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.

If Anybody Wants to Know

If anybody wants to know
The proper reason why
The Earth is round it must be so
Surrounded by the sky

That's overhead, so we can find
By looking roundabout
A universe so well-designed
The sky lets us look out.

Beyond apparent troubles here,
Away from where we are
The troubles all but disappear
For they are very far

From what we make out overhead,
Where Heaven is so deep
That any tears we might have shed
Make know more sense to weep.

When We Make Less of What We Are

When we make less of what we are
For what we want to be
For being far we sometimes mar
What's there for us to see.

If There Was Not A Boundless Sense

If there was not a boundless sense
Of what is at the heart
There'd be no wish to travel hence
And no urge to depart

From that which, is established ground,
Familiar, near and dear;
Who'd start up and go outward bound
To chart a new frontier?

If There Is Anything Beyond

If there is anything beyond
You, being where you are,
Then your horizons will expand,
If you want to see far;

For, sight is no mere matter of
What is in front of you,
Or down below or up above--
Whatever comes in view

Needs to be seen because you feel
In touch with what's about,
Because you know that it is real
As you are real, no doubt;

As everything you know is there
And lies within your ken,
And that's because you're everywhere,
You'd be or might have been.