Poetry by Roger Laird Read online

Doug and Shannon, thank you for all that you have done. May God smile upon the paths that you walk daily, as you continue to touch people’s lives.

  I Love Thee

  One may not love thee so

  Yet, given chance to love

  May change faces

  Locked behind garden walls

  Sit thee in the heat of day

  Crying the world away

  And doors remain shut

  In thine hands thine heart asunder

  Thou spend thy soul

  To avoid a blunder

  Walls such as these deter all that come

  Yet I stay forth, striving to reach within

  Be it to care for thee

  Such a mortal sin

  Then dead I’d ready be

  To care not would be my wrong

  And to wrong thee is my fear and my pain

  Thus I be so profane

  When in thy presence stay I

  Wishing for favor in thine eye

  Love not known yet love be sworn

  In disguise it lay for fear of scorn

  Sprouting wings to fly away

  For secrets cannot remain

  Given chance, risking mistake

  And worse, causing pain to thee

  I know all at stake

  And ask only for you to see

  I love thee

  Love

  Love cannot be held in your hand

  Nor can it ever be caught

  Love is something that grows like the music of a band

  And with each passing moment more love is taught

  The best teacher of all isn’t one who knows it best

  But the one that learns beside you

  While they hold you to their chest

  Just to comfort you from the pain that you must bare

  And to let you know

  They will always be there

  Not everyone knows what love is

  And not everyone can always be there

  But I can assure you of this

  The one that teaches true love stays within your heart

  And though they may leave for a while

  Like the tides or the changing winds

  You will keep reason to smile

  Because when their journey ends

  They will run to embrace you

  And this will always stay true

  But the one that teaches life’s greatest secret

  Cannot ever take it back

  For you taught them love

  And if they are ever gone there is something you each lack

  And for this there is good reason

  That person is part of you for life

  Not just a season

  Lullaby

  Sweet dreams my darling

  Go and rest your pretty head

  Good night for now my baby

  Remember what I’ve said

  Dreams may last forever

  And you can find me there

  You can have peace and comfort

  And forget all of your cares

  I will always love you

  And we can sing this song

  We can hold each other here

  All night long

  I will watch over you

  No matter how far away it seems

  Each can find the other

  In our dreams

  The Bee

  A new spring flower sways in the fresh mountain breeze

  And its glamour is accented

  By the sun shining brilliantly

  Its golden red pedals catch the attention of a bee

  And the bee comes down to drink of the flowers sweet nectar

  The bee then returns to work

  And this continues day after day

  Soon the sun grows hotter

  And days grow long

  The bee watches the meadow

  And how the grass turns golden

  The flower soon wilts away

  The bee hums a sad tune

  The favorite flower is gone

  The trees change their color

  And shed their covering

  Time passes unnoticed by the bee

  And as it is flying something catches its attention

  The bee lands on blue and yellow pedals of a new spring flower

  And drinks of the nectar

  As anger and sadness fades

  The bee becomes careless again

  The Perfection of a Rose

  The perfection of a rose

  Is that of the heavens

  Its fragrance so sweet

  That none other can have

  Or even capture

  Its petals so beautiful

  As if arranged that way for some greater purpose

  Or just to catch your eye

  Amongst the troubles of the day

  So you might start to wonder why

  You don’t stop and smell the roses

  A little more often

  Things I Wouldn’t Give for a Kiss

  I wouldn’t give my life because that may only be taken

  I wouldn’t give my love because that you must gain to be kissed

  I wouldn’t give a minute of my day because time stands still when you kiss me

  I wouldn’t give my happiness because that stems from kissing you

  Things I Would Give for a Kiss

  I would give my sight because I go blind when I feel your lips touch mine

  I would give my inspiration because it is made anew by kissing you

  I would give my warmth because I grow cold without you

  I would give my tears because they lose purpose in your presence

  I would give my life because without you I have no reason to live

  To My Wife

  Eyes that intrigue beyond the depths of the deepest ocean

  A voice sweeter than the songs of the highest regarded angels

  A smile brighter than the stars hung in the heavens

  Hair smoother than the silks of the Ancient Chinese

  A kiss more intoxicating than a bottle of perfectly aged wine

  A heart that beats louder than raging thunder with compassion

  A will that stands stronger than the tallest mountains

  And a mind that thinks the thoughts of the world into existence

  Unclear

  Here sits a young boy

  Broken, hurt, and afraid

  Reaching out for love, but being sent away

  His own mother being blinded

  Ignorant to her husband’s actions

  Deaf to the poor boys screams

  He cries out to her

  Mommy! Mommy!

  But still she sits and stares

  Perhaps she is afraid of him too

  Day after day

  And then she realizes she isn’t happy

  And again she marries

  Determined to make it work

  Now things go back to this hell

  But not the same as before

  But still bad enough

  Bad enough to hurt

  And when he tries to tell her

  She gets angry at him

  No longer a boy, but a young man

  But still undefended

  Left to take the blows full force

  Because she became too busy

  To realize the truth

  And she says she still loves him

  But he blames himself for his pain

  Undelivered

  It seems I wrote this letter

  Way to long ago

  Before I really knew her

  I had forgotten what I know

  Must have been in seventh grade

  I looked into her eyes

  That’s when I felt inside me

  She was my angel in disguise

  I arranged my thoughts on paper

  And folded it carefully

  Put it in my pocket

  And thought I’d let it be

  I went through my da
y

  Forgetting what I did

  I put my pants in the hamper

  And then I shut the lid

  So many things have happened

  But my mom kept it hidden away

  And then she brought it to me

  Upon our wedding day

  But still it was not time

  To end this silly game

  So I kept that letter

  Hidden in my shame

  It seems so foolish now

  That the letter I did save

  Was to be delivered

  When she was in her grave

  Words

  Words surround us everywhere

  They can be wings that lift us up

  But more commonly

  Become bricks

  Shattering the glass floor we stand upon

  Leaving us falling for what seems forever

  And many times they are more powerful

  Than those words that raise hopes

  Our enemies use them as weapons

  But more commonly

  They are misspoken feelings

  That a friend may say at the wrong moment

  Or they aren’t weighed against the consequences

  And most often

  Regretted words are hardest to forgive

  Now your closest friends you push away

  And you detach from those who care most

  For fear that they may say hurtful things

  And you draw to those who are a lesser risk

  And vent your frustration in misdirected ways

  I just wish to reassure you

  That when all the dust settles to the ground

  Your family and closest friends will be there

  To support you in all areas of life

  So step back and realize your individuality

  And that loved ones will help you to expand it

  Know that you are beautiful in every aspect of your existence

  Life has been given for you to express yourself

  And the poetry of life is best written

  In words of true friendship

  Discuss the poems that you have been reading at RogerLairdWriting.com/forum now.

  Legacy: A Father’s Tale

  Over a thousand years has passed since The Great Disaster changed the geography of our world forever. Technology has fallen away from the world and feudal society has emerged again. New warriors have taken up the weapons of older times. General Tao Blight has risen to meet his fate and fight alongside them as the leader of Aodhan's First Royal Army. His fellow soldiers and countrymen have freely given him their respect, but they might start to question where his loyalties lay if they found out his true heritage.

   

  Tao has not always belonged to the country he now serves. His childhood home was located in the disputed territories, far closer to the Naichian Empire’s border than the border of the Aodhan Kingdom. There had been a time when his father kept a strong stance of neutrality when it came to matters regarding the feuding countries, but his ideal of neutrality could not persevere when his homeland was the subject of dispute.

  Tao's mother was murdered after his father enlisted in the Imperial Military. Her death served as the catalyst that drove Tao and his father to opposite sides of an extreme conflict. Now, Tao is on the brink of ending the war once and for all. But how will he cope when he is forced to face the memories of his complex past?  

  Join Tao in LEGACY: A FATHER’S TALE as he attempts to create a new legacy and fights for the peace his world so greatly desires.

  Preface

  Not long after the beginning of the twenty first century, an event occurred in nature that was driven by the actions of men. The scientific rules that govern the world were stretched to their limits. As the rules could not be broken, the world snapped back to correct its position in the universe. The result of this event would later become known as The Great Disaster. At the time of The Great Disaster there were over ten billion humans living on Earth, nearly all perished in The Great Disaster. Many more died in the chaos that followed.

  The only portions of the known world that are inhabitable by humans at the time this story begins are the portions of the world that sat on the Eurasian and African tectonic plates. The world bulged out beneath the Eastern hemisphere, raising the elevations of the major tectonic plates in that portion of the world. The African plate slammed into the Eurasian plate, forming the highest mountain ranges ever known and merging the two continents into one. The other plates were mostly covered by water when the polar ice caps broke apart and melted, causing ocean levels to rise. Any survivors in the mountainous regions still above water were evacuated to the sole surviving continent.

  Much of the blame fell on the scientific community and, as unlikely as it may seem, all technology and most sciences were destroyed in a process lasting hundreds of years. Society fell apart, rose again, and crumbled, in a vicious cycle. Eventually, groups banned together, forming the new countries of the Aodhan Kingdom and the Naichian Empire. These countries became reflections of the ideals that ancient countries stood for long before The Great Disaster.

  Over a thousand years has passed since The Great Disaster. Humanity is a mere shadow of its former self. Feudalism won out as a way of life, and has been practiced with far greater success than had ever been achieved in the past. A great peace was won and it lasted many years. A neutral territory’s leader, in his greed, created cause for war between the last two civilizations on the Earth. Now a new generation of warriors must rise up to meet fate and leave their legacy on the world.

  Legacy:

  A Father’s Tale

  Available Now

  About the Author

  The author is a first time novel writer. He is a husband and a father to four wonderful children. He has been writing poetry and short stories for many years. The basis of his first novel series stems from his high school writing years, but was mostly worked on in the creative stage over time. He began writing his first novel, Legacy: Beginnings on a regular basis in January of 2011 and just finished writing it in July of 2011.

  He was a Machinist who programmed and setup CNC Lathes and Mills for a living. He had 11 years of experience with machining, but lost his career when the economy crashed in December of 2008. Instead of trying to find work in a suffering field, he decided to return to school to study Psychology. He earned his AA in Social Sciences from College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA in May of 2011. He is currently attending California State University, Fresno in pursuit of a BA in Psychology.

  He loves spending time with his family. They enjoy trips to the beach, camping, attending amusement parks, and hiking outdoors. The author and his wife also enjoy taking artistic photographs for fun. They have been happily married for five years and are looking forward to the future.

  Other Works from Roger Laird

  Legend of Athena(A Story Created for Legacy: A Father’s Tale)

  The Goddess Athena is said to have sprang from Zeus’ head fully formed. She had been armed with an Aegis and Thunderbolt by her mother Metis, after Zeus had eaten Metis in order to prevent Athena from being born. But Metis had nurtured Athena within Zeus until the day she could be freed. It is agreed among scholars, that this account of Athena’s birth is nonsense. However another tale is recited that has been traced back to a village in Lybia far before the Great Disaster. The villagers there were ignorant and arrogant. It is said that they ignored the Gods and cursed their name. This village was led by a greedy man. The village was larger than many of the other nearby villages and it was far wealthier to begin with.

  The chief of the village decided to start demanding penance from the surrounding villages and asked them to worship him as their God. He used his influence over the young warriors in his own village, to convince them to commit acts of war against the other villages. The chief allowed the men to rape the wives and daughters of the men in the other villages. This menacing tyranny lasted for many years.
The chief would call out to the Gods and taunt them in order to undermine their existence. The Gods did notice the man’s actions, but decided to leave them uncontested. They considered his sphere of influence over the villages to be of no consequence to them. They figured that the man would soon die and things in the area would calm again soon after.

  One day, the Goddess Metis watched down on the chief as he performed a ritual. The man had tied up three small children and was dancing around waving a dagger at the sky. He dared the Gods to act against him. Metis had begged her husband Zeus to intervene but Zeus turned her away. Metis continued to watch the man. The man then committed an act so obscene, so vile, that it has been banned from the telling of the story. From the shock and grief of the Goddess Metis, sprang a young child. The child was not a naked newborn babe, but a child of middle age on the brink of adulthood. The child leapt right out from the earth holding a small dagger. The chief laughed at the small child, thinking of committing the same act as he had against the other children. The chief took a small step toward the child. The child caught the meaning in the man’s gesture, and knew that he had committed the atrocity that had caused her to be born so perversely. The child moved in a flash, swinging the dagger, and the man’s head fell to the ground.

  The villagers had heard this commotion by now, and had come to see what was causing it. There were no children in the village in recent years, due to the crimes that had been so commonly committed against them. The women were far outnumbered by the men. They all stared, blank faced, at the small colorless child with blood dripping from her dagger. Their devotion to the false God Chief welled inside them and they howled for his loss. They moved on the child, but they were no match for the justice she represented, and every head in the village lay on the ground when the child was still again.

  The child stood, shaking and crying, from the weight of the acts she had committed. The Goddess Metis moved down from the clouds to comfort her daughter. “This is your purpose in the world, the just punishment for unspeakable acts. I am sorry I bore you for this purpose daughter, but you need to know that you have the choice of what to do with your power. You have the ability to choose when to use your power; you have the ability to use it for good or for evil. You can guide the fates of the men and women around you for good or for evil. But most importantly, you have the choice to return to the heavens you came from, to rest, when you feel your work is done. If the planet ever needs you again, it will call you forth just as it did today.

  Blog and up to date news from the Author https://rogerlairdwriting.com/