Jim Yerman Poems

It's amazing what we can learn from other people who come from other lands
If we take the time to listen…if we take the time to understand.

I had a friend…from a different country…a far off distant land
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I've seen children…young boys…walking arm in arm
their faces in identical grins
I've seen them laughing….playing, hugging
without questioning the different colors of their skin…
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I love to walk before the sun comes up…with the stars and moon on high
to walk along deserted streets while darkness fills the sky.

As I listen to the morning birds sing from the protection of their trees.
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There is a bird in the morning when the sky is painted black
Who every other bird I'm sure, must think a maniac...

While all her friends are sleeping...heads nestled neath their wings
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They grew up dancing at a time when people danced arm in arm
when dancing had a mystique
when people held hands, twirled together
and loved dancing cheek to cheek.
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PATHS THAT CROSS

After crossing paths with a parent of two of my former students
it instantly occurred to me…
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When our heart is filled with sorrow we find it hard to comprehend
why this happened in our life…why to our family or friends?

Yet it's preposterous to think in a world where every living thing must die
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"Mommy, do you believe in angels? " Her daughter asked one night as her mother tucked her into bed.
Her mother smiled, then sat down next to her…"I do believe", she said.

"I believe in angels you can see…and even those you can't.
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Heroes have always been among us…
quietly doing what they've always done before
Yes, heroes have always been among us
but in a crisis…we acknowledge them more.
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Today we close our eyes,
we stand,
we sit
we get down on bended knee
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