"It is like a candle shining in the dark"

"Whenever you say you love me -
it is like a candle shining in the dark..."
for with those three little words -
my heart wants to sing like a happy lark...

And like all who love, i bask in its warmth -
and live only to hear those three little words
that ring out clearly in the dark, music to a lover's ears -
i love you... i love you... i love you...

For love is this strong feeling for another -
that swells the heart and encompasses the soul with joy...
it is the very essence of life itself, and speaks volumes -
and it fills our days with laughter, and generates fun-filled hours...

So, i'm for a life of love - even if it comes without the frills -
for without love, life is a mere existence,a bore, and a chore...

I Love Sunny Days

Oh, yes, i do love the sun on a bright, sunny day -
for its warmth and its cheerful countenance...
for white clouds would be sailing gaily in the blue sky -
and my colourful daisies and lovely roses would be dancing, too...

But when dark clouds start forming in the sky -
obscuring the warmth and the sunny rays of the sun...
my heart is never sad to see the change -
for i love to hear the sound of raindrops, too...

I love to see my gay little daisies smiling so sweetly -
and my gentle roses stretching out their demure hands...
to drink in the honey juices dropping from the gray sky -
and catching the shiny crystals in their dainty palms...

Oh, yes, i love the rain clouds and i love it when it rains -
for rain clouds remind me of my love: like a furious storm...
and rainy days tell of a love story: happy frogs frolicking around -
and of lovers strolling in the park: smiling happily back at each other...

So, give me the gentle hues of a sunrise or the fiery colours at sunset -
or the cumulous rain clouds and the sound of raindrops on my roof...
I'll gladly love them both.

God Sent Me A Friend

When life seemed so dreary, my heart weary -
and my days are filled with drudgery...
God sent me a friend -
to talk to me, and help me find my way home...

And each day when i arise to greet the sun -
i thank God for giving me that friend...
someone to listen to me, and to console me when i'm down -
someone to advise me, and to tell me when i'm wrong...

Thank You, God, for this one friend -
that i'll treasure till the day i die...
thank You, God, for this last friend -
an angel from Heaven, someone God had sent...

That "Spoonful of Sugar"

"One hundred years from now it will not matter
what kind of car i drove,
what kind of house i lived in,
how much money i had in my bank account,
nor what my clothes looked like.
but the world may be a little better,
because i was important in the life of a child,"
was Jolie Kanat's wise words -
and i think so, too...

For what matters most,in the end,is what we have done for others -
not what wealth we have accumulated for ourselves...
and i am glad that i chose to be a teacher -
someone who has many more chances to say "I care"...
someone who is blessed with shaping a child's future -
someone who gets two-hundred new chances to do it every year...

I've done whatever's best and good -
the way i know works best...
the way which, for everyone, is good -
the only way i know, and i could...
for more than 35 years, i've done all i should -
to touch a child's life, and shape it, if i could...

Now that i've come to the last two and a half months -
i'm still trying to make the most out of it and give my best...
so that one day someone will walk up to me and say,
"Thank you, teacher, you have touched my life..."

"Some Dreams Are Worth Keeping"

When we have a dream - like most people do -
we should dream on, and keep it safely there...
for if we dare to dream - like most people do -
we should let it stay - even for a lifetime...

For a dream may be all that we have and own -
if a relationship fails to blossom...
or it may well be the only thing that's ever nice -
if we live in poverty, and in need; in suffering, or in pain...

So, dream on, my friend, do dream on -
and "never lose sight of that dream"
for a dream may one day fall on fertile land -
and sprout a sturdy tree, for all to see...
it might also take root and stand so firm -
that strong winds would shy away, and even cease to be...

"A Weed Is But An Unloved Flower"

A weed is still a flower - no doubts about that -
only that a weed is a flower that has no one to love it...
a beautiful rose may bloom beside the majestic orchid -
but a pink mimosa blooms just as prettily beside the daffodils...

So, why love only the lovely rose, or bougainvillea -
with thorns that do prick an unwary finger... ?
when the poor little thorny mimosa, too -
cries out for some love and attention...?

Why does one reject the fragile little pinkish flower -
that blooms so prettily along an untended path...?
and all that the weary traveller sees is a bush of thorns -
but forget that it could also produce such a fragile beauty...!

So let me love all the unloved mimosas -
or the field full of love grass in full bloom,
that makes pinkish white waves as they sway in the breeze -
and clinging onto trousser legs and long skirts,
with much delight, and craving for just a pinch of love -
of which we grudge, and would not give...

For i was once that little unloved mimosa -
till you shower me with all your tender loving care...
so that i could blossom into that winsome little rose -
that proudly graces your beautiful garden...

"The Beauty of Love"

Someone once asked,"Can there be anything
more beautiful than young love?"
and the answer came,"Yes, there is.
Old love."

So "grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be..."
for i would like you to be holding my hand, still,
as we walk the last lap of our life, together...

And i would love it very much, too -
if you would write me a line or two...
as i would surely, for you do, too -
in the merry month of May each year -
for we don't have too many decades left
to wait for a love note to come our way...

So, our gnarled fingers will be holding a pen -
as our old hearts pour out the beauty of love...
come the merry month of May each year -
till the day we both cease to be...

"One Small Stone, Unforgotten"

You spend your days on earth making history -
making your presence felt, or making others happy...
but when you leave this world, you bring with you nothing -
save the tears and memory, that you leave behind...

You are reduced to a tiny plot of land -
just enough to lie down, to take your long needed rest...
and you are reduced to a name etched on one small stone -
and this, the last wish: may you Rest In Peace...

And that one small stone is sometimes left in the wild, forgotten -
for weeds and reeds and mosses and lichen to grow - long forgotten...
but if you had lived your life selflessly, a life for others -
then yours will be the few lucky stones, left unforgotten...

For someone would be there with fresh flowers, come Saturday morn -
to talk to you with love, or sing a love song or two - your favourites...
and you'll have a friend, stepped down from the plane, who comes to chat -
and pat your one small stone, which is all you have, unforgotten...

And you'll know that you are well-missed and well-loved -
and would be well-remembered, for a long, long time to come...

The Basket We Carry In Life

"Your little basket is in mine when you were born -
'coz there were too many things you couldn't do for yourself:
i had the responsibility of feeding you, changing you, bathing you,
and doing everything else you couldn't do on your own;
so i put your basket in mine and carried them both for a while..."

"As you grew older and began to do some things on your own,
i began placing a few more things in your basket...
and as you grow older, there will be more and more things
you must do on your own"...

"And you will eventually carry your own basket -
with things only you can do:
like deciding whom you want to be friends with,
whom you will date, what college you will go to,
and whom you will marry -
because you decide the things that belong in your basket"...

"One day, when i'm much older -
there will be things i can no longer carry in my basket;
When that time comes, you will eventually
be taking things out of my basket,
and placing them into your own -
just like i do now" for all the grandmas and grandpas...

"Eventually, the things
that are in my basket
will be taken out,
for i won't always be strong enough
to carry everything
i'm carrying right now"...

So, until that day comes, my dear girl -
let me do the worrying, and deciding:
"Just remember, that your basket
isn't nearly as big as you think it is", still...

A different sunrise

I saw a different sunrise over the lake -
and it stays in my mind's eye...
that window into the heart, into the soul -
that insight into what is cherished and treasured...

It was a scene of tranquility, of peace and quiet -
it was a balm for sore a heart, a balm for the soul...
for it spoke of quiet moments in this hectic life -
when the heart can rest, and the soul can sigh in delight...

And it stays etched in my mind, my heart, my soul -
that lovely, tranquil scene in the past
that spoke of love and joy in a world that has lost its heart
that evoked feelings for my love and the joy of being blessed...

Love is still what i feel

Love is still what i feel -
though i'm in my last quarter...
for love has always been there -
a spark, a flame, a roaring fire...

For it is true that love is what i feel -
for the things in life that i love, still...
and love is what i feel, still
when i feel you walking near...

And i can't help feeling -
that love is all that i could ever feel...
to be surrounded by so much beauty -
and love is what i feel when i think of you...

Love Is What I Feel

Love is what i feel - whenever i think of you:
for you have given me the greatest joy -
by giving me your undivided love...
by giving me the chance to love again...

Love is what i feel - whenever you look at me;
for there is a twinkle in your eyes -
something i have not seen before...
it's there - only when you look at me...

Love is what i feel - whenever you are near:
for i know now that it is only me that you care for -
it is only my hand - that you wish to hold, always...
and it is only me - whom you love, wholeheartedly...

So, love is all that i'll ever feel -
whether you are near, or whither you may be...

A Peaceful Town

I see the lake... i see the trees
i see the birds - high up in those trees...
i see the grass, ever so green
i see white clouds sailing above the hills...
i see the sunrise dancing in the lake
i see love twinkle in your eyes...

This is paradise... this is where i would like to be
surrounded by birds, singing in the trees...
naughty little monkeys, swinging from a branch...
bent old uncles and aunties, walking from bench to bench...
a loving pair of lovers, walking hand in hand...
and happy little children running in the park...

This is the town... and this, the lovely lake...
where i would like to stay... and feel the peace...
where i would love to wake up... to watch each sunrise
to stand in awe, mesmerised, at the reflection of life,
and walk round the great lake... with my love by my side...
and feel the joy of living: a joy i can't conceal , a love i cannot hide...