A LITTLE SMILE
Let us ponder for a while
And think about a little a smile,
An indication on a face
Of kindness and an inner grace.
A small expression, free to give,
Reflecting how you think and live
And even if you're feeling low
A smile will lift you as you go.
It can't be stolen, lost or lent,
It's yours without a penny spent,
So rich and poor can all express
This sign of inner happiness.
The smile you give can be the start
Of raising up another's heart,
Of cheering up a lonely day
Or helping someone on their way.
So spend some time each day to share
This indication that you care
And use this tender gift you've found
To spread a little love around.
THE WRITTEN WORD
Young Tommy, he loved it
at school every day,
He’d do all his lessons,
and then he would play;
"Today," said the teacher,
"We’ll try something new,
With pencil and paper,
it’s writing we’ll do."
They did their handwriting
in scripts of the best
And Tommy’s performance
was as good as the rest,
He copied each letter,
a likeness so fine,
With each little character
inside the line.
With capital letters
and then lower case
He put all the dots
and the crosses in place;
And at the end of the day
with the lesson complete,
He was proud of his writing,
so tidy and neat.
At home, Tommy said
with a face of delight:
"Today was the day
that we learnt how to write."
"So what did you write about,
my little pet?"
"I don’t know, we haven’t been
taught reading yet!"
THE SPORTSMEN
There were three famous sporting stars
Who drove around in flashy cars.
All thought that their own sport the very best,
And thus, short sighted, never knew
The merits of the other two
Until they put the question to the test.
The first, who drove a bright red Rolls,
A footballer, renowned for goals,
Who needed other men to pass the ball,
Enjoyed the teamwork of the game,
The crowd involvement and the fame,
And thought his sport to be the "one and all,"
The second drove a Porsche of white
And practiced tennis day and night
So he would be the champion of the courts;
With stamina and racquet skill
Each ace gave him a special thrill
To him, this was the ultimate in sports.
The third, in black stretch Limousine,
Was often found upon the green
Following his shots from fairway glade;
And so, our famous golfing star
Fought every hole against its par
No matter how the opposition played.
So each man had a different view
Of fitness, skill and what to do,
And played the sport that suited him the best
And so his precious time was spent
In practice and development
To be successful at the final test.
Is not our choice through life like sport?
Which way to turn, which line of thought,
Following Apollos, Peter, Paul;
Does it matter who we choose
To tell us of the Gospel news
Provided that we heed the beck and call?
RAIN
The summer had come
and the visitors came,
But up in Sliebh Luachra
‘twas pouring with rain;
It came down in buckets
and sloshed all around
And couldn't escape
through the sodden, wet ground.
A tourist, called Wilma,
from the U.S. of A.
Got lost down a bohereen
on that rainy day,
She spotted a farmer
as he tended his herd:
"Excuse me, young man,
may I please have a word?"
She asked for directions -
they talked for an hour,
The farmer said: "Rain?
This is only a shower,
You should have come visiting
last year in June,
You could only describe it
as a four week monsoon."
"Does it ever stop raining?"
was Wilma's reply,
And the farmer continued
with a wink in his eye:
"It rains all the time,
but my land will soon drain,
But the farmer next door,
he gets twice as much rain."
"Gets twice as much rain?
That just can't be so,
He must get the same,
be it rain, sleet or snow."
The farmer he smiled, said:
"You don't understand:
He gets twice as much rain
for he's twice as much land."
THE ENGINEER OF BLENNERVILLE
There was a lonely city girl,
she was just twenty-three,
Who took a two-week holiday
and came down to Tralee,
And after all the tourist sights
in summer sun and rain,
She went to take a trip aboard
the Blennerville steam train.
She bought her ticket at the desk
and then to her surprise,
She saw her dream man standing there
before her very eyes,
And as the fireman fed the fire
with shovels full of coal,
She only could admire the man
who stood there in control.
In overalls and peaked blue cap
he made the whistle blow
To tell the waiting passengers
it's nearly time to go;
The guard, he waved his big green flag,
the train was on its way
Along two miles of narrow gauge
on that hot summer's day.
She sat down on the carriage seat
as she began to dream
To throbbing of the pistons and
the hisses of the steam;
This man had made her heart beat fast,
was this the real thing?
Would she become the driver's wife
and wear his wedding ring?
She rode the train to Blennerville,
she rode it back again
And every day for those two weeks
her journeys were the same,
Her feelings for the engineer
she was too shy to share
So no romance developed from
this one-way love affair.
And now she's back in Dublin Town,
and works from eight 'til four,
She is a sad and lonely girl
who chases men no more;
She's never met another man,
no doubt she never will,
That can compare to the engineer
on the train to Blennerville.
STEPS
If you're faced with a hill of confusion
And you're wondering which way to climb
Don't stare at the steps,
Don't give up all hope,
Don't abandon your quest the first time.
Did the Wright Brothers build the first Jumbo?
Did Lindbergh fly up to the moon?
Did Euclid invent the computer?
But none of these gave up too soon.
Each one of these people made progress
So others that followed could learn,
Then adding to the knowledge before them
The steps were completed in turn.
But even a climb up a small hill
Needs progress to go up the slope:
Take heed of the footprints before you,
Start moving with willpower and hope.
And then, if you're faced with a mountain
And you're wondering which way to climb,
Don't stare at the steps
But step up the stairs,
And take each step one at a time.
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Peter's books have been produced without any commercial sponsorship or public funding and are totally reliant on sales, for which every individual one is greatly appreciated.