Guildford Windley

Butterflies and Flowers
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In this life
Some people strive
For wealth
Some want fame
To reach their dream
They sacrifice everything
Their work is their life
No time for the beauty
That makes life worth living
In their hustle
They have little time for relationship
They do not feel the touch of others
To them nothing matters
For all they see are silhouettes
No time for the things that matter
No time
For Butterflies and flowers
Love is just
A
One night stand
That’s always lacking
A soul that’s just a drift
Lost to life’s meaning
No skies of blue
No Mountain Majesty
No Forest of green
The sounds of the ocean roar
They can’t hear
Their mind is blocked
Locked in their own world
Of despair
For fame and fortune
Is an elusive thing
There’s never enough
To fill that emptiness inside
That their single-mindedness brings
Yes
There’s no
Butterflies and flowers
A
World of multi colors
All they have is
Black and white
In the end they have lost what might have been
A lifetime
Of joy and happiness
For the fame of sharing life with others
For the fortune
That’s within ones soul
Filled with love not gold
To know at the end of the day
When one lies in rest
That the world that they know
Is warm not cold
For true wealth
Lies within
For when we depart this old world
All the material things
Will not matter
For all
That will truly matter
Is
Memories
Of
Butterflies, flowers
Lovers
And
Friends

Guildford H Windley
September 18, 2018

Puerto Rico pain
_________________________________

Hear the cries of the people
The dead, not counted
The propaganda
The death count low
But we know
You don’t count brown folks
His ego would be crushed
If the people knew
That the rescue job
Done
Was a mess up from day one
But no one carried
For money moving from the government
Was misspent
All those souls lost
No tear from the White House
FEMA
Is corrupt
Money drain; rich man’s gain
Nearly 3000 dead
What he cries is a lie
Only just a few
We did a great job
The Democrats are picking on me
I saved the day you know
Puerto Rico
Is an island surrounded by big water
We did our best
I passed out paper
What more could we do
It worked like clock work
Those people didn’t die
It’s a deep state lie
To make me look bad
What he won’t say is that they died
No clean water from broken pipes
Brought on needless diseases
But on the airport tarmac
To this day
Piles of bottled water lay
Let’s just say
The Republicans like it this way
They Laugh and say
Another
Flint Michigan
As we reduce the colored population

Guildford H Windley
September 15, 2018

To Believe
___________________________

The struggle within
To reach for the sky
The passion
The drive
Your heart knows
What your brain is afraid to recognize
Within you lies your greatness
You need only to believe in yourself
Like seeds in the ground
With nurturing they’ll sprout
Don’t give in to yourself doubt
Like all things in life
Greatness
Comes with a price
To toil and sweat
All the hard work that you dread
The inspiration you have
Within your head
Outlines your way
But sometimes
You try and you fail
Don’t give up
With Each failing some knowledge is gained
Those seeds of your greatness are now growing like beautiful plants
Those that reach for the stars and succeeded are those with vision and courage
Far too many falls by the wayside
Broken and discouraged
Remember this
Greatness
Does not mean
Recognition by others
Or
Great wealth
Greatness
Can be the satisfaction
Within
Oneself!

Guildford H Windley
September 13, 2018

A Family Affair
______________________________________

As I reflect back to the day
It was not that long ago; but it seems like a million years
One quick moment
Then it was the end
Her father had died; he was the last of her family
Now all alone
In a world that’s cold and uncaring
Left on her own, at the young age of 10
She wandered the streets
Homeless was she
It was by sheer circumstance
That we met
At the time two years had pass since her dear dad’s death
She was a poor beggar girl
Of twelve
I a gentleman of some means
I took a quick liking to this cherub
For the next few months
I would see her smile
At the door of my establishment
My child, please come in I would say
We together would take lunch
She had a knack for brightening my day
I would share my food we would take solace
In both our fates
For you see while I had great wealth
My wife was without child
Our home
Still and cold
My wife distant from me
To bore a child
Was her desire, yet it could not be
Through the days
This young child brought comfort to me
In her eyes one could see wisdom beyond her years
She would stay for awhile
Helped with the store
Her time well spent sharing the moments with me
Then at some point each night
She said that she must go
I would give her some money to hold her for the night
This went on for some time, about a year or so
Then curiosity grabbed me
I had to know, where this child would go
One day after we said goodbye and she had left the store
I closed up early to follow her
Staying back and out of sight
For I fear if she saw me
She would be mad
Well, she walked along the boulevard
All her earthly possessions, were in her backpack
Here and there she would stop
To greet someone
She was easy to follow
Her bright smile
Like a beacon
Guided me, as she took her stroll
Then we came upon a flower shop
She disappeared for a while
When she left the flower shop
She had a bunch of sunflowers
Odd I thought
With little money
Here she spent it on something that’s not necessary
I must say I was taken back
On such frivolous waste
I made a note to tell her so
But I was losing track of her
So I hurried to keep her insight
I lost her momentarily
As she snuck around the corner
Where, could she have gone, I thought
Now, nowhere in sight
Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of her
She had just entered
The old graveyard
It was now getting dark
As the Sun had already set
As I followed I had my concern
This was no place for a child, and it’s getting cold
Then she stopped
Near a willowing tree
Underneath the branches
Covered in darkness
An old scarred stone marker
Near the twisted old base of the tree
The stone marker stood guard; like a sentinel as it watched 0ver the grave
Here she was
This young child
Cleaning and manicuring this run down old site
A grave of no importance
It stood neglected
She was the only one who paid it attention
As I watch her from the bushes
With loving hand she placed the flowers in a water stand
I heard her say in her soft voice
I
Love you mommy and daddy
She then kissed the old stone
Then and there, I understood
After a while
She picked up her backpack
From it
She took a flimsy blanket
She wrapped it around her
Then laid on the cold wet ground
I with tears in my eyes
Said enough
I then walked out of the bushes
She jerked up with fear in her eyes
Then, without a sound; she smile when she saw who I was
I kneeled beside her; with concern in my face
I said to her, my dear child, had I known I would have taken you home
This is no place for you; you’ll catch your death in this cold
Come home with me my child, my wife will make you welcome
She knows of you, and wants so very much to meet you
She looked at me, a smile on her trusting face
As I lifted her in my arms, her arms around my neck
We headed home
As I reach the door of my home
There was my wife at the door
Something happen that night
For my wife lit up with smile
The two of them were inseparable
Laughter filled the place
Well, it was soon after that
That my wife and I ask
Her if would she be part of our family
She said yes!
It took some work, with the people down town
But The Judge cleared the way
That’s how we became a family
It’s been two years now
That Mary, that’s her name
Became our daughter
My world has change
I have found great comfort in this new love
Our house is now bright and cheery
My wife now has smiles, and we have found the love which we had lost
My life is of joy
Because of Mary
We now have a new routine
After her school, she comes by the shop
Those moments are precious to us
She helps around the store
Then when we close up
We walk hand and hand down
The Boulevard
To the old flowers shop
There
We buy two bundles of sunflowers
One for her parents who lie peacefully, in their well manicure Burial Site
The other bundle sits on the dinner table fresh each night
For her new family to share
Well,
It just goes to show you, you never can tell
There’s more than one way
For family to be
Yes some come with the birth of a new born child
Then again
A child could walk through your shop door
With a big Smile!

Guildford H Windley
September 13, 2018

In Remembrance
___________________________________

From the sky
On that September morn
Four planes
Hijacked in the sky
19 militants
Killed thousands
Let’s not forget
All those souls that perished
The heroes that gave their all
First responders
Did not flinch
As they ran into hell
Four airplanes
Three hit there mark
The twin towers
Of the World Trade Center
Went down
They collapsed
In smoke and flames
Taking all those souls
The Pentagon
Took a hit on the western side
125 died on the ground
64
People on the plane
Of those
5
Did the killing
All were lost
In Pennsylvania
The fourth plane fell
The passenger
Rose up and fought like hell
They drove the plane into the ground
A field
In Somerset country
On that September day
But
From the ashes
We resolved
To
Honor those Souls
Lost that day
We here by pledge
To keep vigilant
Our Flag
Will fly over their Memorials
Our people
Free from fear
We will
Always hold our hand out in friendship to a stranger
To welcome all new immigrants
To this promise land
To not hide in fear
But to live life with love
But if the need were to arise
Will stand our ground
Will fight like hell

Guildford H Windley
September 11, 2018

In a blink of an eye
—————————————————–

As I sit here in my chair
On my porch
Enjoying the night air
I can look out into the world
With smug and indifference
Oh, the world goes by
Things happen
Do I care
No
As I sit here content
No problems, no concerns
The things that happen on the street
Don’t affect me
My world is free of anxiety
I could care less
About
The homeless, the dying
People down and out, without food to eat
That’s their problem, not mine
Well off I’m I
For I saved my money
I put it into my favorite stocks
As I sit here in my complacency
My old rocking chair a rocking
The local paper in my hand
As I see the bold headlines
My face turns grim
Market crashes
Stocks wiped out
Oh what I’m I to do
My world now in a spin
Why don’t people feel my pain?
For as they passed on the street
They just all look at me, and they all grin
My complacency
That blinded me
To the reality
Brought me down
In a blink of an eye
My fortune gone
Who’s the one
Crying now
Hey buddy can you spare a dime
They all look with distain
Then turn and look another way
Living in a world of their own
Complacency!

Guildford H Windley
September 11, 2018

A Story to Be Told
_________________________________

Deep down within us
Lies within us
Our destiny
Our reason for being
There inside tucked away
All our hopes and dreams
We are like a great novel
Each chapter full of new and exciting things
We all have our capabilities
Some have more
Some have less
But we all have a chance
To fulfill our destiny
To write these stories
Within life’s novel
To rise above
All our fears, doubts and distractions
Yes we have the capabilities
To fulfill all our hopes and dreams
But what drives
Us to succeed
It’s down deep
Within our body universe
The power of desire
The guts to face
All obstacles
That stands in our way
Yes
Each chapter bring forth new challenges
But keep your focus steady
Use those capabilities
That lies within your soul
Rise up my child
Let your story be told!

Guildford H Windley
September 10, 2018