The Album Poem by Pat Kunisch

When I was a young girl in my teens,
I was given an album,
with red cover of leather
and pages of gold leaf,
to be a collection of memories
from people who knew and loved me.

There was grandma and grandpa,
cousin, uncle and aunt,
friends from the family
and chums from my school.
All of them were special to my heart.
Not one of them called me a fool.

They were ordinary people,
some rich and some poor.
some even worried a lot.
But, one thing they all had in common -
they believed and trusted in God.

They touched my heart in many ways.
Some had meaningful things to say -
about life and love and hope.
I know I had equal affect on them,
by all the words they spoke.

This album was indeed special to me.
When times got rough it reminded me
that there were people in my life
who loved me and prayed for me
morning and night.

I miss those folks from times gone by.
I miss their kindness and their smiles.
I miss the fact that they made me feel
unique and special and very real.

They deceived me not,
nor did they lie.
Their witness and testimony
is how I know why.
No one forced them to write their name
into my album……
they did so just the same.

There were also those
who admired my book
and said one day they would take a look
for an empty page to leave their name,
which is how they gave their intentions away…
for the pages are empty still…

It is really quite an amazing thing
how a little gesture can praises bring,
and a little omission can mean so much
that true intentions are judged by such.

When I think of my album I think of God’s too,
not cover of leather, but cover of Truth,
with pages of love and fineness of gold
where names are written
and penned in bold.

How many names might be written there?
Who made the effort
and who really cared?
How many pages are blank as yet,
for those who say:
“Not now, – forget.”