Poetry
The Christmas Tree
I
stand
decorated
externally, only
outwardly putting
on the front of joy and
glory but underneath it all
I just want to be left alone
and lately, I feel artificial
but still, I stand there quietly
wearing your gaudy decorations
your flashing, cheerful lights and
hoping that I can be part of something
that might bring joy to your family
if
I
can
Immortality Suite
Glenn Miller is still the orchestra leader
Playing for the boys who didn't make it home.
Hank Williams has his own Honky Tonk
So he never has to find a place to roam.
The music didn't die that winter's night
When three stars joined them here,
Buddy, Ritchie and the Big Bopper
Are just working on their new career.
Lady Day still sings the blues
And 'taint Nobody's Business if she do,
Johnny Horton still tells us
All about the Battle of New Orleans, too.
Patsy Cline is still Crazy
And she always Falls to Pieces
When Gentleman Jim Reeves
Comes to sing of Moonlight and Roses.
Otis Redding never got to hear us all
Sitting on the Dock of the Bay,
But Judy Garland is Over the Rainbow
And we can see her there every day.
Hendrix, Joplin, and Morrison
All left at the age of twenty-seven.
But now they're jamming with Elvis
Jim Croce, and John Lennon. (Can you imagine?)
Bing Crosby is crooning at the 19th Hole
Of that heavenly driving range.
Bon Scott missed his exit on the Highway To Hell
And Keith Moon knew that the Music Must Change.
I heard it through the Grapevine
That Marvin Gaye will often bemuse
That John Belushi cracks him up
When he sings like Jake Blues.
Liberace still lights up a room.
Ricky Nelson is still a Travelin Man.
Andy Gibb is still Shadow Dancing
With Dave Prater, The Soul Man.
Del Shannon just Keeps Searchin'
While Sammy Davis is still soft-shoein'.
Stevie Ray's guitar is always wailin'
To Tom Fogerty's Bad Moon Risin'.
Kurt Cobain beckons Come as you are.
Freddie Mercury can still rock you.
Jerry Garcia is now truly Grateful,
While Selena is still Dreaming of You.
John Denver is flying higher every day,
Michael Hutchence is enjoying his New Sensation.
Papa John is still California Dreamin'.
Sonny's Beat Still Goes On every station.
Old Blue Eyes and the Velvet Fog have gone,
With Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney, alas.
I think George Harrison said it best
When he sang "This Too Shall Pass".
All of these musical legends and more
Now live in their Immortality Suite.
They come alive in my memories,
When I snap or tap my feet to a beat.
Man on the Moon
To want to reach for
The moon and stars?
What blind ambition
Makes us want to strive
The faraway beauty above?
What will we do
When we reach our goal
Of touching heaven?
Can a man ever be so bold
As to leave the heavens
Unblemished upon arrival?
To wish upon a star,
To land upon the moon,
And make them a home.
What gives him the right
To presume he can take
What shines so bright?
Some people say
We have already landed there
And that the stars are next.
Some people say
It was all a hoax
Who knows what we've done?
I once dreamed
Of touching the moon and stars
Only to find I'm still grounded.
Still bound by gravity
To stand alone and cast shadows
From their light above.
Should I wish upon the stars
What gives me the right
To reach heaven again?
To make one small step
For a man, one giant leap
For a lifetime.
Only one thing can be
Why the light shines down:
Love beckons us home.
Copyright © 2002 by Daniel Shaurette
The Weakest Link
From the finest of metal;
No alloy created by man
Can surpass its mettle.
For hearts so strong
They still need the strength
Of armor and chains
Of different length.
The bonds are fashioned
With perfect purity;
Built to withstand
Any type of calamity.
Then they are given to the wearer
As a cherished gift to think
That we will be protected
But for the weakest link.
There is always one
In every armor or chain,
The rest are only as strong
As the weakest link's strain.
For it carries the burden
Of all of our doubts,
All of our storms
And all of our droughts.
No matter the passion,
No matter the weather,
The weak link could break
Under the weight of a feather.
So it must strive
To be free of a chink,
Lest the chain breaks
At its weakest link.
Copyright © 2002 by Daniel Shaurette
WWJD
On the backs of all the cars
That cut me off as they rush
To get to the happy hour bars.
As they yell for us to repent
But are the scandals they get into
Also heaven-sent?
As the holidays draw near
But it's bloody video games they want
To get at the end of the year.
What Would Jesus Say
If He knew his name was used
As it is used today.
No pure nor Christian child
But I do not understand
How this world got so defiled.
Is the new marketing campaign
Used by people who know the world
Has gone absolutely insane.
That has ruined the celebration
Of the birth of a man that was to be
The hope of every nation.
What Would Jesus Say
If He knew his name was used
As it is used today.
I hope that God should not be feared;
I can't believe the zealots
Who claim that God has disappeared.
And I hope He loves us all
For when our time is over
I would hate to see their Kingdom fall.
When present buying takes its tolls
That they should instead think about Love
And what they can do to save their souls.
What Would Jesus Say
If He knew his name was used
As it is used today.
