Too Old and 5 More
Too Old and 5 More
We got old they say
Too old to live I guess, some might say.
But we lived, and live, each day
In our own peculiar way.
We will again, together, live some day
But I grieve our brief, may it be, separation today.
Yes we kept getting older and slower and a little more deaf
But we made the best of what we had left.
We never gave up on life or each other
We loved being father, mother, grandfather, and grandmother.
We passed on our adventures, our history, Our hopes, and desires to others.
We hoped to inspire, and pass down our passion for life and each other.
It was hard growing old in some ways we observed
But we did it together with passion and verve.
In all the years we never lost our nerve.
In all the years we held steady through many a curve.
In all the years in our faith we did not swerve.
In all the years he was more than the love I deserved.
Maybe we did get old while still under the sun
And now both of our days are nearly done.
Who can say we didn’t make the most of the days.
Who can say that we didn’t enjoy every bit of the sun’s rays.
Who can say our lives were measured just by what we did each day.
I can say that our lives were measured by the love we shared each and every way and in every day.
K. C. Barry
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The Great Divide
The Great Divide
I walked out the door without knowing.
There was nothing showing.
Behind the smile saying goodbye
Looking into your blue eyes.
There were no sighs or cries
For understanding, comfort, or love.
As I waved goodbye to my mourning dove.
When you left you could not see the pain
What would be the gain
Should you see it if let inside?
Would you understand what there lies, what I hide,
If I had tried?
Could you understand, soothe, or love?
As we waved I searched for an answer from above.
You are my friend and I love you.
You are my love and I befriend you.
For me you are unreachable
For me you are untouchable
K. C. Barry
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You Were There
You Were There
I remember you did care,
And maybe still do
You were there every morning
To walk with me to school
You were there when I fell
And when I left you standing alone
You were there
You listened
You shared
You were my star
You helped with classes
You, the team captain,
Danced with the awkward girl in glasses
But that was long ago
Before the sky shed its stars
Tears and stars
I’ve Shed so many tears
And the sky its stars
K. C. Barry
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The Load
The Load
Over the many years
I have hid the bitter tears
I’ve walked many a country and city mile
Carrying a dim ravaged smile
Always asking forlorn whys
Always ending in morose sighs
I’ve said too many goodbyes
But in the end we all die
With each lost one the weight grows
The burden to keep them alive in me shows
One by one they’ve fallen, passed on
Leaving me to carry the load a little further on
If you could only see behind my eyes
My family, my friends, my loves, my ties
My ties, my roots, my foundation, my truth
You would see there the graveyard of my youth
K. C. Barry
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It Does Not Seem That Long Ago
It Does Not Seem That Long Ago
It does not seem that long ago
That my mother held me close
When my ear ached
That she cried into the pillow
When I was late and missing
That she planned a dinner
For me and my friends
That she waved goodbye
When I entered college
It does not seem that long ago
That my father taught me
To ride a bike
That my father cheered me on
In every match or race
That my father showed me
How to help those in need
That he drove 250 miles
To bring me home from college
It does not seem that long ago
That my grandfather played
checkers with me
That he was an Oddfellow
And one Summer day he had a stroke
That my grandmother told me
Stories of years and family gone by
That she had Jade plants in the windows
And Geraniums on the porch
It does not seem that long ago
That I took Jane to a dance
It was my first date at 14
That Dianne and I stood on the steps
And had our first kiss at 17
That Linda and I stood on the porch
Holding each other tight at 20
That Cindy and I walked down the aisle
To begin our life together at 24
It does not seem that long ago
That I was called to the hospital
For the birth of our first child and son
That I walked the halls
Waiting for our first daughter’s arrival
That I sat waiting for the doctor
To say the delivery went well for mother and last child
That our home was filled
With laughter, tears, joys, and heartaches
It does not seem that long ago
That Fred and I
Raced our favorite and fastest slot cars
Or Canoed and Fish at the Lake
That Mark, Mike, Tom and I
Swam across Conesus Lake
Or hitched from town to town
That Jim and I sat on the school roof
Just talking about growing up
Or racing cars on back roads
That my friends and I
Played ball in the field next door
Camped out all Summer long
Went to Dances with our girlfriends
And longed for the last day of school
It just doesn’t seem that long ago
But it was
K. C. Barry
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Sometimes
Sometimes
Sometimes I feel that I just have to write, and write, and write
Things that are inane
Things that are insane
Things that wash away the pain
Some days I just have to go away, far away, far far away
To find some rest
To find my nest
To find that I am blessed
Sometimes I have to sing, and sing, and sing
To hear my voice
To hear my choice
To hear the angels rejoice
Some days I need to just reach, and reach, and reach
To grasp a hand
To lend a hand
To walk with God and man hand in hand
K. C. Barry
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Owner of My Heart
Owner of My Heart
You were ever so wonderful to me.
I wish that your face again I would see.
If truth were to be told
it is you I long to hold.
These sentiments have been said many times before
to many lost loves in many ways to ones adored.
Your love will never get old.
My love will never loosen its hold.
We maybe far apart,
but your still near in my heart.
The years have passed too quickly,
but I see your beauty and love clearly.
The days left to us are fewer.
I don’t know what lies in the future.
But each day you will always be close.
You will be my ballad, mural, and prose.
Should we never meet again
know that you are the ink in my pen.
Writing the history of something treasured.
You are the muse of my heart’s pleasure.
You gave meaning and wonder to life,
coloring my world with your palette knife.
Words fail when it comes to the heart.
The love we share will always own my heart
K.C. Barry
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Do You Remember Me?
Do You Remember Me?
Do you remember me?
I’m not sure.
Maybe you remember this
We played in the park, just over there on the swings.
We used to climb trees, ladders and everything
Pretending we could reach the stars.
You do look a little familiar,
But that had to be long ago.
Yes it was, but it seems like yesterday.
We grew a little older, leaving the swings.
We walked to school together and talked about everything
Looking forward to our first cars
I walked with many friends to school
And we have all changed oh so much.
Perhaps that is so, but some things do not change.
We danced in the gym, and swam in the lake.
We sat under the stars sharing our dreams, hopes and heartaches,
While searching for Venus and Mars.
I do remember doing things like that.
But I was so young.- and foolish, I have put all that behind me.
What good are dreams and hopes? They all lead to nothing.
Perhaps I knew you and we did all those things.
What good is that now when all there is only loneliness.
No one really cares, leaving a world of bitterness.
Hopes? Happiness? Now only briefly found in bars.
Life is not here, not now. It is all back there somewhere.
Back there yes, and here too.
Back there we laughed, danced, and even kissed once or twice.
You were my dear friend, my confidant, Someone I could trust.
We graduated, parted and moved on. You east and me west.
You married well, so they said. I married too, and built a nest.
And all through the years I remember us looking at the stars.
Well?! Is it a lifeless house, a faithless spouse, feeling like a noisome mouse?
Is that well!? Do you call that well? You can keep your stars.
I stood there silent gazing into her heartsore eyes, ignoring my own loss and pain.
It hurts me to see you wounded so. I wish I could have been there.
You were... and still are, to me at least, a star rare.
I care.
Through the years fond memories of you gave me strength, solace, and cheer beyond the stars.
I remember you. You did care - and maybe, perhaps in a way you still do care.
You were there every morning to walk with me to school.
You were there when I fell on stage, and when I left you standing alone.
You were there to listen, to share, and help me in class - and we did swim.
You pushed me high on the swing, You, the team captain, danced with me, the awkward girl in glasses in the gym.
But that was all so long ago, before I shed so many tears and the sky its stars.
We stood there for a minute or too, me with a shy smile, her with doleful eyes.
I gently took her hand. The swings are still free, and we can soar to the sky.
If only you would remember that we were once dear friends walking side by side.
We played, we climbed, we danced, we talked, swam, - and kissed
And we pretended that in life and in the world we would find bliss.
Come with me down to the lake and we will once again relight the stars.
K. C. Barry
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The Dance
The Dance
In the night
the dark where there’s fright
where the chill wind blows
before the snow
looking for the light
within the light
of life
In the silence
voice splintered with a lance
raising the cacophony
of agony
listening for the silence
for peace in guidance
of a holy dance
In the aloneness
dwelling in the emptiness
no one to feel the touch
needing a crutch
devoid of feeling
looking for the healing
in sacred kneeling
In emptiness there’s the light
burning Heaven bright
in a ataractic whisper
reaching over the fissure
in the sullenness
i’m surrounded in richness
lifting to joyousness
K. C. Barry
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I Wish
I Wish II
I wish I had hung on that day
I wish I hadn’t let you slip away
I let go not knowing
The way the wind was blowing
I remember your smile
Though it’s been quite awhile
I think of it often
The memory time has not softened
What if I had stayed
Would our futures been saved?
The light in your eyes
And the love in your sighs
I treasure
Without measure
We balanced between
A wasteland and pastures green
Had I dared
Would you have been scared?
Would you have followed
And in my dream been swallowed?
Would you have left him
For a fate bedimmed?
I saw the ache and confusion in your eyes
I heard the hesitation in your goodbyes
Could you have left the hurt and pain
For a warm hug in the coming rain?
Could my love have sustained you
No matter how the wind blew?
The answers I may never know
But this I do know
I wish I had hung on that day
I wish I hadn’t let you slip away.
K. C. Barry
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Are You Listening?
are you listening?
we have warred from before time primeval
it’s not a war between good and evil
for no one is good
or does what they should
we all wallow in lies, greed, and deceit
and in the end death we can not cheat
are you listening?
the conflict is not from without
the weapons we use from our hearts we churn out
for in our hearts we harbor bitterness, selfishness, and malice
none of us is fit to carry the chalice
we lie to ourselves that somehow we deserve more
that we’ve earned the right to even the score
are you listening?
we excuse the damage we do
a caldron of hellish repugnant stew we brew
we would cringe in horror should our hearts be revealed
with our loathsome malignancies of hideous spume congealed
we war not against flesh, blood, and body parts
we war with the murky putrefied mud in our hearts
are you listening?
are you listening
to the pride in your heart
the lust in your heart
the avarice in your heart
the self-worship in your heart
the hate in your heart
the resentment in your heart?
or are you listening to the voice calling
I can heal come to me
I will forgive call on me
I am love accept me
I will save look at me
I will give reach out to me
I have died for you to live with me?
Jer. 17:9
Rom. 3:10
Mk. 10:18
K. C. Barry
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The Bars
The Bars
We went to the bars to escape
to escape
boredom
work
love
to escape life.
We went to the bars to forget
forget
hurt
memories
people
to forget what we are.
We went to the bars to lose
lose
our fears
our failures
our inhibitions
to lose what hurts us
We went to the bars to find
find
someone
laughter
a way out
to find a hiding place
We went to the bars and lost
lost
our nerve
balance
dignity
lost our way out
K. C. Barry
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It’s Just a House
It’s Just a House
It’s just a house
A house is a place, an abode, a home
where day by day memories roam.
It’s just a house.
It’s knick-knack filled, with nooks and crannies, closets and shelves,
an extension of ourselves.
It’s just a house.
It’s not just tables and lamps, washers and dryers, chairs and beds, pots and bowls.
It is the palette of our souls.
It’s just a house.
It’s where we sit and sleep, dress and eat, watch and read, grow and age,
writing our chapters page by page.
It’s just a house.
It’s where halls and stairs resonate, sounds echo and whisper, joys and fears
of the little and old who are our dears.
It’s just a house.
It’s dens and porches, kitchen and baths, attic and basement, rooms living and great.
Where we, prayed and played, slept and wept, cried and laughed, met and ate
and made the future wait.
It’s just a house.
Where we gave and forgave, loved and were loved, swung from and learned the ropes.
It’s where we planted dreams and hopes.
It’s just a house.
To a man it’s a castle, a fortress, a monument.
To a woman it’s a heart, her expression, filled with sentiment.
To children it’s security, love, family, and memories intimate.
It’s not just a house.
it’s home.
K. C. Barry
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Horizon’s Myth
Horizon’s Myth
The night is the time of dreams and rhymes
the wonders of utopia flash across our minds
dazzling us with hopes and promises just
bejeweled in rapturous melodies of a better time
erasing the trials of yesterday with thoughts sublime
In the morn the dawn awakens us
but the dreams linger on within us
with their ideals and mesmerizing rhymes
refreshed and awake we look to make way to this Arcadian beyond
we march in the new light cloying others to follow us on
The sun rises high with it heat and swelter
we march on to the prize allaying all attempts to thwart the way to shelter
on we trudge blistered in sweat sodden shorts and tees
we have seen the Elysian Fields for all with its hope of a just day
that in the end may seem far away but will be a better way.
In the evening we rest in the cooling still air
as we watch our dreams set below horizon’s prayer
we look back in reflection at the day gone by, what we did and why
we have felt the scorching wind, the dry craw, and abraded feet
though the way is onerous and long at day’s end we taste not defeat.
K. C. Barry
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If Only You...
If Only You...
I would give you the sun, the, moon and the stars.
I would create a new constellation and name it after you.
I would be the light to show your way in the darkest night.
If only you...
I would swim the vast ocean to get to you.
I would traverse the Sahara just to be near you.
I would cross Antarctica with passionate heat for you.
If only you...
I would wage war with the hordes of Genghis Khan to protect you.
I would defy the prides of Africa to defend you against their frightful claws.
I would fight the Nephilim to protect you from the insidious evil that abounds.
If only you...
K. C. Barry
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Without Love
Without Love
Your hair is waves of silken treasure. It cascades down like a tropical falls.
Your eyes I find intriguing and enchanting; your gaze a mesmerizing call.
Your smile is pleasing and joyful; your lips sensual and inviting.
Your touch is soft and tender; your caress soothing and enticing.
The warmth of your hug is comforting, exhilarating, endearing;
your passionate kiss like an awakening to a dream alluring.
Your heart is full of life and feelings. It pulls be in.
But without love it would all be nothing.
K. C. Barry
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