Author Archives: wfosterwelborn

Seeking and Learning

To those seeking and learning:

Bravo! All my sincere encouragement.

Keep going!

 

To those who have learned and know:

Congratulations! It’s yours to keep forever!

 

To those who have always intrinsically known:

Blessings upon you ten-fold!

 

Put your best foot forward.

Even if nothing else happens,

You would have taken a step in the right direction!

Ship

A ship is safe inside the harbor,

But that isn’t what ships are designed for.

Friends

Friends are like two-way radios —

They send, I receive —

I send, they receive.

We are tuned to the same frequency or wave length

in the philosophy of Life.

Dream

A man without a dream

is like a ship without a sail.

Bethlehem

This poem comes from Autumn Leaves:

 

Oh, so still is the night,

Peaceful, yet hushed in quiet,

And bathed in a single star’s light,

Oh, Bethlehem!

 

Time gives a greater Light birth

That will shine throughout the Earth,

Though hosting this event — not by whim,

Remembered forever, Bethlehem!

 

Time does not stand still for man,

Endless hourglass measures sand,

Remembering again David’s stem,

Born in you, Bethlehem.

 

Many years ago and far away,

We still celebrate that day,

A Light that darkness cannot dim…

A Savior born in you, Oh, Bethlehem.

Jerusalem

This poem comes from Autumn Leaves:

 

She sits on a battle-scarred hill,

Standing quietly like a lone sentinel,

Waiting through clear, starlit nights

For history to turn yet another page.

 

Resting against an ancient olive tree,

From Gethsemane, I gaze across the valley.

She looks like a dull jewel

In desperate need of a good polishing.

 

War, tears, bloodshed and misery

Have been seen often by her.

She wears them like every day apparel.

Peace is not found within her walls.

 

Yet it’s written that a child was born

In a village known as Bethlehem

That’s just south of where I rest,

Just as the prophecy foretold.

 

Born in the bloodline of David,

Root and stem of Jesse,

Born to die, yet live again

And live forevermore. Amen!

 

His house was over there

Across the little valley.

All that’s left of it now

Is the Wailing Wall.

 

The mind boggles at the battles fought,

At the endless bloodshed,

The lives and dramas played out

And history that touches lives untold.

 

Here on this dry,

Barren landscape…

Where water and not gold

Molds the lives of the people.

 

The bride to be

Patiently awaits her groom

To dazzle the whole world

On her wedding day.

 

Simple Man’s Prayer

This poem comes from Autumn Leaves:

 

High-tech world of fast food, fast cars,

And I, a simple man,

Have a “Rock” to lean on,

And He will understand.

 

This hectic pace I’ll leave behind,

To search out a secret place.

There I’ll tell it on the mountain

As I seek His saving grace.

 

I’ll not ask for riches,

Not even a touch of glory.

He knows I’m a simple man —

My life’s an open story.

 

I’ll ask him to send some sunshine,

Just one tiny ray,

To pierce the dark of ignorance,

Chasing the clouds away.

 

Next, I’ll thank Him for our birthright —

This great, wonderful land.

There’s much more that could be said,

But then, I’m a simple man.

 

I’ll thank him for listening,

For letting me have my say.

In closing, I’ll praise His precious name,

And lastly, I’ll wish Him a happy day.

Timeless

This poem is in Autumn Leaves:

 

Peace be with you,

My thoughts unwind,

But…I knew you elsewhere,

From a distant time.

 

Though it seems but yesterday,

Still it’s been a long, long while,

Something hauntingly familiar,

My thoughts beguile.

 

Memories sometimes lapse,

But time cannot disguise,

I believe it was your smile,

Not your laughing eyes.

 

No words spoken here,

Nor lofty man-made towers.

Simple use of thought exchange —

No clock to chime the hours.

 

Corridors of time are hazy.

Dust covers her ancient fold.

Recollections thwart and tease

In this timeless mold.

 

Pardon my intrusion

Into your hallowed space.

Forgive my poor conclusion,

But…I never forgot your face.

 

Timeless memories the past can blur,

Yet never to erase

Our footprints o’er paths we walked,

Another time…another place.

 

Thoughts we shared, flowers touched,

As we made our way.

Soft words exchanged, feelings passed,

Fragrance lingering where we lay.

 

Enraptured by you still,

Forever I’ll repose.

Would you linger her a while,

My spiritual, timeless rose?

 

DSC_9717

 

 

U.S.S. ARIZONA

After standing on the decks of the memorial for the U.S.S. Arizona,

I wrote this poem to honor our fallen comrades on the

50th Anniversary of that day, December 7, 1991.

It is included in my book, Autumn Leaves.

 

We came to pay you tribute,

O’er encrusted decks we stood.

And because you are deserving,

We rendered as we could.

 

Oil seeps up to surface light,

Rainbowed tears of those below,

Doomed forever to silence

Those many long years ago.

 

“Forget me not,” you whisper.

“Perish the thought,” say I.

“Though you sleep beneath the sea,

Your memory shall not die!”

 

“Remember Pearl! Remember Pearl!”

Soon became our national cry.

Our country rose in anger

On a vengeance trail to fly.

 

We shed our tears; we shed our blood.

War took an awesome toll.

Still we fought on to victory

While you topped our “Honor Roll.”

 

So rest in peace, fellow comrades,

The victory has been won.

We’ll not forget the price you paid

Seven December, Nineteen Forty-One.

USS Arizona USS Arizona0001 USS Arizona0002

Note: Oil still seeps out of the hull of the U.S.S. Arizona, creating rainbows on the water above it.

I Am

This poem comes from Autumn Leaves:

 

That which refreshes my soul.

That which renews my life.

That which gives life meaning.

That which gives purpose to existence.

 

That which gives center, balance,

Quietly directing our pathways.

That which our consciousness innately

Understands is right or wrong.

 

That which is beautiful from any angle,

In any light, from any distance.

That which cannot be changed, disfigured,

Or transformed into anything but beautiful.

 

That which is true to life forever.

That which lives in truth throughout eternity.

That which brings peaceful serenity

As it strips away falsehoods by knowledge.

 

That which makes the unique, alone,

Thrills us, yet challenges us onward.

That in us which cannot be denied

But accepted and exalted in reverence.

 

The I AM of the Universe, Father of Lights,

The Alpha and Omega, first and last,

Which lived, died, yet lives again forevermore.

That is what we recognize in ourselves! HIM!

 

Glorify His Name in all places, at all times

That your days may be long, your peace steady.

Praise Him in all things, for all blessings.

Place your feet upon the path and follow HIM!