YOUR OWN JOURNEY

YOUR OWN JOURNEY

They say life is a journey

One we all must make ~

It’s not the destination

Bur the steps that we take.

We travel the road of life

In the company of those we love.

We are never truly alone

We are guided from above.

For some the road is rough and steep

With many a thorny briar.

For some it is never easy

And the path causes us to tire.

You have a special path to take

One that you alone must walk

All we can do is comfort you ~

Listen and be ready to talk.

There is pain and sickness

And your dignity is somehow lost.

We stand on the shore and watch

As your little boat is tossed.

We watch as you make your journey

Through days that are dark and drear,

We are here and we are waiting

To take away your fear.

We are ready to talk with you

And to somehow ease your pain,

It is difficult to watch you

And our tears fall like rain.

So as you travel forward

On days that must seem long.

We watch and we admire you

And we know we must be strong.

We must help you through this journey

And meet you at the end,

For somehow the sun is shining

Just around the bend.

There are things that you should know

About our care and love

And how we wish for Angels

To watch you from above.

Take your journey and try to be strong

Have courage in all that you do

You are loved and very special

And we travel this journey with you.

©  Linda J. Vaughan

December 10^th. 2004

Written with love for a cherished friend taking the journey with breast cancer.

REMEMBERING YOU

REMEMBERING YOU 

Today I have been thinking

On this cold grey winter day,

I have a strong memory of you

Which will not go away.

It was a crisp and cold autumn morning

You took me to the train,

We parted with smiles and laughter ~

I never saw you again

At the Station Café we had hot chocolate,

You bought me a magazine.

So much has happened since that day

So much that might have been.

You ran beside the steam train

As it started upon its way.

I can still see the mist of that morning

I still remember the day.

You called out to me to enjoy myself

As I continued on my way,

You told me you would be home soon

I looked the other way.

You looked so well and healthy ~

How much our looks can deceive

I wanted so hard to accept it all

I wanted to believe.

You never came home at all ~

A phone call told me you were gone,

That my life was changed forever

And that I must carry on.

You took another journey

Your anguish and pain now done.

I said Goodbye at the Funeral Home

And carried on alone.

The family were all there to support me

And I felt their dreadful pain.

The mist began to gather ~

Cold winds and showers of rain.

The months moved on

And nos it's been ten years,

I wept so very often ~

Such salty bitter/sweet tears.

I only wept – I never let go ~

No bitter tears I shed

I held close to the memory

My thoughts within my head.

Your time had come, it was right for you

Your agony now spent.

I missed you then and I miss you now

I remember the day you went.

No time to say Goodbye ~

We were talking on the phone.

Such deep and dreadful silence

And you were taken Home.

I had promised to be there to the end

And to show you that I cared.

It seems quite right and it comforts me

That mine was the last voice you heard.

© Linda J. Vaughan


10 years 12th. July 

TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

  

They come into our hearts and homes

And with them bring great pleasure

These little tiny furry friends

Bring joy in fullest measure.

The serve us with devotion

Adoring eyes and wagging tails,

Their very presence brings to us

Companionship that never fails.

We care for them and love them

And they trust us to do the best

We exercise and feed them

And let them have their rest.

They are part of celebrations

And we take photographs

They feature in our families

And often bring us laughs.

They trust us so completely

And tears mist our eyes

When we realise that they are older

We pat and touch with sighs.

Too soon they leave and with them

Take a part of our lives and heart,

We knew that it was coming,

But it hurts so much to part.

Take the memories of happy times

Of puppy days and fun

Those funny little kitten memories

Watching them play in the sun.

Your friends are here for you

We understand and care

We feel your pain and offer love

And friendship everywhere.

The grief you feel is part of life

And we walk this path with you,

Please know that we are here

And that we care for you.

© Linda J. Vaughan

August 2007

Shared today for my friend Linda Gazzaway.

THE CARER

THE CARER

“Who cares for the Carer?”

There are thousands of them out there

Who put their lives on hold,

Who take the time to care for

Those who are sick, troubled or old.

They do it continuously and willingly

And rarely do they complain.

But in their heart of hearts

I know they feel some pain.

They are on duty 24 hours

And answer in a patient way

The very same question

That has been asked fifty times that day.

They lock the doors and windows

And put the knives away

From those who have forgotten,

And oft are in harms way.

They administer medication

And appointments keep on time.

They bring them home from busy roads

And sometimes a railway line.

Sometimes the days are better

Than others have been before,

Then it settles into a routine

And days go on once more.

The agony of caring for a child

As if it were your own,

Whose body is adult in many ways

But whose mind has never grown.

The child you bore and hoped to raise

To be an adult too

Still lingers in the childhood mist

And still depends on you.

A loving tender husband

Who now no longer knows

How to tie his shoelaces

And often takes off his clothes.

A wife of many years

Now childlike in her ways

He has promised to be there

To care for her always.

The agony of friendship lost

In that still and vacant gaze

An awareness of a black space

That fills so many days.

The carers need s some care too

Some tenderness and praise.

A hug, a smile a special touch

As they bravely live their days.

They need some respite from their load

So that they can bravely still care.

They need to feel supported ~

They need to know we are there.

If you have ever walked this road

Then you will understand ~

This is not the way you wanted things

But the way that it was planned.

© Linda J. Vaughan

19th. September 2003

BECAUSE LIFE NEEDS AN ANCHOR

BECAUSE LIFE NEEDS AN ANCHOR

Because life needs an anchor
This promise I'll make
To stand right beside you
Should your world start to shake.
I promise to be there
When strong billows roll,
To hold you so gently
When life takes it's toll.

Because life needs an anchor
That anchor I'll be
I'll hold tight to your hand
As you're tossed on the sea.
I promise to listen
And hear of your pain
As the anchor rope tightens
And then starts to strain.

Because life needs an anchor
When winds start to moan,
I promise you comfort
As we listen to it groan.
I promise you victory
As you hold on to my hand
Because life needs an anchor,
Buried deep in the sand.

Because life needs an anchor
Should your boat begin to drift
I promise you safe harbour
When the sands of life shift.
I will light the stars for you
In a black and velvet sky
I promise you a safe journey
As the days of life go by.

Because life needs an anchor
A chart and compass too
Together let's take the journey
And view the horizon new.
Hear the lapping of the water
As the tides of life rise and fall
View the soaring of the sea birds
And hear their plaintive call.

Because life needs an anchor
Let's journey on together
With the salt sea mist on our faces
In fair and squally weather.
Three things to hold on to
Are love, hope and trust
Because life needs an anchor
Onward, together we must.

Because life needs an anchor
And a harbour in which to rest
I will be the harbour you return to
When life has put you to the test.
I'll ease the fears that beset you
Set you straight and stand you tall,
I will be the anchor of your life,
When your back's against the wall.

Because life needs an anchor.

© Linda J. Vaughan
February 14th. 2012

WAKING MY MUSE

WAKING MY MUSE

Feelings buried deeply

So none could see the pain,

I walked in quiet solitude

In days of sun and rain.

Few tears I shed in silence

Knowing there were more

I locked up my emotion

Behind my heart's door.

The music didn't play for me

Nor could I even dance,

Lucky to be alive

Given a second chance.

I tried so very hard to write

But rarely would it flow,

I thought it was all gone forever

Little did I know.

A sleeping beast inside me

A heart with much to learn,

I am writing once again

The tide's about to turn.

You came into my life

And woke the sleeping muse,

The timing and the distance

Nothing I could choose.

Thank you for the music,

The love and tender care

It touches me to realize

That so much of me's still there.

So when the moonbeams kiss the ocean

And the day comes to its end,

I thank you and I love you,

My very special friend.

© Linda J. Vaughan

13th. November 2011.

COMFORT

Nothing soothes a troubled soul
Like a friend who has known trouble,
Who has also seen their life shattered
And stood among the rubble.


Nothing warms a troubled heart
Like a friend who has also cried,
Who has also seen the walls tumble down
No matter how hard she tried.


Nothing calms a troubled mind
Like a friend who has walked the walk,
Traveled long distances with you
And also talked the talk.


Nothing restores a damaged heart
Like a friend whose dragons are slain,
Who will help you slay your own
And lift you to your feet again.


Nothing brings joy to a loving heart
Like a heart prepared to share,
To feel your pain and walk with you
And willingly show their care.


It is true I’ve found
In this world of froth and bubble ~
Nothing soothes a troubled soul
Like a friend who has known trouble.


© Linda J. Vaughan
July 2011

THE CARE OF FRIENDSHIP - written this morning

THE CARE OF FRIENDSHIP

Oh the ache inside of me

When I hear you call,

Oh the pain I feel for you

When your back's against the wall.

I want to stand close beside you

And tell you to stand tall,

That I will be here to help you

And hold you lest you fall.

Feel free to talk at length with me

As I try to ease your pain,

I'll  hold you close and whisper

That the sun will shine again.

The winter days will soon pass

And gone will be days of rain.

The seasons will roll on 

Your moon will wax and wane.

I cannot take your pain away

Nor really dispel your fear

But I can be of comfort to you

By staying very near.

I can often sit beside you

And wipe away your tear

I can walk beside you 

Until your path comes clear.

Take comfort in your sadness

Knowing I am here for you,

That together we shall walk

Until the sky is blue.

We shall laugh and cry together

As good friends often do,

And we can share together

The joys of a friendship true.

© Linda J. Vaughan

26th. June 2011

FARMHOUSE WINDOWS

© pixdaus.com

This is something I wrote to a prompt a while ago - the prompt was "Farmhouse Windows"

FARMHOUSE WINDOWS

Now close all the windows and hush all the fields

The farmer has gone to his rest.

No more will he struggle against all odds,

No more will he be put to the test.

Now close all the windows and hush all the fields

No more ploughing and reaping.

No more long days of work in weather obscene

His memory we should be keeping.

Now close all the windows and hush all the fields

They were the heart of this man !

Each morning he’d wake and from this window

The fields of his farm he would scan.

Now close all the windows and hush all the fields

Let’s try to keep the pain outside.

Tears are flowing and we just ache

With a pain we cannot hide.

Now close all the windows and hush all the fields

To keep his memory within

A comfortable farmhouse which sheltered

So many of his kith and kin.

Now open all the windows and wake all the fields

We should be true to this man,

Let’s struggle and work on this old farm

Doing the best that we can.

©Linda J. Vaughan

14th. March 2005

LET THE BALLOON GO

LET THE BALLOON GO

Times and seasons change

As year rolls on to year,

An endless kaleidoscope

Of love and hope and fear.

To each and every one of us

There comes a time in life,

When it is time to move on 

And let go of pain and strife.

A time when we must stop and look

And face the things we find,

Even though our hearts are sore

And we have a troubled mind.

It’s time to step out from shadows

And stand in the sun once more.

It’s time to clear out pain and sorrow

And step through memory’s door.

It’s time to recall the good times

When life and love was new.

A time to remember and to laugh

At the things we used to do.

A time to clearly think and recall

How life itself is changed,

A time to view with happiness 

The things that have been rearranged.

There is no turning back

Or cancelling things we’ve done,

But as time moves on my friend

We’ll see a battle won.

It is a time of memory sweet

When days were all aglow ~

But they have changed and now

It’s time to let the balloon go.

© Linda J. Vaughan

May 2011