Train to the City

Boarded a train— left the prairie behind
Heard the wheels rumble over the train track
And I looked out the window at hills flashing by
And I vowed that I never would go back.

The city was busy. The cab drivers shouted
The sights and the sounds filled my mind
Beneath the skyscrapers, in all the confusion,
I forgot what I had left behind.

'Midst smells of the hot dogs and cigarette smoke
And the gum on the sidewalk below,
I wandered around, thinking what I should do
And where would I most like to go.

A museum of paintings was open that day,
So I bought me a pass and looked ‘round.
I saw the whole place, from the top to the bottom
From ceiling right down to the ground.

And it’s strange to report, but a thing that I found out
As through that museum I did roam:
Amongst all those paintings the ones I liked best
Were the ones that remind me of home.

Boarded a train— bade the city farewell
But told it one day I’d stop by.
And my heart sang a song as the train sped along
Toward my home ‘neath the wide prairie sky.

~ © Andrea Grace

Drawings on the Sidewalk

A cloudy day, and gloomy out
But I could see the sun
A little girl
With yellow chalk
Had drawn a smiling one

Her hand was painted rainbow hues
As she held tight the chalk
She drew her world
So brightly there
Upon the grey sidewalk

A princess in her tower room
With hair as dark as night
A dragon green
And breathing flame
Prince Charming there to fight

A river wound through all that land
And birds flew very high
The fluffy clouds
Hung lazily
Suspended in the sky

The little artist sitting there
And painting where I’d walk
The only tools
That she would use
Her box of colored chalk

I don’t know why I stayed right there
And watched that little girl
As flowers grew
Beneath her hands
Inside her little world

A drop of water fell on me
And on the smiling sun
And that small girl
Picked up her chalk
And she began to run

She disappeared inside her house
And left me standing there
A tear rolled down
The dragon’s cheek
And blurred the princess’ hair

The colors ran together
As the rain washed them away
And I just watched
The sidewalk turn
From rainbows back to grey


~ © Andrea Grace

Vigil

Twilight on a lonely pier
The silent skies of grey
A single gull
Stands motionless
And looks across the bay

Last night, as well the night before,
He kept her company
A little girl
Who waited there
And stared out to the sea

Expressionless and waiting
For a ship that never came
So many others
Landed there
But none was quite the same

So many nights spent silently
No sigh escaped her lips
She never spoke
A single word
But gazed upon the ships

Tonight the gull is all alone
For she will come no more
The memory of
Her silent watch
A ghost upon the shore

The seagull spreads his black-tipped wings
And soars into the sky
And disappears
Into the grey
A final mournful cry


~ © Andrea Grace

Lot's Wife

Run, my dear! Keep running!

Don’t stop to think or breathe!

Don’t wonder what it looks like, dear.

I know you want to see,

But squelch your curiosity!

We’re running for our lives!

And I tell you most emphatically

That looking is not wise!

Your home is burning up back there

A hail of fiery rain

Reduces it to just a pile

Of rubble on the plain.

My dear, I know your sister’s there

Your friends and all their wives

I’m sorry, love, but we’ve no choice.

We cannot save their lives.

I know you want to help them

I know you want to turn

I know it breaks your heart to hear

Your hometown-city burn.

Keep running now, and don’t look back

There’s nothing we can do

We tried our best to save our friends.

I know it hurts for you,

But they have made their choices, and

For them it’s far too late

We’ll look out for ourselves this time

And leave them to their fate.

I know it seems so cruel, my dear,

To leave our friends to die
It breaks my heart to flee like this,

To hear their children cry

But I hope you can see one day

We had no other choice

We heard the Lord tell us to run

And had to heed His voice.

You want to race back there and help,

But you’d just perish too!

So run with me, my own dear wife,

It’s all that we can do.

We can’t save everyone in life.

Most times it’s best to try

But sometimes, dear, the cause is lost!

And why, then, would you die?

So keep on running, darling!

And please, oh please, don’t turn!

Please, you do not have to watch

Our friends and city burn!

We cannot help, and that is that.

Aren’t we worth saving, too?

And we’re saving our two daughters!

That’s what we have to do.

But, oh, my wife! I cannot hear

Your footsteps on the ground!

What happened? Are you running still?

…Or did you turn around?

Oh, tell me that it isn’t so!

You didn’t turn or halt!

Oh, curse the day! My wife is now

A pillar made of salt!

Turned back to help her family

Or maybe just to see.

Run on, my girls. Your mother’s gone.

It’s now just you and me.

~ © Andrea Grace

     When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, "Arise! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city!"

     And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside that he said,

     "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere on the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed!"

     ... But his wife looked back behind them, and she became a pillar of salt.

      ~ Genesis 19: 15-17, 19

Coyotesong

A motley band of brothers are we
A scraggly, raggedy crew.
And we gather tonight
In the silver moonlight
Just to sing out our anthem to you!

The owls and mice are our audience
For conductor, we look to the breeze
The grass and the sage
Are our deserty stage
And for harmony we have the bees.

A song without words to write down here
A melody without a tune
And we lift up our cry
To the black velvet sky
As we sing out our hearts to the moon.

We’ve sung since those times long forgotten
And we’ll sing ’til forever has gone
This music unchanged,
And yet never the same
From sunset right up until dawn. 

So just shut your eyes tight and listen
Just breathe in and don’t say a word
Remember our song
And we’ll sing it as long
As we know that somebody has heard.

~ © Andrea Grace

In the Middle of December

Summer breezes in December carry scents of candy canes
For a moment there you wonder if it isn’t rather strange.
Lovely weather in the middle of what should be winter’s chill
Only here in Colorado have we summer breezes still!
Just a week ago the wind, it was completely different here
The frigid Arctic blasts that we should have this time of year
And I donned my fluffy socks, and much hot chocolate did I drink
And I looked outside the window, many gloomy thoughts to think.
I guess I’d just forgotten that the spring must come again
Guess I didn’t quite remember there’s an end to winter’s reign.
And the middle of December (who’d have thought it? who’d have known?)
Has conspired just to show me it’s got beauty of its own
So I won’t lose hope for springtime, and I won’t wish winter gone
Just remember to enjoy it as the year goes marching on
Summer breezes in December and the promises they make
Dancing winds that tell of springtime and the season Earth awakes
Fragrant zephyrs bringing sunshine and no hint of winter’s chillOnly here in Colorado have we summer breezes still!

~ © Andrea Grace

My Grandmother's Flowers

My grandmother’s flowers grow lush in her garden
And smile at me every time that I come
The big fluffy zinnias and small cheerful pansies.
Wave and they nod ‘neath the bright summer sun.


My grandmother’s hands touch her flowers so gently
She waters and digs and is busy all day
The flowers just love her, and she loves the flowers
She makes them so cute in her own special way.


My grandmother’s eyes gaze out over her flowers
And rest for a moment on blossoms of blue
The flowers she looks at are my special favorites
‘Cause my grandmother’s eyes are the very same hue.


My grandmother’s flowers are happy to see us
And Grandma’s big smile is wide, bright, and sunny
She’s clever and witty and makes me to giggle
Because my grandmother’s so terribly funny!


My grandmother’s flowers are strong just like she is
Every summer they’re taller; they smell sweeter, too.
My grandmother’s flowers get better and better
Their bright, vibrant colors quite spruce up the view.


My grandmother’s flowers won’t blossom forever
One summer I’ll come and they will not be there
The yard will be mournful and lonely and quiet
The garden not lively, but somber and bare.


My grandmother’s flowers, their faces will vanish
No more her soft hands the smooth petals caress
Her laughter, the ghost of a much-lovéd lady
Will linger and stay in the places she blessed.


I so love my grandma. The times that I see her
Are fleeting and fading; they’ll someday be spent
So I’ll be a good girl and help Grandma to garden
And always remember her flowers’ sweet scent.


My grandmother’s flowers are charming and lovely
Their faces and smells I will always remember
And even though she and her flowers will leave me
It’s only a while ‘fore we’re back together.


My grandmother’s flowers I know will go with her
When she leaves me to go to the Garden above
And her flowers will make Heaven smell all the better
When my grandmother rests in the LORD’s awesome love.


~ © Andrea Grace