.
And I find life all the more in .
Living.
_______________________________
Old Barn
Marie Williams
Bleached by summer sunshine,
Bearing bitter winter storms,
Stands an old decrepit barn,
Straining to hold her form.
Secrets of a past,
Unfold before my eyes,
As visions of her history,
Draw from me a sigh.
I ponder of the likeness,
Of this body and the barn.
Both weathered just a bit,
From lives lived on the farm.
The sun has tanned this flesh.
My eyes have somewhat dimmed.
On my lap I still hold children,
With these slight, unsteady limbs.
When this frame has fallen,
I'll leave it all behind,
In hopes that a few treasures,
Someone else will surely find.
________________________
Baby's Day Out
Ginger Boda
Frustration and anxiety mix with twinges of past-due pains.
Diapers washed, painting done, stuffed toys all in place.
Classes ended, lots of practice, learn to pant and breathe,
Clothes fit tighter, thoughts of wonder; "Will I ever see my feet?"
So much time to worry and wait, "Be healthy, Little One."
"You sure know how to rock 'n roll . You're cramped and overdone!"
Pass the time, pack and plan, but labor has begun.
Soon enough we'll meet you . can't wait for you to come!
Two am: You're wide-awake and goodness, Mommy leaks,
Butterflies and labor pains with just one hour sleep.
Four am: We're on the road and Daddy knows the way,
The family comes to bring support, and yes, today's the DAY!
One minute apart, dilated to three; time is passing so slow,
Dear little baby, please come out...more contractions, OH NO!
"Relax," the Doctor says to me, "you've got a job to do!"
The hours drag and poor OLE Dad rubs my back 'til two.
"Honey, stay. No, leave me alone. Help me now to breathe.
I can't look at you. Go away! No, please don't ever leave!"
Now it seems unbearable, but soon it'll all be over,
And holding my precious gift, I'll remember the pain no more.
For God does give us children, to bear in pain, each one,
"A heritage from the Lord," says He, to guide and teach and love.
Well the time is now, you're ready...posterior and overdue,
Daddy leaves for just a sec, as Mom is numbed for you.
Finally, only pressure, but those forceps, large and cold,
Gently lead you safe and sound and I cry, "Praise the LORD!"
Your Father's face lights up the room, "Look at my baby boy",
"Son, I am your Daddy, and you are your Mama's joy!"
Seven pounds, five ounces, just twenty inches long,
You're tiny and dependent, yet so perfect, alert and strong!
Tears of happiness, sighs of relief .a magical memory made,
We are complete . a family, and Son, today's YOUR Day!
______________________
Winter Journey
Margaret Drysdale
margaret@stcolumba.wanadoo.co.uk
Blow wind - blow, and drift the snow
Sky - stay full and hide the glow
Sunrise - dwindle, hide and go
Don't disturb the wintry show.
Hedgerows decorate the verge
Thorny brambles cling and surge
Every point outlined in white
Silhouette against the light.
Here's a canopy of trees
Branches still, unmoved by breeze
All is leaden, white and still
Silent underneath the hill.
Every tussock, path is filled
No birds sing, their cries are stilled
Huddled in the nest, until
They seek food, a crumb on sill.
Stately trees stand forth and show
Just which way the blizzards blow
Pale their trunks and grey the scene
Laced with white instead of green.
Beautiful and still the sight
Driving through a winter night
The road a ribbon, grey and cold
Folds about the pastured wold
Around a Christmas cake of fields
Whose royal icing surges, yields
A quiet countryside of white
A peaceful, tranquil, lovely sight.
_________________________
God's Goodness
Nell M. Berry
nmberry@mcmsys.com
I often reflect on God's wondrous works;
His creation, His love and His grace.
My heart longs to see Him and bow at His feet,
and look on His wonderful face.
His beauty lies not in His image,
oh no, the beauty I see goes much deeper.
Though there's beauty in His dear face,
His mercy is so much sweeter.
The beauty we see all around us,
is a reflection of His love for mankind.
He gave us rainbows, sunshine and flowers,
in Creation His beauty we find.
The face of a tiny baby,
It's laughter is music to me.
God gave us His love and compassion
the depth of His goodness to see.
__________________________
Grandma
Kathy Norris
norrik52@yahoo.com
Grandma just sits in her rocker,
Sleeping her days away,
When she closes her eyes, she wanders back,
To sweet memories of better days...
She thinks about her many children,
And her love for each of them,
She mourns the loss of a husband,
Perhaps longing to be with him.
She's so thankful for her family,
And when she bows her head to pray,
She asks the Lord to protect them,
And watch over them every day.
She remembers when she was able,
To work hard, doing household chores,
Tending to all those babies,
Washing, cooking, and scrubbing floors.
She was always working in her garden,
Or in the fields each day,
Working alongside her husband,
Just being of help, in any way.
Where there was a need, she was always there,
Doing whatever she could,
She even helped with the grandkids,
And tried to teach them to always be good.
And she wonders...
Where are they now when she needs them?
All too busy on their way...
Just don't seem to have the time,
To stop by to see her today.
How soon they forget that life to her,
Is wrapped around F-A-M-I-L-Y,
And tied with strings straight to her heart,
For everyone to see...
________________________
There is a Song That Must Be Sung
Pamela Blaine
pamyblaine@blaines.us
There is a song that must be sung
I feel it deep within
I almost hear it's haunting tune
Then it eludes me once again
I close my eyes and whisper words
To my Father up above
I know that he will answer me
Because His name is love
What is my reason for being,
What is my special song?
I know I have a purpose here
For life is never wrong
What is the song that I must sing
Is it costly to afford?
I bow so humbly on my knees saying,
Show me Thy way oh Lord!
_________________________
Someone in You
Kathy Norris
norrik52@yahoo.com
As I look into your eyes,
Of brown, or green, or blue.
Is there a peace within your soul?
I'm looking for Someone in you.
As I listen to you speak
Is it false or true?
Do you practice what you preach?
I'm looking for Someone in you.
As I search into your heart,
Is it clean, and made all new?
Are you what you say you are?
I'm looking for Someone in you.
As your feet grow tired and weary,
How do you make it through?
Do you stay strong and carry on?
I'm looking for Someone in you.
Are you willing to help others,
When they don't even have a clue?
Will you help them through their trials?
I'm looking for Someone in you.
As I'm with you day by day,
Be sure...
I'm watching what you do!
There's Someone that I'm looking for,
I'm looking for Jesus, that's who!
I pray that He abides within you,
That He's made your life brand new!
That you'll be His faithful witness,
And others can see Jesus in you!
__________________________
Rainbows
Susan Stevens
summr@email.msn.com
In our lives are many rainbows,
every color, every hue,
Left behind by storm clouds,
and darkness we've been through
many times the winds have howled,
and rains have been unkind.
They pound at tender hearts,
and batter confused minds.
Just when we think we're losing,
and tears will always fill our eyes,
The "Son" shines through our darkness,
and rainbows fill our skies.
___________________________
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