HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

(for a friend)

Your birthday is here!! Really?...SO SOON!
Arriving to greet you, in the lovely month of JUNE!
All of your friends want to remember YOU, too,
Are sending a message, that's meant JUST FOR YOU!
Wishing you....a healthy body and a mind, that's at ease,
Many simple joys, that will always personally please!
A kind, gentle heart, that can feel for another's woe!
Ability to share happiness, with a real, friendly glow!
Instead of precious diamonds, a conscience clear!
Always working, each new day, in a humble sphere!
For mind and morals, according to the natural plan!
These are the genuine tests, of true maid and man!
Stand straight!!   Be strong!!   Press through!!
Nothing can ever harm you, if you remain true!
Let your whole life be a lovely, dedicated song!
Be honest and faithful and do no other wrong!
What is GLORY????What is FAME????
Just the same, old echo....of a forgotten name!
A rose, pressed to a dead man's breast,
This is the World's Fame, at its trivial best!
But, whenever your heart is overwrought,
Onward and upward is all that you've got!

WHO CAN EVER TELL....
The power of such tiny things,
TO MAKE IT WELL?

The sweet memory, of a kind word, long gone by!
The fragrance, of a fading flower, against the sky!
The gleam, of a lovely smile....or a sudden tear!
The warm pressure, of a hand and words, that cheer!
A note, that bears a verse, from GOD's own WORD,
Such diminutive things are rarely seen or heard!
There will be no chance, no destiny, no fate!
Obstacles count for nothing....WILL alone...is great!
All challenges give way before it...soon or late!
And AGE is opportunity...to do more...not less!
It's YOUTH itself, though in another "dress"!
And as the evening twilight fades far away,
Realizing, that you've done your best, along the way,
The heavens are filled with stars...invisible by day!

********
Partly mine...and partly words from another long ago.

Pauline Banning
P-1339-98-D18