When I Said, "I Love You"

When I said, "I love you,"

Fourteen years ago,

I meant in the depths of who I am--

Much more than emotion,

An intentional intuitive choice.

 

Things were bright and shiny then:

We made the best of presentations,

As lovers always do, at first,

All genuine, no deception intended.

 

As the years have gone by,

The flaws surfaced--

All that we have been

That make us what we are,

The warts, the scars, the failures--

Threatening to destroy us.

 

The Power that drew us

To each other

Defines us as much more than

Our warts, our scars, our failures

Protects us from all threats,

And lets us see each other

From his perspective.

 

Today, I say, "I love you,"

Fourteen years  later,

I mean in the depths of who I am--

Much more than emotion,

An intentional intuitive choice.

 

Stan Sanford

Valentine's Day 2013

Remember Your First Kiss

 

In the mountains in the summer

Catching fireflies

Children growing up so fast

In the morning of their lives

In the dark their hands touch

Electrical display

In innocence their lips meet

And night breaks into day

The magic of a summer night

Stars dance around the moon

Fireflies forgotten

The evening ends too soon

Hidden in a memory

Through the passing years

Your first kiss lies sleeping

Safe from all pain and fears

The magic of your first kiss

May vanish in the night

And fade into a memory

With the morning light

In the coastal plains in winter

Miserable and cold

A memory forgotten

Stirs within your souls

On the carousel of life

The boredom and the dance

Meet someone you’ve met before

Chance meetings aren’t by chance

Emotions are awakened

The memory lies asleep

Your first kiss is calling you

As into love you leap

Slowly the memory awakes

Like opening a door

And now you are united

With one you’ve known before

The memory of your first kiss

May come to life again

And awaken life in you

True love without an end

© 2012, Stan Sanford



A Gentle Breeze

A gentle breeze walks through the night

Without disturbing sleep.

It whispers at the window—

Deep that calls to deep.

Out of the night there comes a light

The eyes of day can’t see.

The light forms sound in words profound:

The love you have for me.

(Chorus)

Into the darkness of the night

A light I never knew:

The love you have for me;

The love I have for you.

I no longer fear the shadows

Of the dangers lurking there

For I’ve found peace and safety

In the love that we two share.

A silver star walks through the night

Across a silent sky.

A moment and infinity

Together in it fly.

Freedom’s call to one and all

With strength to follow through:

Peace in strife the whole of life,

The love I have for you.

A gleaming moon walks through the night

And slips into the room.

It brings soft light to darkness

Dispelling cold and gloom.

In it I see you come to me--

An angel moving there.

You hold me near and melt my fear:

The love that we two share.

©2012, Stan Sanford

Picture Credit: Lyle Huisken, http://stuffredsaid.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/gentle-breeze/

To Nora

 

We all exist as lights in the world—

All the same, yet, each distinct and unique.

Some of us have a softer, gentler glow

And more effectively penetrate the darkness.

And you shine:

A warm welcome light,

Drawing energy from the Light of the World.

Your light quietly dispels shadows

And warms the gloom.

Your light brightens the path for weary travelers,

Reassures those who hesitate,

And reveals a comforting Presence to the lonely.

You share your joy with those who rejoice

Making the good even better.

You connect with the sorrow of those who mourn

Making the heavy load lighter.

You follow the words that said,

“Let there be light,” and

“Let your light shine,”

And the beauty of creation increases.

 

©2004, Stan Sanford 



Looking to the Horizon With Ambivalence

Having traversed the continent

From the east coast to the west,

I stand above the shoreline now--

An aching, longing in my chest.

I long to leave this life behind

And sail the heavens’ endless sea;

An aching in my heart says, “Turn;”

I see a child who follows me.

Something calls to me, “Press on.

There’s much to see beyond the stars.”

But then a whisper comes to me,

“I have not traveled with you far”

My journey’s drawing near its end

While your trek here has just begun

Yet I will stay long as I may

To show the way to you, my son.

© 2012 Stan Sanford



Liberation

         

I am a slave to time and space

Break the bonds and set me free

To soar through the unfolding worlds

Only the mind can see

To break the bonds of time and space

That cannot mean I cease to be

My mind cries out to know the Mind

Who gave the gift of thought to me

Being transcends life and death

As air above the land and sea

Rises yet is bound to earth

By the force of gravity

So my mind set free in yours

Soars beyond infinity

Beyond the scope of time and space

The when and where of life for me

© 2012 Stan Sanford



United Here We Stand

We are many different people.

Our fathers came from different lands.

We all share a dream of freedom;

Now, united here we stand.

United here we stand:

We have answered freedom’s call.

Here we stand in truth and justice;

Even if our back’s against the wall.

United here we stand:

United in equality,

We are all Americans,

United here in liberty.

You may try to divide us

By ethnicity or creed.

You may try to terrorize us.

You may even make us bleed;

But you will never separate us.

We’re growing stronger ‘cross this land.

Instead of fear you create courage,

‘Cause united here we stand.

United here we stand:

We have answered freedom’s call.

Here we stand in truth and justice;

And you will never make us fall.

United here we stand,

United in equality,

We are all Americans,

United here in liberty.

We are many different colors:

Red, and yellow, black and white.

We don’t claim that we are perfect.

We don’t say we’re always right.

But we’re in this thing together—

Every woman, child, and man—

And the strongest helps the weakest,

‘Cause united here we stand.

United here we stand:

We have answered freedom’s call.

Here we stand in truth and justice;

We’re together, one and all.

United here we stand:

United in equality,

We are all Americans,

United here in liberty.

We are many different colors.

Our fathers came from different lands.

We all share a dream of freedom;

Now, united here we stand.

©Stan Sanford

December 3, 2001