It’s here! The latest poem I wrote for my inspirational poetry book. I know it’s not a poetic Friday, but since last Friday was Thanksgiving weekend, I am sharing this now. For those of you who don’t know, poetry has been a big part of my life since about the third grade. One of the poems I enjoyed in childhood was one from the book “A Child’s Garden of Verses” by Robert Louis Stevenson. Today’s poetry was inspired by the little poem “Happy Thought” that he wrote (as seen in the graphic image above).
An Abundance of Riches
When I see the discontent of the world,
I have to wonder if there’s a lack of noticing.
Are we blind to the riches we possess,
Because of a poverty of the soul?
Do we focus more on the lack than the abundance?
For if we’d open our eyes and our hearts
We’d truly SEE-
That we are all kings and queens-
descendants of royalty.
For who can be poor with the shelter of trees
and plush carpets of earth on which to lie?
Does a pauper wake each morn to a symphony of birds
Playing joy-filled melodious tunes in sync with the rising sun?
Or lulled to sleep each eve by a choir of crickets and tree frogs?
Does a poor man have a personal painter
Whose brush strokes color the sky each and every day,
So that he never tires of his view?
From early morning dappled gray,
to light, and bright, and blues–
Melting down to pinks, red and orange
As India Ink claims the night,
and the Artist flings stars and moon into the sky for our enchantment.
Who can be considered poor with fine fragrances of flowers-
Every kind you can imagine,
Dotting forest, field, and garden-
Gracious gifts giv’n for our choosing.
Nay, I am not a poor man, nor are you.
There is no discontent to find,
With the noticing-
Of all we are and all we have been giv’n.
We who live in royal courts of beauty,
Our glimpse of heaven here on earth.
© Rebekah Ann Stephenson 2014
NEW!! I keep forgetting to mention I have Radio Podcasts now where you can hear me reading the poetry , along with a few extra thoughts and words of encouragement. Just play the audio clip below (or if you can’t see it click HERE).
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Ahhh…riches for the soul. Thank you, Bekah.
Thank you for stopping by to read and comment. Sending you blessings for Christmas and beyond!
A beautiful poem. And such a perfect reminder of where our true wealth is found for this time of year.
Thank you Dara! I appreciate your comment. Sending you Blessings this Christmas.
I found your “Abundance of Riches” blog post while searching for information five-minute writing exercises and wanted to let you know this was an inspiring poem to read, especially the part where you ask if we fail to notice our riches as a result of poverty of the soul, and then go on to describe everyone no matter his or her lot in life has an artist who paints the sky with a myriad of colors, stars and lights while the earth sprouts of flowers, trees and other wonders in nature that help to experience life in a better way.
Hi Nicole! yes, yes and YES! I loved your comment and the beautiful way in which you stated what the poem meant. I just realized I did not start this post off with my usual explanation of the 5 minute writing exercise I do each Friday. Since you came looking for that-what you do is pick a word (or have someone else pick one for you) and you set a timer and write for 5 minutes on that word. I think the word the week I wrote this was abundance. Most people just free form write, but I like to challenge myself to write a poem with the word since poetry is kind of my thing. Either way , it’s a fun exercise to do and hones the writing skills too. This Friday’s word was “Send” if you’d like one to write on. I had a lot of fun with that one and will be posting it soon along with a contest/giveaway.
You can also google “five minute friday” or look it up on Facebook if you’d like to get the word each week and participate. Thanks for commenting- you totally made my day. Have a great week!