Memories of My Soul

Lyle C Summers

Description

This book contains 32 original poems presented in five categories. The first is Just for Fun and contains writings that began with serious reflections and then were twisted by my inner poet into tongue-in-cheek rhyme. Three poems share some of my personal history growing up on the farm, and are served with a touch of nostalgia. The third section is motivational and the fourth is about the things that are special to me, and things I hope will touch the reader’s heart. The final section is a deep dive into a few of the major issues our nation faces in 2023.

Sujets

• Inspirational
• Poetry

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris US
• Date de parution: 16 mai 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669877066
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Memories of My Soul
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LYLE C SUMMERS
 
Copyright © 2023 by Lyle C Summers.
 
Library of Congress Control Number:
2023908746
ISBN:
Hardcover
978-1-6698-7708-0

Softcover
978-1-6698-7707-3

eBook
978-1-6698-7706-6
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rev. date: 05/16/2023
 
 
 
 
 
Xlibris
844-714-8691
www.Xlibris.com
852947
 
Most of the poems found here will fit on one page or less. Three of them are quite long with four pages for “Questions” and “Self-improvement Generation” while “Flashbacks” is fourteen pages in the typed manuscript. “Questions” tells of a likely but fictitious conversation with the savior Jesus Christ. “Self-improvement Generation” is a tongue-in-cheek account of the self-help books that flooded the book market over a generation ago. “Flashbacks” tells a story of a boy growing up on his family’s farm and finding himself on a load of hay when the team of horses that are pulling the wagon is frightened and runs away. When he gets really scared and fears he will die, his mind flashes back to better times and fond memories. The fond memories are from my own actual experiences; the runaway team of horses is fictional.
 
To my wife of sixty-six years and our large family in hope that there is some wisdom contained herein that will help them embrace poetry as a means of self-expression and self-learning. Carole has suffered many hours of pain from cancer and other afflictions in her life. My most profound hope is that macular degeneration, which has left her unable to read these poems, can be cured so that she can see things that are lovely and meaningful.
Contents
Preface
Just for Fun
The Laziest Hunter
To Church on Time
The Water Crisis
When Mom Gets Sick
I Hate to Wait
‘Tis Noble to be Mobile
Self-Improvement Generation
Friends
Birth of a Poem
Children
Remembering
Flashbacks
Looking Back
Farm Boy
Moving Forward
Trying
Succeeding
Being Free
It Is Your World
Not Where but How
Things to Cherish
Worship
Transitions
What Does He Mean?
Questions
Miracle at Temple Square
Knowing
A Pattern
A Place to Call Home
Love on the Bus
Hunter’s Prayer
Current Issues
Poor Mother Nature
Why?
Because
It’s a Good Country
Preface
This little book is a collection of poems that came through my brain and my heart then to the computer and now to you. It reflects many years of living life and trying to make sense of what I learned. It is a reflection of my moods, hopes, and fears, along with the love, kindness, and understanding I found as I lived with, and among, people who are true saints. There were a few little devils in there also, but they have been subdued, and some were even converted to the cause of truth.
Inside each of us lives a little poet voluntarily striving to interpret events in our environment so that the mind and spirit can comprehend their meaning and help us define and describe our deep, exclusive, and complex feelings. I discovered my little poet quite by accident one Saturday while struggling with a special assignment at work. He astonished me by taking control of my .5 mm Pentel mechanical pencil and then writing my assigned report in a totally unconventional but precise way. As we became better acquainted, I found he is an intensely interesting creature who possesses a unique ability to express what the rest of me wants to say but is not able. One version of that report, as dictated by my little poet, appears on page 4 and is titled, “The Water Crisis.” The final report ended up being quite different.
Just for Fun
The Laziest Hunter
When it’s open season for the deer
Nimrods leave with guns and gear.
They take their horses, jeeps, RVs
To get them up beyond the t rees.
 
They swarm upon the hills like flies
Then spent the evenings telling lies
About the buck they shot last fall,
So huge they’ve not yet eaten it all.
 
They say, “It tastes as good as beef,
The jerky was beyond be lief.”
“Deer steaks fed some twenty men,
That four-point rack hangs in the den.”
 
So you won’t think I’m crit ical,
let me just say I’m pract ical.
I love to hunt like all the rest,
I’ll have you know I’m among the best.
 
I know where those old deer hang out
And just what stalking’s all a bout,
But when it comes to shooting things
You can’t ignore the work that br ings.
 
Those are not self-cleaning deer you know
And it’s five miles to camp through the snow.
And even if the horse gets thr ough,
He will buck and rear until he’s blue
Because he doesn’t want no hide and rack
Reclining there upon his back.
Consider what the cost will be
To have it cut and wrapped, why gee!
 
The license cost, the gas, the hay,
The shells, the interest that you pay
On camper, trailer, four-wheel d rive,
Why, it’ll eat you up a live!
 
The way to make the hunt more fun
Is simple: just don’t take a gun.
With a camera, you won’t get as t ired,
permits and bullets are not requ ired.
 
Shoot all the deer that you can find
Without the fuss, the sweat, the g rind.
And leave the harvest of the herd
For those who need their egos sti rred.

To Church on Time
Mom:
“It’s time to get up. Go feed the pup,
bring the Sunday pape r in.
Go comb your hair, get your socks off the c hair,
Yes, I think the Jazz will win.
Find your shoe, get your best shirt too.
 
Your father can help too you know.
Let’s not be late, you know how I hate
to sit on the very front row.”
C hild:
“Well, here we are, left my crayons in the car
On the floor by the back seat.
It’s tough, by gosh, when you have to wash
But don’t have time to eat.
Oh, what the heck! I’m not dead yet
But it sure is a long time ’til di nner.
But my teacher is neat. I bet she brought a t reat.
That sister is really a wi nner.”

The Water Crisis
Water is king in this dry land
Where wind and sun move money and sand.
At a conference on water, I could not miss,
The lunchtime speeches went something like this:
A politi cian:
“Water is our lifeblood.” The gentleman’s b luff.
It’s worth any cost to have enough
To wash and drink, pollution ab ates,
We need more water to irrigate
The corn, the beans, the hay, the w heat,
Potatoes, lettuce, and fruit to eat.
 
“We need more water to help create
The ecology of our new lands cape.
To swim within, to boat upon,
To give the fish a place to s pawn;
 
“We’ll store these flows from the mountaintops
To mix with barley, mash, and hops;
Provide a backdrop for theater and d ance,
“Carry waste to the treatment pl ants.
This land could flow with milk and honey
The crisis is no government m oney!”
An environmenta list:
“We have our water, all we need.
More water will sprout destructions seed.
Save the ferret, the wily wound fin.
More water will bring more peopl e in.
 
“We have enough commerce and electric li ghts.
They are trying to steal our water ri ghts.
A reservoir will ruin our fields with sub,
And endanger the mighty humpback chub.
 
“We are right content with our home on the r ange,
Suspicious of people who want to bring ch ange.
They will lie and cheat to get their way;
They want to take free choice away.
 
“They’ll raise our taxes and water c osts;
Soon our freedoms will all be lost.
That new water project is lu nacy,
Who is behind this conspi racy?”
An engi neer:
“Water is the reason to build a dam
Or dig a ditch or create a span
Over canyon or highway to get it ac ross,
Allowing for no more than a ten-percent loss.
Water is a challenge for all of us
To keep it clean amid the fuss
By advocates of the pristine state
To meet the minimum standards . . . a few years late.
“Water is the primary reason
For seeding clouds in the proper se ason;
Assisting the almighty in his grace
By putting precip in a