love – Woodsmoke and Cardamom

Loving A Sailor

by Lucy M. Young

Loving a sailor is not all play
In fact there's very little of gay
It's being young and feeling old
It's mostly to have and never to hold.

Loving a sailor is all milk and no cream
It's being in love with a misty dream
It's getting a Valentine from a southern base
And sending a stamped letter with an upside face.

It's hoping for leaves you know won't come
It's wondering if he'll ever get home
And when he does it's laughter together
Unconscious of people, of time, of weather

It's hearing him whisper his love for you
And your answering whisper that you love him too
And then comes the ring and the promise of love
And knowing you're watched by the Father above

And loving a sailor is good-bye at the train
And wondering if you'll ever see him again
And reluctantly, painfully, letting him go
When inside you're crying for wanting him so.

Then you watch for a word that he is well
And wait thru a long dragg-out "no letter" spell
And your feet are planted in sand not sod
And your source of strength came solely from God

Loving a sailor is unidentified fears
And crying until there are no more tears
And hating the world and yourself and the war
And stamping and kicking 'till you can't fight anymore

And really meaning the prayer that you're saying
And when the mail comes you bubble with joy
And you act like a baby with a shining new toy
And you know he is oceans away
And you just keep loving him more everyday.

You're proud of the job he's helping get done
And you don't care anymore if loving's not fun
Then you grit your teeth and muster a grin
You've got a job and you'd better begin
You've got a fight, the same one he's in
We've got a war and you'd better help win

When comes your birthday, you're a year older today
But you feel just the same as you did yesterday
You're not, you've changed, you're wiser [and] stronger
You can weather this way if it's twenty years longer
You'll work and you'll sweat every hour of the day
Your job will be hard but you'll sure earn your pay
You're tired and you're weary but you're doing your share.

So loving a sailor is bitterness, tears
It's loneliness, sadness, unidentified fears
It's nothing to take for a darn lot of giving
It's fretting, sweating and living
No, loving a sailor is really not fun
But it's sure worth the price when the battle is won.

Safe Journey

by Lucy M. Young

A year ago, I left him with a prayer.
'Twas all I could do
For he must leave this part of embarkation
To do his duty.
From the train I watched him go
Back to the station.
Slim and graceful in his uniform.
He was just a little boy
Stumbling a little with the grief
Of parting
Yet knowing it must be.

He seemed so young and I so very old.
With tears in my eyes and a prayer in my heart
I watched him walk away.
At the door he turned and waved adieu.
I could not even think farewell.
May God forgive, as I watched him disappear
Behind that door
I thought, "Is that the last I'll see of him?
Is that the picture I must carry all my life?"

Fervently I prayed, and kept on praying.
As the days, and weeks, and months went by
His letters came, kept coming.
God was with him all the way.
He alone knows what my sailor saw.
What he endured.

Now he is back - a man, silent and stern.
But what a depth of character and love
Shines from his eyes.
Now I am the child and he must lead me
To new understanding.

With His Help

by Lucy M. Young

I asked the Lord for help because I thought I couldn't do it -
That task that seemed impossible to me.
Weakened by my handicap I thought 'twould be too difficult,
But I called on Him and He was there beside me.

He took away my pain and gave me strength beyond believing.
He showed me what to do and how to do it.
I know that He was with me - I could feel His loving presence -
With Him beside me there was nothing to it.

So now I know that with His help I can do all I need to do,
And when I call for help He'll be there for me;
I'll never say "I can't" again for now I know I can,
And a happy, useful life is spread before me.

Where Are You, Lord?

Dear Lord, where are You?
I know You're near - You're never far away -
But how I wish that I might feel Your touch
Or see Your face.

Where are You, Lord?
I know You're near.
You keep me safe from harm day after day;
You hold me up when I am weak;
You dry my teafrs.

Why should I wonder where You are?
I know -
I see Your face in smiling faces all around me;
I feel Your touch in the warmth of a friendly hand;
Your constant love in the love of friends and family;
Your strength in outstretched helping hands.

Where are You, Lord?
You're walking with me daily, step by step;
Upholding and sustaining me through trial and tribulation.
I rest secure in Your steadfast love.

Be With Them, Lord

by Lucy M. Young

Father, be with all who need Your help today.
I do not know their names and all their special needs
But You, in Your great wisdom, know each one.
You know their needs, their secret loads of care.
You know which hearts are aching
And need the comfort of Your loving arms.
You know the ones whose pain is great
And need Your healing hands to ease their suffering.
You know who is discouraged,
Bowed down beneath their yokes of ceaseless toil,
And need Your helping hands upon their shoulder.

I would that I could help these needing people.
But, Lord, I know You can:
So hear my heartfelt prayer this Sunday morning
And bless, sustain, uplift and comfort them
That they may know the sunshine of Your love;
May feel secure knowing that You care
And will be ever with them in their need.

Close to You

by Lucy M. Young

Dear Lord, I know You're there somewhere -
I never doubt it;
But, Lord, today You seem so far away.
I cannot reach you.
My heart is sad and empty.
My weary soul yearns for the gentle peace that only You can give.

I love You, Lord.
I need You.
With every breath I take I need You more.
Forgive my many sins of both commission and omission.
Cleanse my mind and heart and soul.
Eradicate unworthy, sinful thoughts and feelings.
Show me the path that I must take to bring me close to You,
And let me feel Your loving presence in my heart once more.

Treasures

by Lucy M. Young

I have so many treasures, Lord,
I scarce know where to start to name them all.
I have the wide, blue sky, the stars and moon at night,
Sunrise and glowing sunset.
I have the fresh, clean air to breathe,
And water, pure and sweet, to quench my thirst;
Cooling breezes and refreshing rain,
The fragrance and the splendor of the flowers;
The shade and towering beauty of the trees;
The happy songs of birds;
The bounty of my garden;
The sweetness of the peaches in my little orchard;
The comfort of a kitten purring softly on my pillow;
And I have love -
The love of friends and family and gentle pets;
But best of all, Lord, Your eternal love which never fails.
It guides, upholds and strengthens me each day.
It is the greatest treasure of them all.

Gifts

by Lucy M. Young

Dear Lord, You have given me so much,
So little I've given to You;
But I had so little material wealth
I didn't know what I could do.

Then I remembered what You once said
To the people so long ago,
"Whatever you do for the least of these
You do for me also."

Well, Lord, I have plenty of love to give.
I can reach out a helping hand,
Give a friendly smile, or a pat on the back
To show them that I understand.

I can hold someone stricken with grief to my heart
And pray that my love may console;
Give friendship, companionship, sympathy,
To some lonely suffering soul.

Lord, grant that I always may see the need
Of a stranger a friend or a foe;
And show me how best I may help them along
That their hearts more joy may know.

Nostalgia

by Lucy M. Young

September with its various activities was my favorite month:
Going back to school with eagerness, anticipation and a little trepidation;
The smell of books and chalks and pencils;
Goldenrod along the roadsides;
Warm delightful days and cool crisp nights;
Stopping on the way from school at the potato field
Where father had been working all day long
Digging the winter store of white potatoes,
While the waiting horses stamped and neighed,
Impatient for their warm dry stalls
And their nightly ration of water, oats and hay;
Riding home on a lumpy wagon load of bagged potatoes;
Listening as they rolled and tumbled, rumbling into the waiting bin
       beneath the cellar window;
Gathering apples red-cheeked, crisp and juicy
To eat with popcorn on long winter evenings while mother read aloud
       our favorite books;
Bringing succulent plums - yellow, red and blue,
To mother to preserve for winter use;

Stepping from the chilly air into the steamy, lamplit kitchen
Redolent with the spicy smell of pickles simmering on the
       old black iron woodstove.
For supper there were baked sweet apples,
Mother's luscious brown bread,
And sweet fresh milk from our own Jersey cows;
Or hot soup from the last tomatoes in the garden,
With crusty home-made bread, hot from the oven,
Drenched with father's golden dairy butter.

And there were those lovely, lazy Saturdays -
Blue haze on the mountains,
A tapestry of red and gold and bronze spread across the countryside;
Clean air fragrant with the scent of frost-touched grass
       and burning leaves.

Those were the days.
Nothing can ever be so perfect as those happy, youthful days
        in retrospect.
There must have been cold, gloomy, rainy days of grumbling discontent,
But they have been forgotten,
Obliterated by the kindly hand of Time.
Recalling those lovely days of yesteryear I shed a tear or two
        of longing
For that long-lost past when I was young and life was good.
I breathe a prayer of thankfulness, however,
For these memories of home and loving parents;
And bless the Lord for giving me the golden opportunity
To live those joyous carefree days of yore.

A New Baby Girl

by Lucy M. Young

A new little girl has come into the world,
A new little treasure to hold;
To love and cherish, guide and protect,
A gift more precious than gold.

Who knows what talents lie hidden behind
That sweet little baby face;
What miracles those tiny hands may perform,
What troubles her life may erase?

Those little feet have a long road ahead.
As she travels that road day by day,
May her parents love and God's saving grace
Keep her safe and secure all the way.