Monday, June 20, 2016

Friends in High School Are Forever Young

June 21, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. Since many public schools hold their graduation ceremonies this week, this week’s theme is graduation.

Today’s poem is a high-school graduation poem about leaving friends behind.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Friends in high school are forever young.
Unchanged, they're where you always will belong.
The crowd is never gone, the pleasure stays,
The music of the moment always plays,
The time remains a field of wistful grace
To which you may return from anyplace.
Of course, you may still know them later on
When you are someone else and years have run;
And you may love them dearly, and they you,
But time must make their friendship something new.
Meanwhile, flourishing within your heart
There is a whole, of which you were a part:
A group of friends, one in love and pain,
In whom your longing comes alive 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/friends.html. For more graduation poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/graduationpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Graduation.
June 21: Friends in High School Are ForeverYoung

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Moving On from Middle School

June 20, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. Since many public schools hold their graduation ceremonies this week, this week’s theme is graduation.

Today’s poem is a middle-school graduation poem about moving on.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Moving on from middle school.
Growing up, I guess.
Going on to high school.
Happy, more or less.

Sometimes life is like that.
Leaving stuff behind.
Nothing much remaining.
Memories in the wind.

Yes, sometimes life is like that.
Here and then it’s gone.
That’s OK. I’m ready.
Moving, moving on.

© by Nicholas Gordon

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

This week’s theme: Graduation.
June 20: Moving On from Middle School

Saturday, June 18, 2016

The Things You Taught Me I Will Always Know

June 19, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is fatherhood, in honor of Father’s Day, which falls on June 19.

Today’s poem is a Father’s Day thank-you poem from a grateful child.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

The things you taught me I will always know.
How could I not? The roots have sunk so deep:
All lessons of the heart that I will keep
No matter who I am or where I go.
Kids learn from what their parents are, and so
You are my book of life, the thoughts I reap;
Only in your arms I quiet sleep;
Under my words your voice sings soft and slow.
From you I learned the rules of right and wrong
Against which I at times had to rebel,
Though with regret I carry with me still.
How lucky I am to have been loved so well,
Even as I pushed against your will,
Relying on a father fair and 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/thethi.html. For more Father’s Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/fathersdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Fatherhood.
Jun 19: The Things You Taught Me I Will AlwaysKnow

Perhaps We'll Never Understand Each Other

June 18, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is fatherhood, in honor of Father’s Day, which falls on June 19.

Today’s poem is a Father’s Day poem from a son who fights with his father.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Perhaps we'll never understand each other.
Loving doesn't mean that we agree.
If that were so, then I would say, why bother?
But there are things I know I'll never see.
I'm sure your heart knows what I don't yet know:
The pain of loving a reluctant son;
The anger, coming fast and building slow,
Of being helpless to control someone.
You want only that I grow up right,
But you know what right is, and I still don't.
I have to learn to wield my inner light,
And if I follow yours, well, then I won't.
I'm sorry for the anger in the air;
Though we fight, my love is always there.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/perha2.html. For more Father’s Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/fathersdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Fatherhood.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Fathers Who Must Love from Far Away

June 17, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is fatherhood, in honor of Father’s Day, which falls on June 19.

Today’s poem is a Father’s Day poem for fathers who are separated from their child.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Fathers who must love from far away
Are distanced from their child by more than space.
The child changes almost every day.
How might the father hope, then, to keep pace?
Even so, the deeper bond remains
Regardless of the losses and the gains,
Sight unseen, yet strong and full of grace.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/fathe7.html. For more Father’s Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/fathersdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Fatherhood.
June 17: Fathers Who Must Love from Far Away

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Daddy, I Love You

June 16, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is fatherhood, in honor of Father’s Day, which falls on June 19.

Today’s poem is a Father’s Day poem from a little child.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Daddy, I love you
For all that you do.
I'll kiss you and hug you
'Cause you love me, too.

You feed me and need me
To teach you to play,
So smile 'cause I love you
On this Father's Day.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/daddyi.html. For more Father’s Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/fathersdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Fatherhood.
June 16: Daddy, I Love You

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Happiness Comes in Many Shapes and Sizes

June 15, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is fatherhood, in honor of Father’s Day, which falls on June 19.

Today’s poem is a Father’s Day poem for someone who is childless.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Happiness comes in many shapes and sizes.
Anyone can find a proper fit.
Praised be those who take life bit by bit,
Poised to polish setbacks and surprises.
Yet life is always more than one surmises.
Fortune favors those who favor it,
And whether caused by choice, chance, whim, or writ,
Turns out to be a text that one revises.
How might you, childless, celebrate this day,
Enjoying what will never be your own,
Reminded of a loss you might regret
‘Mid families out to pay their homage due?
So may you cherish children on your way,
Delighting in the ones you have on loan,
And do with love and art the things that let
You father what is beautiful and true.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/happ73.html. For more Father’s Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/fathersdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Fatherhood.
June 15: Happiness Comes in Many Shapes andSizes

I Have You in My Bones

June 14, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is fatherhood, in honor of Father’s Day, which falls on June 19.

Today’s poem is a Father’s Day poem from a child who was abandoned by his father.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

I have you in my bones, the way I laugh,
The way I shrug, a moodiness that gathers
When I don't get my way. You are half
Of me, and yet I've never met you. It matters,
Oh, yes, it matters. You are in my smile,
The way I whistle when I'm happy, a certain
Skip up the stairs, a jaunty sense of style,
Off-kilter, off-key. I peer around the curtain
Of your abandonment and wonder: What
If you had stayed, had loved me, had loved my mother?
And what does it say of me that you would put
Yourself so first? Is that also me? What other
Ugliness have I from you? Or grace?
They say I am the mirror of your face.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/ihavey.html. For more Father’s Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/fathersdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Fatherhood.
June 14: I Have You in My Bones

Monday, June 13, 2016

Children Need a Daddy

June 13, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is fatherhood, in honor of Father’s Day, which falls on June 19.

Today’s poem is a Father’s Day poem about what fathers are for.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Children need a Daddy
For many, many things:
Like holding them high off the ground
Where the sunlight sings!

Like being the deep music
That tells them all is right
When they awaken frantic with
The terrors of the night.

Like being the great mountain
That rises in their hearts
And shows them how they might get home
When all else falls apart.

Like giving them the love
That is their sea and air,
So diving deep or soaring high
They'll always find him there.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/child2.html. For more Father’s Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/fathersdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Fatherhood.
June 13: Children Need a Daddy

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Rights Are Not Equivalent to Freedom

June 12, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is faith, in honor of Ramadan, which begins on June 7.

Today’s poem is a Ramadan poem about rights, freedom, and community.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Rights are not equivalent to freedom.
All have claims upon the lives of all.
Make yourself a servant of the kingdom,
Acting in the interests of the whole.
Deeds are sermons preached upon the plain
As each from each has much to lose or gain;
Nor is faith the free choice of one soul.

© by Nicholas Gordon

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

This week’s theme: Faith.
June 12: Rights Are Not Equivalent to Freedom

Saturday, June 11, 2016

How Might One Untie the Knot

June 11, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is faith, in honor of Ramadan, which begins on June 7.

Today’s poem is about how the awareness of God’s love leaves one no alternative to the vicissitudes of faith.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

How might one untie the knot
That binds one to God's love?
For love imposes innocence,
And innocence, remorse.

The tenderness that time forgot
No caustic can remove:
The laws of cause and consequence
Are cut off at the source.

Love comes simply as one is,
Condemning one to hope,
Restoring culpability,
Awakening one's pain.

So loved, one cannot be but His,
Though one be moved to grope
Towards some amoral liberty
That seeks the void in vain.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/howmi6.html. For more poems about religion, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/religiouspoems.html .

This week’s theme: Faith.
June 11: How Might One Untie the Knot

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Righteousness Remains the Rock of Faith

June 10, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is faith, in honor of Ramadan, which begins on June 7.

Today’s poem is a Ramadan poem about how good works sustain faith.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Righteousness remains the rock of faith,
As what one does sustains what one believes.
Mere hypocrites might pray, the Prophet saith;
Actions must be words the heart conceives.
Do, then, what acts and rituals are due,
As faith becomes a flame that feeds on you,
No less than as a fire consumes dry leaves.

© by Nicholas Gordon

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

This week’s theme: Faith.
June 10: Righteousness Remains the Rock of Faith

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Read the Holy Book as Though Asleep

June 9, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is faith, in honor of Ramadan, which begins on June 7.

Today’s poem is a Ramadan poem about reading the Holy Book not just for its wisdom but also for its beauty.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Read the Holy Book as though asleep,
And in a dream awaken to its beauty,
Making it the music of your moment
And weaving it like gold throughout your day.
Do not journey through it just to reap,
Avid for the kernels of your duty,
Neglecting the thick flowers in your way.

© by Nicholas Gordon

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

This week’s theme: Faith.
June 9: Read the Holy Book as Though Asleep

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Reason Is No Cause for Revelation

June 8, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is faith, in honor of Ramadan, which begins on June 7.

Today’s poem is a Ramadan poem about faith and reason.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Reason is no cause for revelation.
A moment comes and goes; a word endures.
More than sense must underlie sensation.
A holy mind and heart such faith secures.
Depend, then, on your fasting to awaken
A love of Allah easily forsaken.
Nor is there mooring where one’s reason moors.

© by Nicholas Gordon

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

This week’s theme: Faith.
June 8: Reason Is No Cause for Revelation

Monday, June 6, 2016

Ramadan Reminds Us that the World

June 7, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is faith, in honor of Ramadan, which begins on June 7.

Today’s poem is about the role of Ramadan in reminding us of the primacy of eternal life.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Ramadan reminds us that the world
Around us is a temporary place
Made for an equivocal embrace
As we ride this rock through vastness hurled.
Dance upon the Earth with joy and laughter
As long as you remember what comes after.
Nor will you find your home in time and space.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/ramad2.html. For more Ramadan poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/ramadanpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Faith.
June 7: Ramadan Reminds Us that the World

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Rapture Comes Most Easily Within

June 6, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is faith, in honor of Ramadan, which begins on June 7.

Today’s poem is a Ramadan poem about the relationship between discipline and rapture.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Rapture comes most easily within
A discipline that divvies up the day,
Making time for timelessness, and space,
A rolled-up rectangle holy anyplace,
Dear temple of delight where one might pray,
Assigned some sweet-tongued verses to begin
Now hallowing this hollow cask of clay.

© by Nicholas Gordon

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

This week’s theme: Faith.
June 6: Rapture Comes Most Easily Within

Make My Sorrow Pride

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Memorial Day, which falls on May 30.

Today’s poem is a Memorial Day poem about the pain of grief.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Make my sorrow pride.
Enter me with light.
Mourning turns to morning,
Or so I would believe.
Reach me with your tide.
Inundate this blight.
Awaken me with longing,
Lest I live to grieve.

Deaf, dumb, blind inside,
All I am is night,
Yet too frail to leave.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/makem2.html. For more Memorial Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/memorialdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Memorial Day.
June 5: Make My Sorrow Pride

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Maybe There Is More to Life than Living

June 4, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Memorial Day, which falls on May 30.

Today’s poem is a Memorial Day poem about how life is a gift that is sometimes worth giving.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Maybe there is more to life than living.
Existence has more meaning as a means.
Maybe life's a gift that's well worth giving
Once the sacrifice distills the dreams.
Remember, then, the heroes we have squandered
In ignorance and fear and lust and greed.
All sacrifice ought equally be honored
Lest we confuse the courage with the need.
Destiny decrees the undreamed end
As some die for the dreams they would defend,
Yet yearning for what lies beyond the deed.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/maybe3.html. For more Memorial Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/memorialdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Memorial Day.
June 4: Maybe There Is More to Life Than Living

Friday, June 3, 2016

There Is in Grief a Saving Grace

June 3, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Memorial Day, which falls on May 30.

Today’s poem is a Memorial Day poem about the saving grace of grief.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

There is in grief a saving grace,
A melody of love
So beautiful no angel could
A mourner's heart so move.

The pain is just a measure of
The value of the loss,
A gift that will remain a gift,
For life can be no less.

The love's not lost, nor will it be
Eroded by the wind,
But will become the soil in which
You plant new seeds each spring.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/ther35.html. For more Memorial Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/memorialdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Memorial Day.
June 3: There Is in Grief a Saving Grace

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Memory's an Antidote for Death

June 2, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Memorial Day, which falls on May 30.

Today’s poem is a Memorial Day poem about memory and death.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Memory's an antidote for death.
Each love remembered does not wholly die.
Maybe one thinks loved ones will recall
One’s sacrifice preserved in ritual,
Redeemed by more than meets the buried eye.
In homage do the fallen draw their breath.
All, then, have a stake in memory,
Living in the hope of honor due.
Death might all obliterate, but all
Act with their post-mortem lives in view,
Yet longing to be loved in worlds to be.

© by Nicholas Gordon

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

This week’s theme: Memorial Day.
June 2: Memory’s an Antidote for Death

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Memories Respond to Invitations

June 1, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Memorial Day, which falls on May 30.

Today’s poem is a Memorial Day poem about the need for memorials to keep the memory of those long dead alive.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Memories respond to invitations,
Electing in their interests to attend.
Moments of remembrance moor sensations
On shadows shifting gently in the wind.
Remember to remember, then, those passed
In whom we vested hope in days of strife,
Again among the trenches, dropping fast,
Lost now to love as once they were to life.

Do honor them with rituals that last,
A list of names reduced to battered brass
Yet hallowed by a hell we cannot end.

© by Nicholas Gordon

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

This week’s theme: Memorial Day.
June 1: Memories Respond to Invitations

Make of Me Whatever You Desire

May 31, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Memorial Day, which falls on May 30.

Today’s poem is a Memorial Day epitaph for a fallen soldier.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Make of me whatever you desire.
Empty me of everything but you.
Memory's the light without the fire,
Offering what now will have to do.
Remember me for your sake, not for mine.
I'm nothing now but what you want to see,
A well-wrought miniature of your design,
Laid to rest within your marquetry.
Days of longing are for you alone
As I turn slowly into soil and stone,
Yielding what means nothing more to me.

© by Nicholas Gordon

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

This week’s theme: Memorial Day.
May 31: Make of Me Whatever You Desire

Monday, May 30, 2016

Maybe in the Grip of Pain

May 30, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is Memorial Day, which falls on May 30.

Today’s poem is a Memorial Day poem about love and grief.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Maybe in the grip of pain
Each moment seems like years.
Maybe there is beauty that
One cannot see through tears.
Remember that it’s love that is
Impossible to bear,
As loss would not be torture without
Love to lead it there.
Days of grief are days of grace,
Although quite different on their face.
Yet love is what they share.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/mayb12.html. For more Memorial Day poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/memorialdaypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Memorial Day.
May 30: Maybe in the Grip of Pain

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Nine

May 29, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is children’s birthdays. If you would like to use any of these poems, please feel free to change the names and/or genders in them.

Today’s poem is a birthday number poem for the parents of a nine year old.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Nine is an age when children like to lie:
Instantly, the world is rearranged!
Nothing is the same, and nothing's changed,
Except an angel waves one last 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/9.html. For more birthday poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthdaypoems.html . For more poems to children, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/childrenpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Children’s Birthdays.
May 24: You’re Four
May 27: One5
May 28: You Are Five
May 29: Nine

Saturday, May 28, 2016

You Are Five

May 28, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is children’s birthdays. If you would like to use any of these poems, please feel free to change the names and/or genders in them.

Today’s poem is a birthday poem for a five-year-old girl who can read.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

You are five!
A big girl now!
Reading on your own!

I know you can
'Cause look at this:
You've just read this poem!

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/your5.html. For more birthday poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthdaypoems.html . For more poems to children, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/childrenpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Children’s Birthdays.
May 24: You’re Four
May 27: One5
May 28: You Are Five

Friday, May 27, 2016

One5

May 27, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is children’s birthdays. If you would like to use any of these poems, please feel free to change the names and/or genders in them.

Today’s poem is a birthday number poem for the parents of a one-year-old girl.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

One has piano legs and chubby cheeks.
Now she babbles, now she nearly speaks,
Embracing heartily the words she seeks.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/1e.html. For more birthday poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthdaypoems.html . For more poems to children, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/childrenpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Children’s Birthdays.
May 24: You’re Four
May 27: One5

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Maddy Is Four Years Old Today

May 26, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is children’s birthdays. If you would like to use any of these poems, please feel free to change the names and/or genders in them.

Today’s poem is a birthday poem for a four-year-old girl.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Maddy is four years old today!
Now it's time to laugh and play!

Now it's time to sing a song
And have a party all day long!

Now it's time to have some fun!
So Happy Birthday, little one!

© by Nicholas Gordon

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

This week’s theme: Children’s Birthdays.
May 24: You’re Four
May 26: Maddy Is Four Years Old Today

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

You're Eight

May 25, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is children’s birthdays. If you would like to use any of these poems, please feel free to change the names and/or genders in them.

Today’s poem is a birthday poem for an eight year old.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

You're eight! You're eight!
Now isn't that great?

You can't be seven --
It's too late!

You can't be nine --
You'll have to wait!

This is your year
For being eight!

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/youre8.html. For more birthday poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthdaypoems.html . For more poems to children, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/childrenpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Children’s Birthdays.
May 24: You’re Four
May 25: You’re Eight

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

You're Four

May 24, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is children’s birthdays. If you would like to use any of these poems, please feel free to change the names and/or genders in them.

Today’s poem is a birthday poem for a four-year-old boy.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

You’re four! You’re four!
A big boy now!
But not as big
As a horse or cow!

You’re bigger than
A bee or ant,
But not as big
As an elephant!

You’re bigger than
A monkey’s tail,
But not as big
As a humpback whale!

You’re bigger than
You were before.
Then you were three,
But now you’re four!

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/youre4.html. For more birthday poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/birthdaypoems.html . For more poems to children, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/childrenpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Children’s Birthdays.
May 24: You’re Four

Monday, May 23, 2016

Sing, Little Madeline

May 23, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is children’s birthdays. If you would like to use any of these poems, please feel free to change the names and/or genders in them.

Today’s poem is a birthday poem for a little girl of about 5 – 7.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Sing, little Madeline! Sing for joy!
Your birthday is today!
Perhaps you’ll get a doll or toy
With which to dance and play.

Perhaps you’ll have a birthday cake
With candles to blow out,
A celebration for your sake
With loved ones all about.

Sing, little Madeline! Sing a song
Of happiness and pleasure!
This day is your day all day long,
A day that you will treasure.

© by Nicholas Gordon

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

This week’s theme: Children’s Birthdays.
May 23: Sing, Little Madeline

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Happy Sixth Anniversary3

May 22, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is anniversaries.

Today’s poem is a sixth anniversary poem about choosing love.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Happy sixth anniversary!
A time to think of time.
Perhaps one chooses freely;
Perhaps there's a design.
Years tell a simple story,
Some would say foretold,
In which, through choice unchanging,
Xeroxing their we,
The lovers remain loving,
Having once struck gold.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/happ72.html. For more anniversary poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/anniversarypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Anniversaries.
May 22: Happy Sixth Anniversary3

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Even as the Years Accumulate

May 21, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is anniversaries.

Today’s poem is an eighth anniversary poem about the love beneath the years.

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

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Even as the years accumulate,
In love there is a wonder always there,
Grace like light along a dark horizon,
Harbinger of sunrise in the heart,
Taking us each dawning by surprise.

Years pile up like leaves, disintegrate,
Each memory a seedling that we share
As we become entangled in a rhizome
Rich with roots we cannot tell apart,
Selves made one on which each self relies.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/evena4.html. For more anniversary poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/anniversarypoems.html .

This week’s theme: Anniversaries.
May 21: Even as the Years Accumulate