I am glad I know the author of the best book in the world, the Bible. It is God himself who used men to pen His thoughts. Some of the best poems I’ve seen, however, with the exception of some wondrous poems by family members, have been written by unknown authors. This particular poem, though I know neither the author nor the title of the poem is one of those wondrous poems, in my estimation. I do believe, however, that God knows the author (and that’s the important thing, isn’t it?). If I could name this poem, though, I might name it: “The Choice of the Lord.” See what you think of this:
I may never see tomorrow;
There’s no written guarantee,
And things that happened yesterday,
Belong to history.
I cannot predict the future,
I cannot change the past,
I have just the present moment,
I must treat it as my last.
I must use this moment wisely,
For it soon will pass away,
And be lost to me forever,
As part of yesterday.
I must exercise compassion,
Help the fallen to their feet,
Be a friend unto the friendless,
Make an empty life complete.
The unkind things I do today,
May never be undone,
And friendships that I fail to win,
May nevermore be won.
I may not have another chance,
On bended knee to pray,
And thank God with humble heart,
For giving me this day.
Life without purpose is barren indeed.
There can’t be a harvest unless you plant seed.
There can’t be attainment unless there’s a goal.
And man’s but a robot unless there’s a soul.
If we send no ships out,
No ships will come in,
And unless there’s a contest,
Nobody can win.
For games can’t be won,
Unless they are played,
And prayers can’t be answered,
Unless they are prayed.
So whatever is wrong with your life today,
You’ll find a solution if you kneel down and pray.
Not just for pleasure, enjoyment and health,
Not just for honors and prestige and wealth.
But pray for a purpose to make life worth living,
And pray for the joy of unselfish giving.
For great is your gladness and rich your reward,
When you make your life’s purpose the choice of the Lord.
– Author Unknown
Tommy Joe 
“Poetry (from the Greek “ποίησις”, poiesis, a “making” or “creating”) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. Poetry may be written independently, as discrete poems, or may occur in conjunction with other arts, as in poetic drama, hymns or lyrics.
Poetry, and discussions of it, have a long history. Early attempts to define poetry, such as Aristotle’s Poetics, focused on the uses of speech in rhetoric, drama, song and comedy.[1] Later attempts concentrated on features such as repetition and rhyme, and emphasised the aesthetics which distinguish poetry from prose.[2] From the mid-20th century, poetry has sometimes been more loosely defined as a fundamental creative act using language.[3]
Poetry often uses particular forms and conventions to expand the literal meaning of the words, or to evoke emotional or sensual responses. Devices such as assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve musical or incantatory effects. Poetry’s use of ambiguity, symbolism, irony and other stylistic elements of poetic diction often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations. Similarly, metaphor and simile create a resonance between otherwise disparate images—a layering of meanings, forming connections previously not perceived. Kindred forms of resonance may exist, between individual verses, in their patterns of rhyme or rhythm.
Some forms of poetry are specific to particular cultures and genres, responding to the characteristics of the language in which the poet writes. While readers accustomed to identifying poetry with Dante, Goethe, Mickiewicz and Rumi may think of it as being written in rhyming lines and regular meter, there are traditions, such as those of Du Fu and Beowulf, that use other approaches to achieve rhythm and euphony. In today’s globalized world, poets often borrow styles, techniques and forms from diverse cultures and languages.”
“Poetry” from Wikipedia
And how is this a poem rather than prose arranged in lines that speak the same message we’ve heard 1,000 times? Where is the language play, the layers of meaning, the mystery, th images? What has anon. added to our understanding of… well, anything, Tommy? It describes a good way to live, but as a poem. it’s probably best that we don’t know who wrote it. Now if you’re talking about the Psalms, it’s a whole different world.
Psalms is definitely good poetry. No qualms about that! For the poetry like this one where the words of every other line (2nd & 4th) not only rhyme perfectly but DO show meaning too, I’m attracted to. I’m persuaded that it takes thought to bring about this kind of cadence and “wise simplicity.” I know there are other forms of poetry, but sometimes I guess I’m not bright enough to always comprehend them.
Tom, this is a great poem. Thank you for finding it and sharing it.
I especially am taken from the line, “If we send no ships out, no ships will come in.
shirley Buxton
http://www.shirleybuxton.wordpress.com
Whoops–a typo..Third line should read…am taken with the line…
Correct it and delete this if you wish, Tom.
sorry to miss up your site. 😦
whoops again. This is ridiculous…sorry to mess up your site, not miss it up. 😦
Think about it though..you’re getting lots of additional hits.
No problem, Sis. Buxton. I’ve done similarly a time or two, AND THANKS INDEED FOR THE HITS. With all these hits, now I’ll really have to figure out my blog worth. HAW!
Be it poem or prose, it does give us something worthwhile of our contemplation. It addresses the question of how are we living our life and are we choosing the things that will make a difference in eternity. Thanks for sharing, Tom.
Love,
‘lynnie
‘lynnie: I’m glad you thought this was worthy of contemplation. Now, if only I could say I’d written it. Perhaps I’ll write another poem one day. It’s been a while for me.
Beautiful poem Tommy. I may have seen it somewhere before as it sounds familiar. Maybe Mom read it to us when we were kids??
Love,
Keek
I’m glad you thought it was beautiful. I thought it was pretty good. I don’t remember hearing this poem before. Mom ONLY read Edgar A. Guest poems to us when we were little (LAUGH).
Hey hey, Tommy! Why does it feel like forever since I’ve visited here? Happy day to you & yours. Give your mom a hula hooping hug for me. I love that picture one of the sisters has posted of her & Abby’s hula hoop. Sounds like ya’ll be enjoying a visit from Bab soon. Have fun!
Carmen: Thanks for the comment. Not to worry about your “not visiting” in a while. I know things get busy in our “little parts of the world.” As long as I hear from you from time to time (and know you & Gracie are doing fine), I’ll be OK with that!. And YEAH, how ’bout that “hula hoopin’?! Not only did mom do it, I tried my “hip” at it and after a few attempts did A-OK. I guess I’ve still got it. HAW! Will be looking forward to Bob’s visit if/when he can make it out!
Soooo………when’s UT going to make another post??
I’ll put it on my “to do list,” and will try to get that out soon. OK?
In response to ur comment on my blog, I love thaat scripture. In fact so much it’s tattooed on my arm. It’s great to hear from you.