The Mice Decided That Their Foe

The mice decided that their foe
The cat was bad and had to go.
Unanimous in their intent
To censor him all gave consent.

But whatsoever they might say
They knew the cat was there to stay,
So as things might go otherwise
Safeguards they thought of to devise.

One rose among the mice to speak,
"To warn us if the cat will sneak
Around his neck a bell should hang
So we could flee soon as it rang."

Votes for the measure then were cast
But one opposed, said, when it passed,
"All's well once we have settled that--
You tell me--who will bell the cat?"

One Winter Day a Farmer Found

One winter day a farmer found
A frozen viper on the ground,
So altruistically inclined,
The farmer, thinking it was kind
To save a viper's life that day
The snake against his bosom lay.

The snake its senses came back to
And did what any snake would do,
For being true to character
She bit the man for saving her
And paid his goodness back with ill;
For kindness makes a viper kill.

A Mist Upon the River Lies

A mist upon the river lies
Before the break of day
That waits upon the sun to rise
And burn the mist away

But for the time that it is there
It cloaks the riverside
And covers what it soon will bare
And will no longer hide.

Reality Does Not Depend

Reality does not depend
Upon what you can see
For you know that there is no end
To possibility;

That no room is so narrow for
The soul to be confined;
That space is only to explore
One corridor of mind;

Beyond this world is one to come
That's roomier by far
Yet no more than a honeycomb
To what you really are.

Since Life's for Taking Chances

Since life's for taking chances
We do so, win or lose,
And make new circumstances
Be suited to our use.

Once in a Bush So Long Ago

Once in a bush so long ago
A fire burned away
And yet the bush remained aglow
To suffer no decay;
While in its midst an angel shone
Far brighter than a flame
It made itself to Moses known
To call him twice by name:

"Oh Moses, Moses come and see
But first take off your shoes.
You stand on ground whose sanctity
Is not for earthly use."
Then Moses fell upon his face
At Godliness revealed
In this most humble of all ways
When he was in a field.

Yet here am I where nothing seems
To turn my steps aside
Nor dazzles me with shining beams
For vision is denied.
If in the depth of that exile
Of Egypt God was near
Then even at this time meanwhile
Now He has to be here.

For darkness shows another face
That hides away behind
The surface in ten-thousand ways
One has to seek to find;
Through suffering the absence of
What we are looking for
God's presence may just be enough
For us: yet to see more.

When All Will Be Forgotten

When all will be forgotten,
Important as it seems,
Should something swift and sudden
Wake us out of our dreams

Will we recall, tomorrow,
The life of yesterday
When what gave joy and sorrow
With all's been swept away?

What takes stage front and center
Under the limelight lit?
All those who dare to enter,
Remember this: if it

Might not have seemed important,
Indeed, but very small,
Yet, of that fleeting instant,
Eternity makes all.