Sonnet

Sonnet

by Jane White Chamberlain

I need not visit galleries to look for
Paintings framed in gilt.
I see my paintings through the trees
That God Himself has built.
He hangs them all before my eyes
And no two are the same.
A bit of sky with fleecy clouds
Beyond a country lane,
That flashes of red and olive green,
A pair of birds in flight,
The scarlet tanager and mate,
A rare and wondrous sight.
There’s one I see of a sparkling pond
With shining ripples there.
Near forest aisles so quite-like,
One sees pink orchids clustered rare.
At night God shows me different scenes,
Long shaft of silver rays
Send shadows casing in and out
The hills with mist arrayed.
I like the galleries of God
Where paintings hung for me
Are all proof that I shall need
Of one Great Diety.

Sam's Great Grandmother

Go Forth to Life

Go Forth To Life

by Samuel Longfellow

Go forth to life, oh! child of Earth.

Still mindful of the heavenly birth;

Thou art not here for ease or sin,

But manhood's noble crown to win.

Though passion's fires are in thy soul

Thy spirit can their flames control;

Though tempers strong beset thy way,

Thy spirit is more strong than they.

Go on from innocence of youth

To manly pureness, manly truth;

God's angels are still near to save

And God himself doth help the brave.

Go forth to life, oh! child of earth,

Be worthy of thy heavenly birth,

For noble service thou art here;

Thy brothers help, thy God revere!

A Chaplain's Testimony

I wanted to share this link.

http://www.christiannewstoday.com/CWN_3063.html

It is from the Sam's regimental Chaplain.

Friendship

A Mile With Me

by Henry van Dyke

O who will walk a mile with me

Along life's merry way?

A comrade blithe and full of glee,

Who dares to laugh out loud and free

And let his frolic fancy play,

Like a happy child, through the flowers gay

That fill the field and fringe the way

Where he walks a mile with me.

And who will walk a mile with me

Along life's weary way

A friend whose heart has eyes to see

The stars shine out o'er the darkening lea,

And the quiet rest at the end o' the day--

A friend who knows, and dares to say,

The brave sweet words that cheer the way

Where he walks a mile with me.

With such a comrade, such a friend,

I fain would walk till journey's end,

Through summer sunshine, winter rain,

And then? Farewell, we shall meet again!

The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet, knowing how way leads onto way
I doubted if I should ever come back

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference

"Couarge does not follow rutted pathways."

William J. Bennett, The Book of Virtues

Doors of Daring

Doors of Daring

by Henry van Dyke

The mountains that inclose the vale
With walls of granite, steep and high,
Invite the feerless foot to scale
Their stairway toward the sky.

The restless, deep, dividing sea
That flows and foams from shore to shore,
Calls to its sunburned chivalry,
"Push out, set sail, explore!"

The bars of life at which we fret,
That seem to prison and control,
Are but the doors of daring, set
Ajar before the sole.

Say not, "Too poor," but freely give;
Sign not, "Too weak," but boldly try;
You never can begin to live
Until you dare to die.

"Barriers are invitations to courage"

William J. Bennett, The Book of Virtues

Iraqi Dust Storm

Today was my first experience with Iraq's sand/dust storms. I awoke to a bright orange sky. You could barely see the Mussayib Power plant smoke stacks only a few hundred meters away. I was hard to see where the sky and ground met, they were so similar in color. A lot of people walked around with bandannas and scarves wrapped around there faces to keep the dust out. Some of the windows were broken out of our offices from past mortar/rocket attacks, the dust blew in through them until we taped garbage bags over the windows. I've attached two photographs, one taken weeks ago with blue skies (and the usual power plant exhaust) the other taken this morning (Monday 1/29) at the peak of the storm. Supposedly these storms hang around for days, this one is supposed to clear tomorrow...

Your friend in Iraq,

~Sam