Treasures of the Soul

What if the treasures we seek reside within human souls? How amazing it would be if our rewards for a job well done came in terms of promoting faith, hope, and love in others.

I doubt we would see all of the actual fruit of our labor this side of heaven but the concept enchants me just the same. I would skip through life more often if I anticipated those serendipitous moments that spontaneously surprise me.

The last week of school, I had the privilege of such an encounter. I had a return visit from a former student. Ryan was in my class during his 7^th grade year and now he towered above me at seventeen with one eye peeking out from his waves of brown hair.

He serviced the classroom computers that day and we enjoyed lively conversations. I found out that Ryan was now a poet and he had even submitted some of his poems about hope to his psychology teacher for a book she was writing. He spoke highly of Debby Chaddick and eagerly told me about her book, A Spirituality of Hope, My Journey through Pain and Grief.

I vividly remember reading my poetry to students the year Ryan was in my class. The boys feigned boredom while the girls swooned.

“Mrs. Luna, do you have to read that?” A flock of boys squawked. I was so sure their grimacing was proof that they found the poems quite ridiculous.

“You’ll appreciate this someday!” I chided.

Five years have passed and Ryan is the second male student I have found out writes poetry. Last year, I ran into the mother of another who shared a heart-warming story about her son.

“You know, Mrs. Luna, my son called from his boarding school and asked for his books of poems. He also told me ‘I used to think Mrs. Luna’s poems were stupid but now writing poetry is the only way I can express my feelings.'” She went on to say that he willingly reads his poems to groups of students for their encouragement.

This conversation flowed through my mind as Ryan volunteered to send me some of his poems and granted me permission to post them. So in return, I share them with you while smiling at the wonder of faith, hope, and love blossoming in a human soul:

I miss

I miss the old days
The ones where I pranced about without a care
There were no walls trapping me in this space
And there were no windows keeping out the brisk air

 I could walk freely
And not have to worry about the glass under my feet
The fear of treading this path and every last step
Or the shards cutting away at my skin like thin paper sheets
And not every wrong turn lead me closer to my death

I miss the times we shared
The feeling of “love” that I held so dear
You right beside me as we danced into the night
The words “I love you” that whispered in my ear
And the smile you spread that made my heart take flight

I miss these memories
Of a friendship that kept me held together
Like the glue of trust that bound my soul
The words we spoke that made me light as a feather
And the places we went that made me feel at home

Because you were the one I thought was forever
The one I wanted to lay beside from dusk till dawn
The hope and faith that I felt would hold me together
And not this manifestation of regret that has spawned

Panda

As I look towards this sky
Reminiscing over a long lost love
An angel with beautiful blue eyes
Comes down from above

A friend has come to shine a beautiful grace
By opening my heart and mending my soul
And showing me that her memory is not hard to erase
And that the noose around my neck has not taken it’s toll

With her kind words these threads start to unwind
The burden I carried is no longer holding me down
For she is willing to stay, stay by my side
And lift me up when I am about to drown

The waves are no longer crashing in
The tide is starting to subside
I feel finally feel free once again
And I no longer bare the need to cry

The wolves at my door no longer crawl their way through
Their painful cries no longer break this silence
But with these words “Miranda, I love you”
It is the sweetest of tunes in the perfect ambiance

My scars start to mend as I think of this friend
Her beauty shines through my shattered heart
The glue of trust is once again beginning to piece the parts
And the shards of this weary and tired young man

I think about what we have and what we are starting to build
Crumble these restricting walls and starting a new
Killing the vultures that feed off my memories
Unwrapping the blind folds so I can finally see

And with these final words I shall leave here
You are a friend that I hold so dear
I pull you closer and closer to my heart
For you are the bond that keeps me from falling apart

I love you Miranda =]