POET'S CORNER

SHADES OF BLUE

by

Barbara Larkin

Lovelight gleaming
from
deep blue eyes
as far as the soul can see
like
Starlight gleaming
from
deep blue skies
as far as the eye can see

Sunlight sparkling
across
a royal blue
ocean's froth
like
Diamonds sparkling
across
a royal blue
velvet cloth

Reflections of light
dancing in the sun
over
a pale blue liquid pond
like
Fairies dressed in white
skating one by one
over
a pale blue iced-over pond

Glistening teardrops streaming
from
saddened cloudy
dark blue eyes
like
Glistening raindrops streaming
from
summer's cloudy
dark blue skies

A WORLD OF PEACE

by

Barbara Larkin

A World Of Unconditional Love; A World Of Peace
A World Devoid Of Disharmony And Disease
A World Where All People, Regardless Of Race Or Creed
Can Live Together In Harmony, All Prejudice Freed.

A World Of Balance Between Nature And Man
A World That Shows Respect For Our Bountiful Land
A Mother Earth That Provides Us With All That We Need
Can Be Ours If We Share Her Bounty And Let Go Of Our Greed.

A World Whose Magnificent Beauty We Can Admire With Awe
Can Be Our Heritage If We Live According To Universal Law
If We Can Love Ourselves As Beautiful Creations Of God
Loving Others The Same Way Will Not Be So Hard.

A World That Realizes Each Individual Soul
Is But One Individual Expression Of A Much Greater Whole
We Each Choose Our Role And We Each Play Our Part
But We Are All Inter-Connected... Each Soul And Each Heart.

There Is Only ONE Race... The HUMAN Race
Now Is Our Time And In Our Hearts Is Our Place
Together We Can Create A World That Is Perfect And Right
A World God Envisioned, Filled With Love And With Light.

When Each Person Finds His Own Peace In His Heart
A Global Healing Will Occur And World Peace Will Start
For What Is Without Reflects What Is Within
Each Of Our Hearts, Where It All Must Begin.

FIVE FEATHERED FRIENDS

by

Barbara Larkin

Five Feathered Friends, sitting on a perch,
Pretty and Proper, as if they were in church;
Pixie in her aqua dress, Oscar in his suit of gray
Chattering and whistling and feeling quite gay;

Nadine, all decked out in her stockings of red,
Squawking and nudging Sundance on the head;
Sundance in feathers of green and of yellow,
Listening to jazz and feeling quite mellow;

And, then there was Chico, the talking bird,
Laughing and singing and reciting each word
Of each little rhyme he had memorized,
Stopping to daydream and philosophize;

As he gazed out the window, he would often exclaim,
"Look at the birdie, the doggie, and the airplane!"
Different animal sounds he mimicked so well,
Was it a doggie or Chico? One never could tell!

Five Feathered Friends, oh where can they be?
Four up in Heaven and one in a tree!
From their lofty new perches high in the sky,
They'll watch over me until the day that I die.

ANGELS AMONG US

by

Barbara Larkin

Angels are not just in Heaven, you see
There are angels all around you and me
The stranger who smiled at you in the store
The neighbor who came knocking at your door

The friend who appeared out of nowhere
To cheer you up when you felt despair
He, who gave you a ride when your car broke down
She, who sat next to you on the bus ride downtown

Angels can look just like you or like me
So you never know just who they may be
Angels are always watching over us, you know
And they are always among us wherever we go

A PLACE CALLED ETERNITY

by

Barbara Larkin

Through earthbound eyes, embodied souls cannot yet see
A life beyond this physical plane, where unencumbered souls live free,
Beyond all limitations of physical time and space,
Where Peace, Love and Light harmoniously exist in a Perfect place;
For each soul WAS, and IS, and WILL FOREVER BE
A soul that lives FOREVER... In a place called ETERNITY.

SILENT WORDS OF LOVE

by

Barbara Larkin

Though you have never said "I love you"
In my heart of hearts, I know you do
You have said it in so many ways
Through your smile, your touch, your gaze

Through your kindness and your caring
Through the thoughts that you are sharing
Your silent words of love I hear
As if you speak them loud and clear

Our souls merge and intertwine
My thoughts are yours; your thoughts are mine
Two separate people, yet we think as one
On this journey of love we have begun

Somewhere in my heart and head
Are the words of love you left unsaid
Your silent words of love so sweet
Fill my heart and make my soul complete

DANCING IN THE MIRROR

by

Barbara Larkin

As we waltz past the mirrored walls in dance
I glance into the mirror and see, perchance
A couple that looks exactly like you and me
Dancing in the mirror in perfect harmony
Slow dance with me in the mirrored place
So I can look over your shoulder and see my face
Reflecting my smile as I try to keep pace
And still my heart which starts to race

Your gentle, yet protective, hand upon my waist
We turn toward each other and I see your face
Cinderella and Prince Charming reflected in our gaze
Two people suspended beyond time and space
The only two dancers in the crowded place
Two separate beings, yet filling only one space
Please still my heart if it should start to race
As I dance with you in the mirrored place

THE WALLFLOWER

by

Barbara Larkin

She sits on the sidelines, her heart filled with despair,
While melodic, danceable music fills the air;
She sits and waits just to have the chance
To express the rhythm of the music through her dance.

She watches the dancers, pair after pair,
Gliding past her as she sits alone in her chair;
Each note of the music just adds to her pain;
Will she ever be asked to dance once again?

There are some men standing over there by the door,
Why are they not out on the dancing floor?
What is wrong with them, to come, but not dance,
When they, unlike her, have every conceivable chance?

A man is walking toward her chair; he is coming her way
Will this finally be her chance to swing and to sway?
He walks right past her, never even giving her a glance,
Now he is asking the lady at the next table to dance.

The pain felt by a heart repeatedly stabbed with a lance
Is nothing compared to hearing a Tango and not to dance;
Her soul is dancing to the sensual, rhythmic beat,
But her body is seemingly stuck to her seat.

Dancing to a single Tango or Samba could make her night;
She asks for so little, it just doesn't seem right
That even ladies less pretty or experienced, it seems,
Are out there dancing and living her dreams.

The frozen smile is growing heavy on her face,
As a lively Swing tune picks up the pace;
Cannot anyone see just how deeply she yearns
To be dancing, doing all the fancy twists and turns?

Cannot anyone see the attractive lady sitting there,
Waiting for one little chance to get up out of her chair?
She is not asking for a commitment, or even romance,
All she is asking for is to dance one single dance.

Would it kill any one of the men standing there
To walk up to her and lift her from her burdensome chair,
To place his hand in hers, offering her this one little chance,
To make her happy by asking her to share this dance?

Oh, to be cursed with this burning desire to dance,
To sit and wait patiently for every single chance
To feel the heart, the soul, and the body complete
Integrated with the music from her head to her feet.

Feeling every beat of the music pounding in her heart.
Tearing her soul, her mind, and her body apart.
As she aches to express the feelings the music provokes,
The music so perfect, so full of dreams and of hopes.

In a trance-like state, she dares to look up and glance
Into the eyes of a gentlemen who is asking her to dance;
At last, she is out of her chair and up on her feet,
Dancing to the music and finally feeling complete.

Tears of happiness and joy start to well up in her eyes
And her smile shines so brightly, it could light up the skies;
Ecstatic to be lost in the music, gliding across the dance floor,
Dancing to the heartbeat of the music - a wallflower no more.

I am proud to announce that several of my original poems, "Shades of Blue", "A World of Peace", "Dancing in the Mirror", and "Silent Words of Love" have appeared or are scheduled to appear in various anthologies, or books of poetry, by The National Library of Poetry. In addition, "A World of Peace" and "Silent Words of Love" were chosen from about 30 poems they felt would have a universal appeal if read aloud, to be included on The National Library of Poetry's "Sound of Poetry" audiotapes and CDs, where the poems are read aloud by professional readers. I have also received an International Poet of Merit Silver Award Bowl and a Bronze Commemorative Medallion from the International Society of Poets.

I write my poetry from my heart whenever the muses inspire me, mostly as a hobby for my own enjoyment. When my poems are read by others and receive recognition by a prestigious poetry society, that is icing on the cake for me. If my poetry can uplift, inspire, educate, or entertain my readers, then I will have reached my goal as a writer. I like to think of the medium of poetry as my canvas, using the art of rhyme as my palette, to color my words in such a way that they paint a picture in the imagination of my readers. I hope you enjoyed reading my poetry as much as I have enjoyed writing each poem. Writing poetry is a truly a labor of love for me.

All poems Copyright � Barbara A. Larkin.
All rights reserved.