Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness around the world.

October 10, 2007

Today?s Announcement

Because of the length of the story poem presented today, it will be the only submission.  I would love to post a story as well, but many subscribers do not get the e-zine when it is too long.

Birthday wishes go out to:  Sheila Talley: slt7863@aol.com

Ellie Braun Haley:  
Wanted to inform you that last Wednesday morning I had a massive coronary. I flatlined once at the hospital and then once on the medivac ride to a distant hospital. I had two 100% blocked arteries and had to have two stints put in. Doctor said "You should not
have made it." I am at a friend?s home for two weeks now healing. My heart is now 60% damaged and will take much prayer and time to heal.

Terry Ploeckelman

 Happiness is not found at the end of the trail...it is along the journey

Today we welcome a wonderful new poet to our Storytime Tapestry Family.  Thomas James Segal because writer # 437, and in my opinion one of the best poet?s that I have ever come across.  I am sure you will enjoy his work and well email him a wonderful Storytime welcome.

Poetry Corner

~**~**~

 ?For the Dream of Peace?

By: Thomas J. Segel

The sky so blue, the sea so green;
A more lovely sight is seldom seen.
The wind blows and carries my mind away,
To a distant land and another day.

I see a village by the shore,
A thatch-roofed hut and an open door.
The nets are strung on a beam outside.
They are being sewn with strings of hide.

I can hear the pounding drum,
Calling in each and every one -
From their work and from their play.
For, this was a special day.

The yield of the sea had been kind.
There was food for all to find
And offered for a special feast -
To ride the wind, to tame the beast.

All who came did dance and eat.
Some sat down by the Master?s feet,
To listen to the words he spoke.
Within their hearts, the silence broke.

_______

"I am here to reveal to you
The causes of the things you do,
To plant within your heart a seed,
To fill even your deepest need ...

To share the mystery of love,
To show you dreams from up above,
To lift your heart and make you whole,
To begin the stirring of your soul.

Be still and know the silence, now.
A small still voice will tell you how
To kindle the fire that dwells within,
Which is the place you must begin.

In silence, your soul will speak
Of the things that men do seek.
Softly spoken and seldom heard
Comes the most enchanting word.

I am who you are.
Together we are a rising star
To shine above for all to see,
To find who they must really be.

The journey of your soul must start
In the essence of your heart.
For, it is that precious seed
That overpowers hate and greed ...

To build anew compassion?s fire,
To make love your heart?s desire.
Let your heart direct your course,
Yielding to its tender force.

Standing naked at love?s door,
Cross the threshold with nothing more.
For, only love may enter in
Then, from the heart, flow out again.

Filled with joy and filled with pain,
The journey of your soul remains
A mystery in your conscious mind;
Bound by space, locked in time.

In love is found the key
To open up eternity.
For, love cannot be bound.
Within it is the freedom found ...

To lift your heart and make you high,
The answer to the question 'why'.
And to love, what would you give?
For, it allows your soul to live.

Asking nothing in return,
Hoping every heart will learn
Love needs nothing but itself to grow.
Once the heart is full, it overflows ...

To spill out across the skies,
To open up the blinded eyes,
To remind the heart of man
So that you may take a stand ...

And do all that must be done.
For, you are the only one
Who can make the change, today.
Within your heart, you?ll find the way."

_______

Again, he lifted high his voice
And said that peace must be the choice.
"Too long has war been on the land.
Too long has man been killing man.

What causes the killing need
That comes from fear and comes from greed?
You have forgotten where you come from.
The journey back is hard for some.

To hear the calling of your soul,
To remember the things you know
That have always been a part of you ...

It is part of the job at hand
To raise the consciousness of man,
To stop the war that wages within;
The only place you can begin.

When peace is found, one heart at a time,
The nations will follow down the line.
For, when you realize you are your brother,
You can no longer hurt one another.

Peace will come from the inside out.
Then, no longer will you shout;
Filled with hurt and filled with pain.
For, only peace will then remain.

In passing time, all wounds will heal
And you will know, then, what is real.
Peace may shape the destiny of man
Then, once again, rule the land.

But, it is you who must choose.
Will humanity win or lose?
The changes must start, today.
Within your heart you?ll find the way.

The words I speak draw you near.
It is the truth you long to hear.
Truth is a gem among the coal.
It is the food that feeds the soul ...

Forged again in passion?s fire,
And becomes the soul?s desire.
It is in truth that love can grow.
It is in truth that peace we know.

It is life and love you give
When within the truth you live.
In truth, awakening begins.
In truth, the light may enter in.

May the light fill your soul.
May the higher calling be your goal."

By now, many people had come;
Brought by the pounding of the drum.

_______

To the Master, they pressed near.
He climbed a hill so all could hear.

As he lifted up his hand,
A stillness fell upon the land.

You have all become my heart.
More words to you will I impart.
The deepness of the truth you feel
Bears witness to what is real ...

And what you know, within your soul,
Shows forth in the brightness of your being.
When enlightened is the path you walk,
Joy is found in the way you talk.

What causes this enlightening?
From what does this joy now spring?
Again, the trail will lead within
To the place you must begin.

For, only in silent thought
Is the power of creation caught.
From there it is, the light does flow
And in your heart you will know.

The light is meant to share with all
And any who will hear the call,
Knowing when the call is heard
That you will receive the word ...

The word is love, peace, truth, and joy
Found in the heart of girl and boy.
As my gaze falls upon the sea,
I know this joy is meant to be.

Now, others pay while I go free.
For, the doors are open to me.
I behold the wonder of it all
And listen to my spirit call.

In recent dreams and ancient time
Live eternal thoughts sublime.
In the shadowed light I seek
The meaning of the words I speak.

Found in the heart of all,
Indwelling in the trees so tall,
Heard in the muted breath,
Intertwined in life and death ...

Reaching for the faded thing,
Listening to freedom ring
And sound aloud for all mankind;
Marking well for all who find ...

That simple peace within your heart:
Again, the place that you must start.
So, beloved, take the chance.
Join me in the sacred dance.

Rise and let your spirit fly,
Racing through the windswept sky,
That you may touch the silver strand
Tied to us by God?s own hand.

As the sun sets upon the shore,
The knowledge of you heart will soar.
Awake, again, in mystic dreams,
The knowledge of eternal things ...

Found at the point of peace within.
Again, the place you must begin
And the truth that you do find
Must be shared with human kind.

We stand in the temple of the sun,
With no place for us to run.
We must be at peace, in our home.
We will never be alone.

All creation reaches out.
It shows us, without a doubt,
That we will never cease to be.
It is the same for you and me.

Eternal dreams are now
In your heart, you know how.
Though we stand on the line,
The wind blows the sand of time ...

From here and now to evermore.
So, together, let?s step through the door
To make the world a better place
At this point in time and space.

When you realize that we are one
(The people, the planet, and the setting sun)
Be, then, mindful of what you do.
For, what touches one touches all of you.

To the Earth you must be kind,
Learning well from what you find.
In each treasure, you behold,
Is a sacred story told ...

Of awesome wonder, bold delight,
The precious gift; the clearest sight
Is there for any who will see
And in the knowing you will be."

_______

Darkness settled on the land,
In the torch light he did stand.
The people hungered for his words
And cherished the treasures heard.

Old and young, big and small;
Silence was upon them all.
The Master called a young one near,
Then, said to all that would hear ...

"If you could look through this one?s eyes,
You would see the truth and hear the cries
Of all of those yet to come.
You would do what must be done.

Your thoughts are of yesterday.
But, tomorrow?s child will lead the way
And follow him you must
If, in love and peace, you trust."

We stand upon common ground.
Together our lives are bound
By the one within us all,
Hoping we will hear the call ...

Whispered from that timeless place,
Found upon the child?s face,
In the touch of a stranger?s hand,
Compassion in a foreign land ...

"The song that causes the heart to sing,
The tenderness that love does bring,
Helping the helpless child;
The gentle spirit, meek and mild.

Let this moment fill your soul.
Listen to the things you know.
Take another by the hand.
Help someone to understand.

What has been given, give away.
Let us start a brand new day.
It is you I treasure, in my heart.
What draws you here marks the start ...

Of changes in your world, today.
Within your heart you?ll find the way."
The moon had risen, in the sky.
The people stood with a watchful eye

One said, "Master, tell us more.
How may we pass through the door?"
With his words he firmly said,
"From the darkness you were led.

Now, for you, the time has come
To share the light with everyone.
Let your highest thought be love;
The kind that flows from up above.

Let your clearest word be spoken,
Healing hearts that have been broken.
Let every heart beat as one,
Under the temple of the sun.

Let everyone become his brother.
In the heart of God, there is no other.
Let compassion fill your soul,
Teaching well from what you know.

Let peace be the path you walk,
Showing forth in how you talk.
Let your truth light the way,
Breaking darkness of the day.

Let everyone do his part
To heal our planet from the heart.
Let everyone hear the voice within,
Which will direct you home again."

_______

It was now the second day of the feast
Of riding the wind, of taming the beast.
The people watched for the Master to come
While they danced to the sound of the drum.

He was the treasure of their land,
For he helped them to understand.
Though alone, he was never apart.
For, he was held dearly in each one?s heart.

He arrived on the fourth hour of the day.
All of the people made clear his way.
For him was made a special seat,
Built with love to the flow of the beat.

In their midst, he sat above them all
With outstretched arms. Let his spirit call
To any there that would hear,
So he could, once again, draw them near.

As silence fell upon that place
He began to speak with heavenly grace.
"My eyes have seen the love you hold;
From my heart, another story told.

In dreams of this boundless sea,
Timeless visions come to me.
We are but a vapor in the wind.
But, our soul continues, without end.

So that, when a life falls away,
It is to begin a brand new day.
The sorrow belongs to those left behind.
The departed enters a joy hard to find.

So, let your sorrow be brief.
May you feel joy and not grief.
The love that has passed between is forever.
Deep within your heart, you will never
Have to say good-bye, but farewell.

In another place, another time,
Locked inside an ancient rhyme,
You shall see each other again.
It is only the soul that knows when.

I feel the earth breathe with the surge of the sea.
I am filled with the power it gives to me.
I, once again, dwell in that timeless place.
I feel the love of the gentle race ...

That lives within every heart;
Again, the place that you must start.
The message I give is clear.
He who has ears, let him hear.

He who has eyes, let him see
The wondrous glory meant to be."
Thus were the words he spoke at the feast.
It was he who rode the wind and tamed the beast.

For all who heard, let their spirits fly
On mystic winds of eternal sky.
Within each heart, the beast was tamed
So no one would ever be the blame.

And so it is that this story is told
To any who will hear and take hold
Of the truth contained within;
Again, the place you must begin

? by Thomas James Segel

                                                     crystal_king_1995@yahoo.com