[JustAmy]

The Poetry Branch had been in limbo since the prior hostess left FreeRepublic April 15th 2003. When I learned that said hostess had lost her posting privileges I asked Jim Robinson if I could continue the thread until I had a place of my own. Jim agreed I could.

Today I am debuting my very own thread. I hope you like it and will continue to stop by and contribute to it. We have a very nice mix of fine freepers here. Hopefully Amy's Place will be the place where many more freepers will find a home.

[Alamo-Girl]

Beautiful job! Congratulations and kudos!!!

[JustAmy]

Another by my Great-Aunt.

Undefined

There is a beauty none can name,
Although it sears one like a flame.

It stabs the soul with poignant throe
Made half of joy and half of woe.

In vain I try its truth to phrase
But am left wordless with amaze.

I hear it when some haunting strain
Reverberates in harp's refrain.

Its sob is there above the roar
Of hurricane on wave-purled shore.

I feel its rhythmic rise and fall
When sea obeys the white moon's thrall.

And in the desert's quiet place
I glimpse its grandeur, see its trace.

In June's blue skies, on moonlit nights,
Is plainly read what truth indites.

God grant some voice may yet impart
Beauty that lifts yet breaks the heart.

By Laressa Cox McBurney
Published in Prairie Panorama in 1938

[Jen]

Fantastic job Amy! I love the new design. I'll drop in again later. Headed to bed now.

Sasso wounds continue to heal well, but he still can't see. The vet said if he had not regained his vision after a couple weeks (which it's been now) then it's unlikely that he ever will. :(

He's feeling more energetic and has his strength back - as evidenced by the scratches he gave me today when I changed his bandage. I was almost ready to call the vet and ask if she'd do an emergency house call! hahahahaha Thank goodness the vet office is open tomorrow and I don't have to fool with his bandages.

Good night FRiends!

[Victoria Delsoul]

Oh Amy, what a lovely thread. I love the colors and the format is excellent.

Good job, Amy!

Birth of the Blue Morpheus

In the distance
beyond the low banks of the slow-moving river,
the burgeoning green hills of Belize rise to lap
against the sky's curving shore.
Under the verdant bell of the tall tree,
the plump, leaf-green chrysalis
suspends from a slender twig,
pulsing gently.
Slowly, as the paper thin sides split,
antenna and legs emerge,
delicate as a young girl's eyelashes.
Crumpled silken wings spread themselves to dry
in the filtered sunlight,
gleaming blue on darker blue;
open gently in the shadowed morning air,
essence trembling, yearning
toward the promise of bright flowers
that await the curled tongue's thrust
with honeyed throats.

-- Sue Littleton

[Victoria Delsoul]

Your mouser is adorable. Here is a present for your cootie.

Nighty night my friend, and keep up the good work.

[MeekOneGOP]

Mornin', everybody ! Happy Monday !

Is this like ... Archie's place ?! :O)

Very nice !! ...

Have a cup while you Freep !

[Jim Robinson]

Howdy Amy,

I watched John Ford's "The Searchers" starring John Wayne tonight. The civil war song called "Lorena" was used as a theme song. Thought I might post it here.

"This song of yearning and remembrance of past happiness, which could be fulfilled again only in heaven, was so dear to the hearts of Confederate soldiers that it might be called the "sweetheart song" of the South. Many Southern girls, as well as some towns and even a steamboat, came to be named Lorena."

Click for music: http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/lorena.html


Lorena

By Reverend H. D. L. Webster and J. P. WEBSTER

The years creep slowly by, Lorena,
The snow is on the grass again.
The sun's low down the sky, Lorena,
The frost gleams where the flow'rs have been.
But the heart throbs on as warmly now,
As when the summer days were nigh.
Oh, the sun can never dip so low
A-down affection's cloudless sky.
A hundred months have passed, Lorena,
Since last I held that hand in mine,
And felt the pulse beat fast, Lorena,
Though mine beat faster far than thine.
A hundred months, 'twas flowery May,
When up the hilly slope we climbed,
To watch the dying of the day,
And hear the distant church bells chime.

We loved each other then, Lorena,
More than we ever dared to tell;
And what we might have been, Lorena,
Had but our lovings prospered well --
But then, 'tis past, the years are gone,
I'll not call up their shadowy forms;
I'll say to them, "Lost years, sleep on!
Sleep on! nor heed life's pelting storms."

The story of that past, Lorena,
Alas! I care not to repeat,
The hopes that could not last, Lorena,
They lived, but only lived to cheat.
I would not cause e'en one regret
To rankle in your bosom now;
For "if we try we may forget,"
Were words of thine long years ago.

Yes, these were words of thine, Lorena,
They burn within my memory yet;
They touched some tender chords, Lorena,
Which thrill and tremble with regret.
'Twas not thy woman's heart that spoke;
Thy heart was always true to me:
A duty, stern and pressing, broke
The tie which linked my soul with thee.

It matters little now, Lorena,
The past is in the eternal past;
Our heads will soon lie low, Lorena,
Life's tide is ebbing out so fast.
There is a Future! O, thank God!
Of life this is so small a part!
'Tis dust to dust beneath the sod;
But there, up there, 'tis heart to heart.

[The Mayor]

Coffee and donuts this fine Monday!

Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. —Proverbs 16:19

Those who follow the crowd soon become part of the crowd.

[The Mayor]

November 24, 2003

People Pressure

Read: 1 Kings 12:1-17

Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. —Proverbs 16:19

Bible In One Year: 1 Corinthians 5-8

---

The desire for the approval of others makes us do strange things. We wear clothing that is fashionable whether we like it or not, we accept invitations we'd rather decline, and we work much harder than we want to for a level of financial success we don't need. Most regrettably, however, we sometimes choose to follow a crowd that encourages us to do what is wrong.

In 1 Kings 12, we read about King Rehoboam, who also succumbed to people pressure. He rejected the good advice of older wise men who had known his father Solomon and the mistakes he had made as king. Rehoboam listened instead to the counsel of his peers, younger advisors with whom he had grown up. They were probably motivated by pride and a desire for power, and he was obviously swayed by their influence. How dearly he paid for his mistake!

People pressure—we are all influenced by it. It bears down on us from all directions. But we can choose the path we will take. If we are swayed by the proud or by those who love money, live for pleasure, or long for power, people pressure will lead us down the path that ends in destruction. But if we heed the counsel of those who are humble, good, and godly, we will follow the way that pleases God. —Herb Vander Lugt

"Seek ye first" not earth's aspirings,
Ceaseless longings, vain desirings,
But your precious soul's requirings—
"Seek ye first!" —Anon.

Those who follow the crowd soon become part of the crowd.

[dansangel]

Love it (((((((Amy)))))))

May I call you kitty-cat "cootie" for short?

Lots of luck - the layout is so much nicer than before!

:-)

[Billie]

I love it, Amy! Purple's out, blue's in! Much better. Like that mouser! LOL!

[Darksheare]

Timewarp over, I'm in here now.

[Diver Dave]

Welcome to Amy's Place...

Like what you've done with the place, Amy.

Here's a little contribution for the Potpourri...

True story - Happened here in Modesto last week.

A man walked into a local bank wearing a pink shirt, a black and white checkered piece of flannel over his face held in place with his ball cap. He walked up to one of the teller's windows and demanded money. As he was making his getaway, he had a little trouble negotiating he way out of the bank. Seems he forgot to cut eye holes in his 'mask' and had to raise the flannel to watch where he was headed. He didn't raise it high enough as he approached the door. He pushed on the hinge side of the door, his momentum caused him to crash into the doorjam knocking off his ballcap. With his 'mask' still in place he made his getaway.

After his mug shot appeared in the newspaper and on television, an alert citizen recognized him a few days later, called the cops and he was arrested.

Along with bank robbery charges, it is not yet known if he will be charged with gross stupidity as well. :)

[proud American in Canada]

"Today I am debuting my very own thread. I hope you like it and will continue to stop by and contribute to it. We have a very nice mix of fine freepers here. Hopefully Amy's Place will be the place where many more freepers will find a home. "

I haven't been writing too much poetry recently, but best of luck, Amy! :)

I like your opening picture, btw. :)

[lonestar]

Just great!

[MEG33]

I love the new look! It's wonderful!