Hi all
I have just joined this forum and am glad to see a few of my old buddies from the PDS forum in England so of course its a special hello to them but not forgetting everyone else here. I realize I will have to earn my respect here and will introduce myself by way of some prose. Hope you enjoy.

The Winter of my Life

In the winter of my life
The shadows of my past,
seem to be darker and longer.
The clutching grasping fingers of fear
are colder, they seem so much bigger.

In the winter of my life
The creeping, silent invasion of my body
by a cruel and unrelenting disease, is stronger, bolder
more painful.

In the winter of my life
As the demons of the night terrorize me
and the pain in my body threatens to engulf me, I whisper
‘ Jesus, where are you, I’m afraid’
As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
this time it seems to be a bit longer and deeper,

In the winter of my life,
the loneliness seems deafening.
I wonder whether the leaves that the autumn winds tugged off
will ever return.
What will the chill of this season in my life take away?
never to give back.

In the winter of my life,
I wait for my Lord to answer me,
and to whisper in my ear, “It is time.”
But He says, “ Your summer is coming”
and I wait.□

dear martin,
I like this one you wrote - your poetry is heart breaking/ excellent as well...

WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME?


Will you still love me when the voice I have is silenced
and I can no longer tell you how much I love you.
by this unseen foe dissecting my body, shutting it down
determined in its quest to destroy my mortality.
Will you still love when you have to wipe the dribble from my chin
because I cannot swallow it.
Will you still love me when the expressions you see on my face
are no longer there.


Will you still love me when my legs will no longer carry me
when my hand will no longer pick up a fork
when all joy has gone and the end is surely near.
But when the end doesn’t come and mercy finds no store
in the relentless suffering that is my companion day and night,
will you still love me.



Will you still love me when on that appointed day I leave my earthy tent
and enter the realms of a world that we have imagined for so long.
Will you still love me some time far away when we meet again.
And in that heavenly place where there is no illness I will be
whole again –will you still love me?

You will be a great asset to this forum: always a calm,reasoned reponse Really glad to see your name up.

Hi Tina and ECD

Firstly thank you English Country Dancer it's good to touch sides again, I too have always valued your very wise counsel. I am sure you will impart many pearls of wisdom here as well.

Tina thank you for that - I amazed at your resourcefulness where did you find that poem of mine? I look forward to sharing many more.
Take Care and God bless.

kind regards
Martin

In the winter of my life
The stage is set for my greatest battles
And my greatest conquests
When my body and mind decline
My spirit will rise
The biggest game of shadows and delusions
That I played all my life
Will reach it’s most exciting climax
When I will taste the sweetest pleasures of them all
The greatest delusion of them all
That transcend the body and mind mirage
That is called the miracle of the eternal spirit