Poems

The graphics for this page come from a greeting card by Brush Dance from Sausalito, CA. I thank them for the usage and highly recommend their products. (315) 331-9030. The artist is Renee Locks.

Website copyright © 2002 byWilliam M. Allen

The Lord's Psalm

Our Lord, God Almighty
and Father which art in heaven
We know that Thou are holy
and hallowed be Thy name.
It is our desire to be with Thee
and for Thy kingdom to come quickly
Our only desire is to worship Thee
and that Thy will be done.
Touch our hearts and bring harmony
in earth as it is in heaven
In the name of Your Son Jesus
give us this day our daily bread.
Our sins are constantly before us
so ask You to forgive us our debts
Even as we respond to others
as we for give our debtors.
So Lord, our faith rests in Thee
to lead us not into temptation
To fill us with Thy Spirit
and to deliver us from evil.
 
Lord of all, we bring our praise
for Thine is the kingdom
And we acknowledge your sovereignty
and power and glory forever.

Amen


Collegedale, Tennessee
August 31, 1985



A Prayer of Thanksgiving


Our Father, and Eternal God in Heaven
Our Creator, and giver of all life
We bring before You our gifts
in recognition of Your sovereignty
We have brought that which would purchase bread
to acknowledge that it is You who sustains life

We have brought that which gives us security
to symbolize our acceptance of the life of Jesus
We have brought that which would clothe us
to recognize You as the source of all we possess
Please accept these small tokens of our love
and have dominion in our lives
For we bring these gifts in the name of Jesus
Your exalted son and our elder brother

Amen

Dedicated to Cherilyn and David Smith
Collegedale Seventh-day Adventist Church
March 1, 1986




Psalm of Thanksgiving
Oh God, who is from everlasting;
whose days have neither beginning nor end.
How marvelous are your ways;
how mysterious and simple your methods.
I felt battered and abused,
my name was dragged through the courtyard.
My bitterness deepened and spread like cancer,
it bubbled forth, yea, like a geyser.
In my anguish I heard a voice,
one tender and filled with compassion.
I cried out my plight,
and expressed the secrets of my heart.
On that very day you answered,
I faced my anger in the vineyard.
Oh Lord, Thou knowest me like a twin;
my secret needs I cannot conceal.
That which seemed impossible yesterday,
became but a fading memory today.
That which rent and tore me asunder,
has stitched and healed.
That which dragged my soul,
has become a soothing balm.
Oh Lord, Father, Son and Spirit,
hot intimate are your attentions.
Oh God, majesty of the universe,
how marvelous are your ways.

Dedicated to Adeny Schmidt
November 12, 1993
Riverside, California





A Psalm of Science


Oh, Lord God, Creator of the universe
be praise and honor forever
The works of Thy hand are before me
reminding of man's feeble efforts
The computer has given the ability to calculate
but it does not help one meditate
The telescope probes the edges of the universe
but it has not revealed Thy face
The microscope explores an invisible world
but does not reveal man's soul
 
Oh, Lord God be praised forever.

The mightiest instruments have extended sight
but added nothing to man's wisdom
For in extending one aspect of knowing
others have been allowed to atrophy
Man has become efficient in transmitting
but remains feeble in receiving
So in Thy hills I come to meet Thee
to refresh my spirit and listen
Praise be to Thee, Oh my God
my strength and my redeemer


Dedication: Mary Elam
September 12, 1986
Gatlinburg, Tennessee

From John V. Taylor, The Go-Between God quoted in In His Image, Paul Brand and Philip Yancey





A Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven
Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace
Worthy of honor, awe and praise
our Creator, Sustainer, and Savior;
 
Hear oh Lord, our Prayers
and renew a right spirit within us;
 
Forgive us wherein we have been
arrogant, self-centered, and self-righteous
insensitive to the needs of others
for acting on our own and not depending on Thee
Forgive us
for being harsh, judgmental, and unforgiving
for not feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty,
inviting in strangers, clothing the needy,
and visiting the sick and enprisioned
for not sharing the light of the world to those in our midst
 
Yet, even in our unworthiness,
Jesus, has taught us to come boldly before You;
 
We are thankful
for the life you have given each of us
for supplying our daily needs for food, clothing and shelter
for the forgiveness of our sins
Thankful
for Your mercy and understanding of our human condition
for companionship, fellowship, and families
for salvation so freely offered
 
We await the words of him,
You have ordained to address us this hour
Grant him clarity of thought, and crispness of expression
Unplug our ears to hear, granting us understanding
Send your Spirit to infiltrate* our souls
satisfying our individual needs;
 
These things I pray for myself
and on behalf of this congregation
As I have been trained from a child
in the Name of Jesus.


La Sierra University Church
August 17, 1996
*My friends chided me about this word, perhaps I should have used permeate. Was this a Freudian slip, or insight?





Garden Meeting

A flash of light caught my eye,
a ruby iridescence drew me.
Oh so suddenly you appeared,
unexpectedly there you were.
Your presence heralded spring,
the dawning of a new era.
Oh how petite you are,
so much compact life.
Flower after flower you examine,
extracting the secrets of each.
Daily I yearn to see you,
and watch your charming ways.
You draw near and examine me,
seeing through me, I'm sure.
You study me intently,
but what do you learn?
Back to your nest you return,
back to your private world.
Oft, I'd reach out and touch you,
to draw you near to me.
But in different worlds we live,
only this secret garden we share.
So I must be ever satisfied,
refreshed by your fleeting sight.
What daily brings you back again?
what attraction lures you?
Could it be that you too are drawn?
that you too yearn for closeness?
What thoughts does your graceful head contain?
what secrets could you reveal?
Alas, the citrine sun has gone,
the season of change has come.
Your nestling has grown big,
he's larger than you by far.
What will the autumn bring?
where in winter, will you go?
 
The emerald shades that clothe you,
the ebon accents of your crown,
are in memory growing dim,
fading, fading with the sun.
Will I but a minuscule memory be,
of a moment in the garden shared?
You are gone with the flowers,
and the garden wears a wintry coat.
Alas, we couldn't span the chasm,
and bridge the void between.
Ah, but the memory does remain,
thoughts of what might have been!
 
Yet, in that twilight memory,
of those moments spent together,
A warm reflection has remained,
a sense of the mystery we've exchanged,
I, a better man have become,
a richer, deeper life I've lived.



Bioprayer


Oh God Almighty, high above all creation
Our Creator, Sustainer and Salvation
How wonderfully You've sculpted our frames
How intricately You've assembled our organs
designed glands, routed nerves and started systems
Weaving each into the tapestry of life
Humbly we bow and acknowledge Thee
As we accept our daily bread from Your hand.
Our thoughts return to our Eden home
And recall the origin of human life
Of bodies created for walking, skipping and running
For sketching, singing and dancing
We reflect on ingestion, respiration and metabolism
Thoughts of lipids, carbohydrates, proteins
Of enzymes, hormones and essential fatty acids
Of degradation, catabolism and biosynthesis.
 
But the gift of life is more than body and breath
More than being born, maturing and dying
You've infused each of us with a need for others
For community, female and male, child and adult
You've incorporated a need to create and procreate
A need for family, colleagues, and friends
Specially bless those gathered 'round this table
Who will share these earthly bounties.
 
Yet, life extends beyond our social domain
To a life that's created within our brains
The ability to dream, plan and analyze
To imagine, perceive and transcend
These nutrients we are about to consume
Create neurons and neuro-transmitters
Available for complex thoughts and perspectives -
An intellectual life beyond our being.
 
Still, life is more than body, community and mind
You've created within us an ache for Thee
A nagging questioning- a quiet restlessness
Drawing us to perceive Your hand at work
An attraction to salvation freely offered
A yearning for a better today and a life beyond
A spiritual window often dim and sometimes opaque
Gives glimpses of Your love and action.
 
As we accept from Thy hand our daily bread
Humbly we bow before Thee
How wonderfully You've sculpted our frames
How intricately You've assembled our organs
Oh God Almighty, high above all creation
Creator, Sustainer and Salvation
Bless this our daily bread, we pray
and sanctify our lives thus fed
 
amen.






Tao

A promise solemly given
is soon broken
The fruit matures
and rots on the ground


Riverside, CA
October, 1997


Tao-II

A spider weaves a web
the caterpillar a cocoon
One, to annihilate
the other, to metamorphose


Riverside, CA
November, 1997



Sabbath Psalm

O Lord, what a blessed Sabbath
a day of beauty and rest
Today I strolled with You in a garden
A Japanese garden on a hill.
 
 
I feel a gentle breeze eddying about me
Your Spirit caressing my cheek
I hear Your gentle voice in the waterfall
the babbling brook echoes Your words
A shimmering maple delights my eyes
a red maple reminds me of Your gift
A gentle lady retrieves a piece of refuse
and I too improve another site
The Koi are swimming gracefully
reminding me of your perseverance
Quietness, gentleness, and peace are here
"be still, and know that I am Your God."
 
Certainly You have been with me here today
strolling together in this sanctuary
O Lord, what a blessed Sabbath
a day of reflection and rest.


Portland, OR
July 21, 2001



L'Chaim

 

Lord, I have known you from birth
conceived to grow daily in your grace,
I sing praises to your name
from dawn I offer my devotion,
You are lover, creator and mother
and the wind of my soul,
 
All day I speak of your love
reinterpreting your gifts to me,
 
 
 

Shout, daughter of the Most High
and tell my grandchildren,
 
 
For you are spirit and life
mother of a new generation,
 
 
 

For, lo, I have been struck dumb
my breath is no longer in me,
 
 
My son attends me day and night
he gives me my salvation,
now, he carries the torch
he will light the world,
I hear your voice in the evening
I sense you're call me home,
 
 
See the sparkle in my eye
and know I'm eagerly coming,
 
 
I hear the angels singing now
Hallelujah, alleluia, amen.


Dedicated to my family
and those who suffer from pulmonary fibrosis


Riverside, California
June 23, 2001