I have about a dozen or so unfinished posts saved in my draft section of my dashboard. I cannot seem to finish because where I am now is a different “place” than when I started them. So I was reading one of my nephew Joe’s notes on facebook where he posted a poem he wrote. That started me down a road to the past to a place in time where I actually wrote poetry. The following are three poems written in the early 80’s. What I find intriguing is youth struggle today with what I struggled with back then: change, death and love. Thanks Joe for getting me motivated to knock the dust off these old ramblings and share them with others for the first time in 30 years.
The Winds of Change
The cold wind of change blows
And you soon wonder where all the time goes
It used to be a young heart was never alone
But time passes you by and you find you’re not that strong
Now the days are longer and the nights seem colder
Your hair grays and there is a sag in once strong shoulders
Used to be that all around you was life
A house, children and a loving husband or wife
Birds would sing a song that turned sweet that which was bitter
But now the television has become your baby sitter
Time passes and seasons come and go
How cold are the winds of change when they blow
Written by: John Burgess
The Rose of My Heart
Your eyes glitter like the dew on a rose
Opening to the world as the morning sun glows
Your smile is soft as the pedals blowing in the breeze
Forever to stir my love for you are the memories of these
You opened up to me with your whole heart
Being kind, caring and patient from the start
You showed me more good in this short breath of time
Than I can recall in my mind
You are truly like a rose in the morning light
Showing you are truly most wonderful thing in my life
Written by: John Burgess
A Friend
You were a friend
But it seems there were problems that would not mend
Yet you would show me that you didn’t care
And the price of your life you made that error
Never to show what you were about
Never to let the inside out
And when all the pressures came to a head
There was nothing left to be said
Sp you took your life as other had
An yet it makes my heart sad
But I will remember you for what you were
A friend
Amen
Written by: John Burgess
2/81
Bet you didn’t know that I had a big crush on Roger the summer before my freshman yr. We had a quiet ‘summer thing’. I remember him being so sweet & kind to me. Sometimes we just sat and talked & sometimes we just sat in the quiet. I was deeply saddened when he left my world. I have thought of him often through the years. What a heartfelt poem you wrote back in 1981 for him. Thanks for bringing those special memories back to the top for me.