Here's a Little Ditty

November 1, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is death, in honor of the transition from Halloween to All Saints’ Day and then to All Souls’ Day, which is the Mexican Day of the Dead.

Today’s poem is about how one dies again as friends and family die.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Here's a little ditty for

A sailor lost at sea,

An Irishman, most sorely missed

By friends and family.

He'd reached the prime of life when he

Encountered Davy Jones,

And now all that is left of him

Are tears and scattered bones.

He lives in those he left behind,

His loved ones and his mates,

And as they die, he'll die again,

Conjoined with many fates;

Until at last his being, with

A brief, unuttered sigh,

Will yield its presence peacefully,

And bid the world goodbye.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/heresa.html . For more poems about death, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/deathpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Death.

October 31: In Memory of Those Who Died

November 1: Here’s a Little Ditty

In Memory of Those Who Died

October 31, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is death, in honor of the transition from Halloween to All Saints’ Day and then to All Souls’ Day, which is the Mexican Day of the Dead.

Today’s poem is about the insoluble mystery of death.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

In memory of those who died

We weep and walk away.

Tears run into swollen streams.

No trace of us remains.

Even those who grieve are gone,

And those that grieve who grieve,

And those whose lives are ravaged by

A frantic urge to be,

And those who wander silently

Among the empty rooms:

Immortality is theirs,

Though they must vanish, too.

We bear astonished witness to

The passage of the soul.

No bridge exists that can connect

Our passion to the whole.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/inmemo.html . For more poems about death, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/deathpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Death.

October 31: In Memory of Those Who Died

Witches Wail and Werewolves Howl

October 30, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is Halloween, which falls on October 31.

Today’s poem is a Halloween poem about how children love scary things.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Witches wail and werewolves howl,

Ghosts say "Boo!" and monsters scowl,

Jack-o-lanterns grin all night

As children shiver with delight.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/witche.html . For more Halloween poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/halloweenpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Halloween.

October 24: Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches

October 25: Halloween Wraps Fear in Innocence

October 26: Halloween’s a Sudden BOO

October 27: Hobgoblins Say “Hop”

October 28: How Can Normal, Rational People

October 29: How Might a Spirit Settle in the Wind

October 30: Witches Wail and Werewolves Howl

How Might a Spirit Settle in the Wind

October 29, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is Halloween, which falls on October 31.

Today’s poem is a Halloween poem about how wandering spirits might find peace.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

How might a spirit settle in the wind?

After death, how might a soul find peace?

Love lasts long after lips and laughter cease,

Leaving only memories behind.

Out of longings, one might linen spin,

Weaving well the welkin edged with fleece.

Each spirit must from wandering seek release,

Else ever through the weary midnights wend,

Not resting till love's angels dark descend.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/howmig.html . For more Halloween poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/halloweenpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Halloween.

October 24: Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches

October 25: Halloween Wraps Fear in Innocence

October 26: Halloween’s a Sudden BOO

October 27: Hobgoblins Say “Hop”

October 28: How Can Normal, Rational People

October 29: How Might a Spirit Settle in theWind

How Can Normal, Rational People

October 28, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is Halloween, which falls on October 31.

Today’s poem is a Halloween poem about how irrational fears are still alive and well in rational people.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

How can normal, rational people

All lust after ghosts one night,

Like the moon on some church steeple

Luring demons to its light?

Old fears lie buried in our pleasure,

Words sealed in a midnight grave,

Each a truth that we must treasure,

Eerie horrors our hearts crave.

Nor should we all our passions pave.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/hallow.html . For more Halloween poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/halloweenpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Halloween.

October 24: Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches

October 25: Halloween Wraps Fear in Innocence

October 26: Halloween’s a Sudden BOO

October 27: Hobgoblins Say “Hop”

October 28: How Can Normal, Rational People

Hobgoblins Say "Hop!"

October 27, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is Halloween, which falls on October 31.

Today’s poem is a children’s Halloween poem about hobgoblins.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Hobgoblins say "Hop!"

So rabbits hop.

Hobgoblins say "Stop!"

So rabbits stop.

Whatever hobgoblins say,

They do.

Wouldn't you?

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/hobgo2.html . For more Halloween poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/halloweenpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Halloween.

October 24: Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches

October 25: Halloween Wraps Fear in Innocence

October 26: Halloween’s a Sudden BOO

October 27: Hobgoblins Say “Hop”

Halloween's a Sudden BOO

October 26, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is Halloween, which falls on October 31.

Today’s poem is a poem about children on Halloween.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Halloween's a sudden BOO!!

And just as quick a scream:

Laughing in the scary dark,

Loving friendly fright.

On Halloween, ghosts are true;

Werewolves leap from dreams.

Every spirit in the park,

Each zombie, T-Rex, witch, or shark,

Needs to squeal all night!

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/hallo2.html . For more Halloween poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/halloweenpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Halloween.

October 24: Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches

October 25: Halloween Wraps Fear in Innocence

October 26: Halloween’s a Sudden BOO

Halloween Wraps Fear in Innocence

October 25, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is Halloween, which falls on October 31.

Today’s poem is a Halloween poem about the holiday’s therapeutic effects.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Halloween wraps fear in innocence,

As though it were a slightly sour sweet.

Let terror, then, be turned into a treat,

Lest it overwhelm our common sense.

Our nightmares are the founts of fancy whence

We draw upon the monsters we would meet,

Eluding horrors we cannot defeat,

Enjoying the parade of our pretense

Now ranged across the night in our defense.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/hallo3.html . For more Halloween poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/halloweenpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Halloween.

October 24: Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches

October 25: Halloween Wraps Fear in Innocence

Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, and Witches

October 24, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is Halloween, which falls on October 31.

Today’s poem is a Halloween poem about how one cannot help but feel fear.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Have no fear of goblins, ghosts, and witches,

And skeletons dancing to macabre tunes,

Lifeless zombies wearing bloodstained britches,

Lighted pumpkin heads in darkened rooms!

Oh, have no fear of werewolves, vampires, ghouls!

Wean yourselves from superstitious fears!

Even though at times we all are fools,

Each whistling a happy tune that cheers

No one, as we still our screams and tears.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/haven2.html . For more Halloween poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/halloweenpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Halloween.

October 24: Have No Fear of Goblins, Ghosts, andWitches

Savor the Sweet Taste of Simply Being

October 23, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is joy.

Today’s poem is about the joy of simply being alone with oneself.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Savor the sweet taste of simply being,

Indulging in the luxury of rest,

X-ing out the voices that complain

That doing something useful might be best.

Yet what could be more useful and more freeing?

Feel the quiet ecstasy of seeing.

Open up a room within your breast,

Untenanted but for a silent guest,

Returned because you are alone again.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/savort.html . For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Joy.

October 17: Sing, My Loved One! Sing of All the Glory

October 18: Grace

October 19: There Is No Substitute for Lifelong Longing

October 20: The Universe Is like a Symphony

October 21: Hooray! Hooray! The Time Has Come

October 22: Some Sing Silently, Which Is All Right

October 23: Savor the Sweet Taste of SimplyBeing

Some Sing Silently, Which Is All Right

October 22, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is joy.

Today’s poem is about the need to sing throughout one’s life.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Some sing silently, which is all right.

The point is just to sing, aloud or no.

Music dances on the edge of night,

Turning into grace one's weal or woe.

So sing, no matter in a minor key,

And make of grief a monument to love.

For loss would not be loss unwillingly,

Although the pain excruciating prove.

Take from life the only thing that lasts –

Its music, which remains within the heart.

Gather up your sweet and bitter pasts

And sing with passion, if with little art.

So may your days and nights be filled with song,

And music keep your love for living strong.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/somesi.html . For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Joy.

October 17: Sing, My Loved One! Sing of All the Glory

October 18: Grace

October 19: There Is No Substitute for Lifelong Longing

October 20: The Universe Is like a Symphony

October 21: Hooray! Hooray! The Time Has Come

October 22: Some Sing Silently, Which Is AllRight

Hooray! Hooray! The Time Has Come

October 21, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is joy.

Today’s poem is about life as a joyful dance.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Hooray! Hooray! The time has come

To dance, to dance till day is done!

You've learned to dance the proper way.

Now dance! Now dance throughout the day!

The lovers twirl around the floor,

Round and round, then round some more.

With graceful steps they do their duty,

Making life a thing of beauty.

Round and round and round they go

Until at last they start to slow;

Then slowly, slowly round and round

Till one, then both, are in the ground.

The dance is done, the dance is over,

The two have turned to grass and clover.

Dancing did as dancing does.

But what a lovely dance it was!

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/hooray.html . For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Joy.

October 17: Sing, My Loved One! Sing of All the Glory

October 18: Grace

October 19: There Is No Substitute for Lifelong Longing

October 20: The Universe Is like a Symphony

October 21: Hooray! Hooray! The Time Has Come

The Universe Is like a Symphony

October 20, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is joy.

Today’s poem is about how joy comes from within.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

The universe is like a symphony

Which you can make as lovely as you please.

Your days are just as sunny as your smiles;

Your nights as full of love as is your heart.

Every please and thank you, warm hello,

Act of kindness, generosity,

Word of sympathy, regret, compassion,

Becomes for everyone a source of light.

We are like birds in never-ending concert,

Joining happily in what we hear,

Each in turn the melody, and then

The counterpoint that lends its grace to others.

Joy is our reply to pain and death –

Exuberant, infectious, loving joy

That fills the void with laughter and with music,

That makes a mirror of the faceless deep.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/theun2.html . For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Joy.

October 17: Sing, My Loved One! Sing of All the Glory

October 18: Grace

October 19: There Is No Substitute for Lifelong Longing

October 20: The Universe Is like a Symphony

There Is No Substitute for Lifelong Longing

October 19, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is joy.

Today’s poem is about the relationship between joy and longing.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

There is no substitute for lifelong longing.

One may be happy, but there's always more.

Now might be perfection, but one’s yearning

Is like a wave that seeks the distant shore;

And when it gets there, sweeps across the sand

In ecstasy, relieved of want, at peace;

Then sweeps back again, away from land,

Within a rapture that will never cease.

What perfect love, that cannot reach perfection,

But like the universe, must ever dance,

Singing with the sheer joy of affection,

Savoring the mysteries of chance.

There is a satisfaction in desire

Unsatisfied, that sets the soul on fire.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/ther37.html . For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Joy.

October 17: Sing, My Loved One! Sing of All the Glory

October 18: Grace

October 19: There Is No Substitute for LifelongLonging

Grace

October 18, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is joy.

Today’s poem is a name poem for a person who knows how to find joy in the moment.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Grace finds grace in every untouched moment,

Revealing what lies just beyond the will.

As words recede, the silent senses fill,

Cradling the instant without comment,

Embracing what would else be good or ill.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/grace.html . For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Joy.

October 17: Sing, My Loved One! Sing of All the Glory

October 18: Grace

Sing, My Loved One! Sing of All the Glory

October 17, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is joy.

Today’s poem is a 60^th birthday poem wishing a loved one joy in life.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Sing, my loved one! Sing of all the glory

In which for every moment you have lived!

Xylophones accompany your song,

That, played by angels, help us sing along,

Yielding harmony to grace your story.

Years have added luster to your soul,

Each, though not all what you would, a gift.

As now we wish you more – to live in joy,

Rejoicing in a love none can destroy,

Such love of life as makes one strong and whole.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/singmy.html . For more birhday poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Joy.

October 17: Sing, My Loved One! Sing of All theGlory

You Pray to Be Included in the Book

October 16, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is atonement, in honor of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, which falls on October 12.

Today’s poem is about the disconnect between an ancient faith and the modern world.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

You pray to be included in the book

Of life before your yearly doom is sealed,

Making sure no sin is left concealed,

Knowing that there'll be no second look.

In words that are sincere, with guilt unfurled,

Perhaps you pray with some uncertainty,

Poised between belief and poetry,

Unwilling now to take it literally,

Remnant of a strange and ancient world.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/youpr2.html . For more poems for Yom Kippur, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/yomkippurpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Atonement.

October 10: Yearning Is a Function of Atonement

October 11: Ye of Little Faith, You’re Welcome Here

October 12: You Wonder Whether Fate Is Accidental

October 13: Yom Kippur Remains a Day of Morning

October 14: You Cannot Get Away from Being Plural

October 15: You Pray Not for Yourself Alone but All

October 16: You Pray to Be Included in the Book

You Pray Not for Yourself Alone but All

October 15, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is atonement, in honor of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, which falls on October 12.

Today’s poem is about the communal nature of personal sin.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

You pray not for yourself alone but all.

One never chooses sin in isolation.

Most evil is not merely personal.

Kindness looks for common inspiration.

In every act there is community.

Perhaps one would prefer it were not so.

Placing each's guilt on all may be

Unfair, but then each righteous soul must see

Reflections of itself in every woe.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/youpra.html . For more poems for Yom Kippur, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/yomkippurpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Atonement.

October 10: Yearning Is a Function of Atonement

October 11: Ye of Little Faith, You’re Welcome Here

October 12: You Wonder Whether Fate Is Accidental

October 13: Yom Kippur Remains a Day of Morning

October 14: You Cannot Get Away from Being Plural

October 15: You Pray Not for Yourself Alone butAll

You Cannot Get Away from Being Plural

October 14, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is atonement, in honor of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, which falls on October 12.

Today’s poem is about the relationship between your sins and mine.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

You cannot get away from being plural;

On you must rest the burden of my sin.

Moreover, your self-portrait is a mural,

Kaleidoscope of all you’ve touched within.

In what you say I find my inspiration,

Perhaps unfairly making you my guide.

Penitence presumes that expectation,

Uniting others’ sins with yours inside,

Relating my pretense to your false pride.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/youca2.html . For more poems for Yom Kippur, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/yomkippurpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Atonement.

October 10: Yearning Is a Function of Atonement

October 11: Ye of Little Faith, You’re Welcome Here

October 12: You Wonder Whether Fate Is Accidental

October 13: Yom Kippur Remains a Day of Morning

October 14: You Cannot Get Away from BeingPlural

Yom Kippur Remains a Day of Morning

October 13, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is atonement, in honor of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, which falls on October 12.

Today’s poem is about Yom Kippur as the hopeful beginning of a joyful, loving year.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Yom Kippur remains a day of morning

On which another year of joy depends.

Most make the most of life by choosing love,

Knowing what they have no knowledge of.

Immersed in means, they leave to God the ends.

Penitence must work its will by evening,

Passionate enough to make amends,

Until the last horn blows, the lovers leaving,

Resolved to grace whichever way life wends.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/yomki2.html . For more poems for Yom Kippur, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/yomkippurpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Atonement.

October 10: Yearning Is a Function of Atonement

October 11: Ye of Little Faith, You’re Welcome Here

October 12: You Wonder Whether Fate Is Accidental

October 13: Yom Kippur Remains a Day of Morning

You Wonder Whether Fate Is Accidental

October 12, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is atonement, in honor of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, which falls on October 12.

Today’s poem is about prayer with uncertain faith.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

You wonder whether fate is accidental,

Or whether this one day a harrowed heart

Might make some difference to a willing God,

Knowing faith is not experimental.

In fact, you know quite well that you don't know

Precisely why you're here, or why today,

Perhaps most out of loyalty, you pray,

Unwilling to let long-loved labors go,

Reciting with true grace the ancient part.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/youwon.html . For more poems for Yom Kippur, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/yomkippurpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Atonement.

October 10: Yearning Is a Function of Atonement

October 11: Ye of Little Faith, You’re Welcome Here

October 12: You Wonder Whether Fate IsAccidental

Ye of Little Faith, You're Welcome Here

October 11, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is atonement, in honor of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, which falls on October 12.

Today’s poem is for those who come to pray but once a year.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Ye of little faith, you're welcome here

On this day of fasting, faith, and prayer.

May we attempt together to atone,

Knowing well that we in sin are one.

If you come but once a year, at least

Please take a smidgeon with you when you leave:

Perhaps a shard of beauty, or a word

Uniting you with us until the world

Returns you next year safe to this, your home.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/yeofli.html . For more poems for Yom Kippur, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/yomkippurpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Atonement.

October 10: Yearning Is a Function of Atonement

October 11: Ye of Little Faith, You’re WelcomeHere

Yearning Is a Function of Atonement

October 10, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is atonement, in honor of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, which falls on October 12.

Today’s poem is about the appropriateness of a selfish motive for repentance.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Yearning is a function of atonement.

One yearns for one’s own personal salvation.

Might that give one pause for just one moment,

Knowing one’s extrinsic motivation?

Is that yearning purely for oneself,

Praying for the sake of one’s own good?

Perhaps. But in the heart there is no gulf

Unbridged between the roots of what one would.

Repentance draws from all springs, as it should.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/yearni.html . For more poems for Yom Kippur, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/yomkippurpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Atonement.

October 10: Yearning Is a Function of Atonement

Proverbs on Justice and Love

October 9, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is peace and brotherly love, in honor of the fact that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Muharram, the Muslim New Year, fall just one day apart.

Today’s poem is a set of proverbs on justice and love.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

PROVERBS ON JUSTICE AND LOVE

1. Every person, no matter how horrible, is a child of God and is therefore loved.

2. The causes of evil are pain, lust, and fear.

3. Since evil is both caused by pain and causes pain, it is self-perpetuating.

4. Thus one way to diminish evil is to answer pain with love and understanding.

5. Violence may be necessary in self-defense or in pursuit of justice, but violence in pursuit of vengeance is evil.

6. People have an innate sense of justice, just as they have of symmetry or balance. Even infants know when a punishment is just. Parents can tell from the sound of the cry.

7. Without just rules there is anarchy or rebellion, in which everyone's survival is threatened. Thus just rules and equitable enforcement are the primary responsibilities of the State.

8. Without justice the weak are defenseless. Without mercy justice is a robot that knows not what it does.

9. Justice diminishes evil by diminishing fear. Love diminishes evil by diminishing pain and lust.

10. Failure to discipline a child who does wrong teaches weakness. Discipline in anger teaches evil. Discipline out of justice teaches order. Discipline with love teaches goodness.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/juslov.html. For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Peace and Brotherly Love.

October 3: Ismail and Yitzhak Are Half-Brothers

October 4: Hatred Has No Color, Creed, or Race

October 5: My Home Is Here, America

October 6: Revel in Your Righteousness

October 7: Hope Is the Only Road to Peace

October 8: Peace Is Just a Brief Time Out from Killing

October 9: Proverbs on Justice and Love

Peace Is Just a Brief Time Out from Killing

October 8, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is peace and brotherly love, in honor of the fact that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Muharram, the Muslim New Year, fall just one day apart.

Today’s poem is about how each of us is the cause of hatred, war, and sin.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Peace is just a brief time out from killing.

Each pulse of hatred beats beyond the skin.

A war could not be won were we not willing.

Change without requires change within.

Each of us remains the cause of sin.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/peace.html. For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Peace and Brotherly Love.

October 3: Ismail and Yitzhak Are Half-Brothers

October 4: Hatred Has No Color, Creed, or Race

October 5: My Home Is Here, America

October 6: Revel in Your Righteousness

October 7: Hope Is the Only Road to Peace

October 8: Peace Is Just a Brief Time Out fromKilling

Hope Is the Only Road to Peace

October 7, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is peace and brotherly love, in honor of the fact that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Muharram, the Muslim New Year, fall just one day apart.

Today’s poem is about hope as the necessary condition for peace.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Hope is the only road to peace,

A steep and winding way

That climbs up to a sunlit field

Where dawn can last all day.

And in that day-long dawn two sides

Can put aside their fear

And learn to talk and deal and trust

And dream – but only here.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/hopei3.html. For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Peace and Brotherly Love.

October 3: Ismail and Yitzhak Are Half-Brothers

October 4: Hatred Has No Color, Creed, or Race

October 5: My Home Is Here, America

October 6: Revel in Your Righteousness

October 7: Hope Is the Only Road to Peace

Revel in Your Righteousness

October 6, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is peace and brotherly love, in honor of the fact that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Muharram, the Muslim New Year, fall just one day apart.

Today’s poem is about how joy in being affects the mix of good and evil in everyone.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Revel in your righteousness,

For you are truly good,

Wise enough to understand

What lies behind each “should.”

There's depth to your morality

And kindness to your care.

Duty joins with empathy

To will the weight you bear.

Oh, yes, you hear the suffering

That sings within your heart

Of death and pain, of cruelty

In which all must take part.

Oh, yes, within you strangle

The people whom you hate,

And sex consumes your fantasies

With lust no love can sate.

But underneath, a canticle

Of gratitude and praise

Creates a choral pedal point

To harmonize your days.

There is a joy in being

That does all goodness move,

A universal gravity

That binds all things in love.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/reveli.html. For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Peace and Brotherly Love.

October 3: Ismail and Yitzhak Are Half-Brothers

October 4: Hatred Has No Color, Creed, or Race

October 5: My Home Is Here, America

October 6: Revel in Your Righteousness

My Home Is Here, America

October 5, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is peace and brotherly love, in honor of the fact that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Muharram, the Muslim New Year, fall just one day apart.

Today’s poem is about America as the promised land for all races.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

My home is here, America,

My Promised Land, my Yisrael.

What God gave to my ancestors,

He now gives equally to all.

My Promised Land, my Yisrael,

Is homeland to the human race.

He now gives equally to all

A holy land, a sacred place;

Is homeland to the human race,

The world's long longed-for world-to-be,

A holy land, a sacred place,

Where all alike are safe and free.

The world's long longed-for world-to-be,

What God gave to my ancestors,

Where all alike are safe and free:

My home is here, America!

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/myhome.html. For more poems about nationality or race, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/racepoems.html.

This week’s theme: Peace and Brotherly Love.

October 3: Ismail and Yitzhak Are Half-Brothers

October 4: Hatred Has No Color, Creed, or Race

October 5: My Home Is Here, America

Hatred Has No Color, Creed, or Race

October 4, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is peace and brotherly love, in honor of the fact that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Muharram, the Muslim New Year, fall just one day apart.

Today’s poem is about the universality of hatred and the need for love.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Hatred has no color, creed, or race.

All hate, more or less, and thus destroy

The fragile ecosystem of the heart,

Restoring which requires faith and grace.

Each must love for any hope of joy,

Disciplining hate with well-honed art.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/hatred.html. For more philosophical poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/philosophicalpoems.html.

This week’s theme: Peace and Brotherly Love.

October 3: Ismail and Yitzhak Are Half-Brothers

October 4: Hatred Has No Color, Creed, or Race

Ismail and Yitzhak Are Half-Brothers

October 3, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is peace and brotherly love, in honor of the fact that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Muharram, the Muslim New Year, fall just one day apart.

Today’s poem is a New Year’s plea for peace between Muslim and Jew.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Ismail and Yitzhak are half-brothers,

Raised by different, sometimes hostile mothers,

But joined in ancestry by one great man –

Their father, Ibrahim, or Abraham.

So close they are, and yet so far apart!

Their enmity a defect of the heart.

For families ought to love, and not to fight.

But each, aggrieved, is sure that he is right.

Their New Years are this year almost in sync,

Which is more meaningful than you might think.

For though in both the hatred might run deep,

None would willing sow what they might reap.

And so this accident of New Year dates,

If seized by them to harmonize their fates,

Clarifies the compromise that sits

So clearly on the table of their wits,

And realigns the borders of their fear

To resurrect the hopes that both hold dear.

Oh, what a life for both might then ensue!

The dreams of plenty coming into view!

As brothers their old brotherhood renew

In one new year for Muslim and for Jew!

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/ismail.html. For more poems about nationality or race, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/racepoems.html .

This week’s theme: Peace and Brotherly Love.

October 3: Ismail and Yitzhak Are Half-Brothers

Why Is It that a Child Makes Life Worthwhile

October 2, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. This week’s theme is pregnancy and childbirth.

Today’s poem is about why children make life worthwhile.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Why is it that a child makes life worthwhile?

Why is hope with each new birth new born?

What deep remembrance, shadowed in a smile,

Brings back the dream whose measured loss we mourn?

Why do we think that life that is to be

Has greater aptitude for being more,

As if we rose not from the self-same sea

To crash in turn against the self-same shore?

Why do we wrap the best of us in song,

The Eden that we left but never lost,

And try to pass that purer self along,

Not counting risk or reckoning the cost?

I do not know, but know that from my womb

Has come a life whose life makes my life bloom.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/whyis.html. For more poems about pregnancy and childbirth, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthpregnancypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Pregnancy and Childbirth.

September 26: A Universe, a Little Boy

September 27: Hallelujah! I’m Pregnant! Praise the Lord

September 28: I Have Some Information for Your Files

September 29: Welcome to This Wide-Eyed World

September 30: Glad Tidings of Great Joy Are Come to You

October 1: A Child Is the Greatest Gift

October 2: Why Is It that a Child Makes LifeWorthwhile