Dave's Empty Chair

I stand there....looking at the empty chair.
He  was silenced too soon, 
 
I look out to faces,
                                 friends..
people  I love.    Can I sing? How can I even see through the tears?  How can  the music go on?
I stand there looking at the empty chair.....
And I sing.

Singing  about God's love. 
I believe.
                 even when God is silent.

He believed. 
                      He believed in God.
He believed in hope. 
He believed in love. 
He believed  in a  God
               that loved all His children
                      no matter who they loved.

I will forever miss his humor. I will  forever be filled  with memories and the comfort in my soul of knowing my life is changed because I knew Dave.

I stand there....
              looking at the empty chair.
Tears will dry but I am certain his smile will remain on our hearts.

Yes I will sing...  because in singing God's love 
                 .....his song goes on.
           

 

 

I LOVE A REDBIRD                  by Stephen J. Jeffries

 

I still feel full of wonder,

       when I see a redbird.

Nestled in a tree branch

       fitting like a glove.

I pause to  ask the question.

Did God's love seed the tree branch

        for nesting tiny birds.

Or if God grew the birds

       all dress in hue and color

to orniment the  tree.

I still feel the wonder,

      when I see a child of God

Stepping in the world

so full of urge and beauty.

I pause to ask the question.

Did God's love design the children

to occupy the world.

Or did God shape the earth

as home and substance

for the children of design.

Winged Bird

                                  Winged Bird                              Stephen J. Jeffries

                        Oh to be a winged bird,
                                 flying free above God's land.
               
                           Soaring just beneath the clouds
                                  sculpted with God's mighty hand.

                            Mountains high,
                                                       Valleys low!

                             Singing songs of praise and love,
                                      flying free above God's land.

                             Oh to be a winged bird
                                     flying to the angel's home.

                              Trees reach up,
                                                          clouds rain down
                               on the beauty we call earth.
                               
                                Oh to be a winged bird,
                                        flying free above God's land.

                                Nested in a tall oak tree.
                                surrounded by the awe and splendor
                                                                   of God's earth community.


                                Oh to be a winged bird
                                                flying free above God's land.

                               

For Ken

In life, aged and full
                 friendship is privileged and scarce. 
If real and true it will be lasting,
         beyond the grave,
               beyond the soft simmering sunsets,
the heart holds it like a treasure
                            more valuable than gold.

Heaven gives us hope of reunion,
                But  Friendship doesn't need reunion,
Friendship never leaves the heart or soul,
                               never passes to the grave but
stays inside the memories and goodness
                      left on my brow like a piece of art
or architecture, brilliant in color and form
                               filling my soul with warmth.
I grieve.
My tears say good by,. 
But my sadness is mostly for me
              because the loss of your grin and smile
seems beyond the limits of my existence.

Dear friend, I celebrate your fresh
and honest love
                   shared and cultivated.
I could never let you go,
But as you move forward, free from pain,
I bid my love and friendship .
I walk taller
         and love stronger and smile wider
                                                 because you are.

Phu Cat AB 1970..July 4th

It 1970 on the fourth of July 1970. I was station at Phu Cat Air Base in the middle of a terrible war. I was proud to be an Air Force administrative assistant. Pretty safe except for an occasional bomb that came across our well protected perimeter. It was a holiday so our food was abundant, almost to the point of embarrassment , when there were so many hungry people out side out gates. My friends and I were walking up the pitch dark dirt path as we began to realize it was the Fourth Of July. We were all used to the annual fireworks display. We were almost happy that our evening was free of bombs and explosions. Thst precisely at midnight we saw a flair go up at the perimeter gate. Than another than another. Before long the flairs formed a complete circle around our base. It was the security police who were faithful in keeping us safe that were stationed around the perremiter. It brought tears to my eyes and reminded me that we were being protected by some pretty brave men. It seemed this is whst freedom and the celebration of the fourth of July is all about. To this day when I see spectacular firework displays, I can't help but remember this night in the middle of a war and how blessed we as a nation are. [ ]

My Irish Friend

Patrick

I sat alone on the old wooden swing,

caressed by the autumn breeze as it  washed across my face.

It feels empty now without 

 the sturdy shoulder

                                                 relaxed beside me

                               of the man I now call friend.
It was Viet Nam that brought our lives together,
                             but it was our  hearts that made us friends.

Patrick was an Irishman,

                              who came  to war to see the world

                                                    and he did.

He saw the anguish of war

                                but he soon looked past the pain

and saw the children of war....

              and love came in the form of tiny hands and feet

and eyes , the depth of which would sear a hole in Patrick's heart.

 These orphans of Viet Nam, held close and sheltered by

the Sisters and Soldiers,

                                not hungry,

not left alone to fend for them selves.

They knew love,  They knew joy

and play as if the world around them

                would one day be free from rockets and bullets.

Patrick became a father, brother , friend to the Children of war.

He stood with them.  He taught them and sometimes

looking past the frightful fear of war...just held them.

He balanced duty to the American cause,

                                                  a duty of choice not birth,

with compassion and love for the Children of war.

We met in a horrible war,

                     but because of Patrick I will forever be changed.

He shared the children of war and I became a better person.

He unleashed a compassionate heart

                                              and took me to a place.

a place of peace in a world of fear and uncertainty.

It became a time to pour out feelings

and  surround those loving children

                             with our arms and our heart

and give the gift of feeling wanted in a world filled with

 rage and useless  battles and struggles to exist.

I came home.

Home to wife and child and began my life.

But the thought of war would soon return and the haunting of

those children's hungry eyes filled my soul.

In silence, I cried.

In silence, I feared their unknown being.

Battles end but mothers and fathers remain absent to these

            Holy Children of War.

My only hope was that God would lift them to the sky

               and bless them and make them

 The children of love.

I lost Patrick, or Paddy they called him.  Lost him as the war

ended for me.

But the burden of memory called me to search him out.

I found Patrick.

Not broken by the weight  of war

but living and loving and moving on in his father's homeland.

Home found him, and soon so did wife and child

                                                   and love healed his heart.

Little did I ever hope or dream that in finding this Irishman,

            cultures and experience a million miles apart,

Our souls would touch

                 and we would become more than friends,

more than brothers,

                 more in life than we deserve from God.

Soul friends are not ordinary,

                     they can not be defined.

Words can not explain.......only feelings of the heart.

Soul friends have no logic or reason.

                                                         They just are.

So now I set alone in my wooden swing and I celebrate.

One day....maybe just for a moment in time,

                        our hearts will touch again

and the conversation that we did not complete on

that Indiana summer day in the old wooden swing,

                                                                        will continue

and God will say

                                     Amen. 

My Irish Friend

                           

 I sat alone on the old wooden swing,

feeling the autumn breeze wash across my face.

It feels empty now without  the sturdy shoulder

relaxed beside me
                                of the man I now call friend.

We met in a war,...... but still it was a joyous time.

A time to pour your feelings out
and surround those loving children
                                                with your arms and your heart

and give a  moment of feeling wanted 
                                                          in a world filled with fear

and useless  raging  battles and  struggles to exist.

These orphans of Viet Nam held close and sheltered by

the Sisters and the soldiers,
                                            not hungry,         
not left along to fend for themselves.
They knew love,                    they new joy
and play and lived  as if the world around them

                        would someday be free of rockets and bullets .

Patrick was an Irishman,
                                    who came to war to see the world.

                                                                                  and he did.
He saw the anguish of war
                                               but he looked past the pain and

saw the children 
                             and fell in love with faces
                                                                       and tiny hands.
Patrick became a father, a brother, a friend
                                                                  to the children of war.
He stood with them,  he taught them and sometimes looking past the frightful fear for his own safety...just held them .
He balanced duty to an American cause,
a duty of choice not birth, with compassion and love for the Children of war.

Because of Patrick, I will forever be changed.
He shared the children of war and I became a better person.
He unlocked a compassionate heart
                                                              and took me to
place of peace in a place of fear and war.

I came home.
Home to wife and child and began my life.
But the fear of war would soon return and the haunting of the children's hungry  eyes filled my soul.
In silence, I cried. 
In silence, I  feared their unknown being.
War may end but mothers and fathers remain absent to these
Holy Children of War.
My only hope was that God would lift them to the sky
                                                    and bless them and make them 
 The Children of Love.


I lost Patrick, or Paddy as they called him. Lost him as the war ended for me. 
But the burden of memory called me to search him out.
I found Patrick,
not broken by the pain of war
but living and loving and carrying on in his father's homeland.
Home found him, and soon so did wife and child
                                             and  time and love healed his heart.
 
Little did  I ever hope  or dream that in finding this Irishman,
                            cultures and experience a million miles apart,
Our souls would touch
                                   and we would  became more than friends, 
more than brothers,
                                         more in life that we deserve from God.

Soul friends aren't ordinary friends. 
                                                  They can not be defined.
Words can not explain......  Only feelings .

Soul friends have no logic or reason. 
                                                              They just are.
So now I set alone in my wooden swing and I celebrate that
one day,...... maybe just for a moment in time , our hearts will touch again
                 and the conversation that we did not complete on that Indiana summer day in that old wooden swing,
                                                                            will continue
 and God will say
                                            AMEN.