Growth

When I was a child
in a small town
looking at the stars
in a darkened sky,
it excited me.
I didn’t know why.

As a young man
living on a farm,
I knew more about
those lights up there.
I expected it.
I didn’t think why.

When I moved to the city
I could never see the beauty
of those dots of light.
I knew they were there.
I didn’t care why.

Now that I am old
when I look to the sky
I see one or two dots of light.
I wonder why.

I know there are uncountable
planets, suns and galaxies,
an awe inspiring array,
more beautiful than I can imagine
I marvel why.

What minds human’s have
to see into space and pierce
the grandeur
of all the heavens above.

Of course there is no answer
it is a miracle to me.
It stops my heartbeat as I gaze
at those two little lights
knowing what is beyond
in the middle of the night. Paul J. Wolf 9/21/10

The Vagabond

The Vagabond

I am a vagabond spirit
knowing what I seek
traveling from place to place
desperately wanting peace.

My travels have sent me
where other spirits have not been
taking me from ecstasy
to the depths of despair
all in a youthful year.

My spirit followed a call to prayer
which ended after trying years,
and I was left
rudderless in an endless sea.

Then what seemed by chance
a course was given me
the work of helping others
guided my spirit through the waters
no longer lost, still searching for my peace.

Then I married, had a family
my spirit soared with worth
until illness took my wife
and left my spirit drifting in the sea.

So I floated, losing faith,
still wondering if my spirit would
find that special place
where peace could touch
my wandering spirit soul.

Again I was blessed with
my daughters love and my grandchild
I met another lady who
loved me and I loved her.
Yet I wandered still.

As I grew older and more unable
to live so many lives,
my spirit found the peace it sought
it was no special place.

I await the end
of my many journeys
treasuring all the turns
I took to find the peace
to satisfy my wandering soul.

Paul J. Wolf, 7/25/10

A Sunny Morning

When I wake up and there is sun,
things are bright throughout the house.
I feel like a gift has been given me
that particular day.

My thoughts are lively, my step is quick
my pains seem diminished,
the burdens dismissed
as I go about my daily tasks.

This doesn’t happen all the time
only when the sun does shine.

Paul J. Wolf, 7/5/10

Soul Search

I opened up my soul
to find the guts of it,
the thoughts and feelings
deep inside
its terrifying essence.

What I saw immediately
were memories of long ago,
shame and fear, but most of all
hurt from slights, rejections
from those I wished acceptance.

Then anger spread throughout my soul
like spores from some unearthly fungus
touching every part of me
pushing hate, energizing action.

Hate crawled in slowly
moving like a hunter
sneaking upon its prey
unseen until it kills.

I looked in horror
watching this unfold
seeing it as the damnation
of my sinful soul.

More memories poured out of me
of greed devouring my mind
focused on material
forgetting the spiritual.

Despair began to enter
as I cried out in my fear,
“there must be more to my soul
than what I see deep inside.”

Then memories of people
who loved me young and old
came forward in my soul.
Love evolved like a flower
blushing as it opens its petals.

Hope then entered slowly,
quietly calming my fear
ordering the memories
to focus on what is real to me.

Peace came to me quickly
when all this was seen,
I closed up my soul
to live with it.
It is everything I am.

Paul J. Wolf 5/20/10

It has been awhile

It has been awhile since I last entered poetry. I have been busy getting a children's book published on ebooks. The site is www.bobbiesebooks.com if you are interested. Look for Sissypus, the name of the story.

I have added a few poems I had written while doing this. Thank you all for being so patient with me.

Early Spring Outing

We took a walk one early spring day
when the crush of winter was sliding away,
me and my love down the village walk
enjoying the fresh air, each other’s talk.

Along the way we watched our steps
for doggie doo was in the way.
Slush covered areas of the concrete,
cars splashed it on us in the street,
it was enough to make us weep.

With all the dodging, being alert,
we sometimes had to step into the dirt,
which, of course, was gooey mud
covering our shoes, they were full of crud.

Still we got some exercise and fresh air
even though the odor wasn’t there
except for fumes from the exhaust
of those cars in the streets by us.

The snow so white at one time
was now black with sooty grime.
We came back home that lovely day
ready to be inside and stay.

Paul J. Wolf

Meditation

From my window on the fifth floor
while saying my morning prayer
I saw so many different sights
it flooded my thoughts with awe.

Across from me was a wood
filled with tall trees.
I felt the beauty of that site
the wonder of their growth
from a simple seed to such heights.

All around me was the proof
of man’s ingenuity.
An airplane flew overhead,
a train came roaring down the tracks,
cars were driven on the street
where factories stood by the side.

Above me was an endless sky
with galaxies I could not see
knowing from the books I read
how vast was space beyond
any imagined possibility.

I felt a God in all of this
the wonder of His Plan
how loving He was to include
me, in the grandeur of it all.

Paul J. Wolf 02/19/2010