Winter of the Soul

There are times my soul is tired
Fighting tears of pure despair
My spirit drained of all reserves
Depleted, broken, uninspired
I feel myself become despondent
unable to break free
from this winter of the soul
which had taken over me

Yet, winter has its ending
and so shall come the spring
A springtime of the spirit
is coming over me
It's lifting up my spirit
and warming now my heart
Awakening my senses
I am yearning now to start

Memories trail like footprints in the sand

My words are now my playground
my emotions poetry
Love plays sweet my melody
as life becomes my song
I find my strength returning
and thrill to sing along

j e billheimer

New Beginnings

She's painfully aware she's breaking
all the rules
She's spent a lifetime living others dreams
She knows this path she's taking now is hurting
those she loves
A journey so much harder than it seems

But doesn't she deserve to live a life
that's truly hers
A life where others see her as she does
If all this time they loved her while she followed
all their rules
Is she now to spend her life without her loves

I hope that others come to see as clearly
as I do
The truth that all should follow their own dreams
For loving happens best when we let others
be themselves
Let go and love, much easier than it seems

j e billheimer

Sophie's Stand-Sophie Scholl, Germany, 1921-1943

There are times when words and phrases
become ordinary in their overuse
to say something is extraordinary is
often times ill used
so easily dismissed,

Then there is a story
a tale heard here and there
of such amazing consequence
it hangs upon the air

The tale it makes you
catch your breath
and sigh with unshed tears
such is the tale I happened on
a tale of bygone years

In times of trial and tragedy
the world had lost it's way
there was a brave and valiant youth
who would not shy away
she could not hide away

She took a stand that cost her life
A stand against the hate
with dignity beyond her years
she fought a righteous fight
and death would be her fate

She must have been an old soul
to bear it with such poise
And in another world I weep
for the courage of Sophie's choice
the courage of Sophie's voice

So hear me now recall the tale
Of sacrifice so true
As given by one Sophie Scholl
Who died at twenty two
For those she never knew

Doubts

All this talk of loving me
has me terrified
How to know if you are true
Feelings verified

Listen to my heart, you say
Leaves me mystified
I'm not sure I'm capable
Never have I tried

Close my eyes and trust my soul
Keep it simplified
you can answer all my doubts
Hope has multiplied

With you love seems effortless
you cannot be denied
now I hand to you my heart
Eyes are open wide

Heart Strings

He is the author of my 

Secret love song
His voice strums lightly on
Each tender note
His soul plays gently to
My inner longings
The most important song
He ever wrote

With every breath I take
 I lightly tremble
My hopes and dreams are held 

Within his song
I close my eyes,
Surrender to this yearning
He sang my tune and my heart
Sang along

We laughed

We laughed
Oh, we laughed until we cried
Sides heaving
We laughed some more
Sides aching

I fell to the floor
I said to myself
Who could ask for more
This joy, right here
Who could ask for more
It's everything worth
Living for

Contemplation

It seems the world I know has gone to sleep
Slipped quietly away while I was thinking
And when I turned around to re engage
My dreams and world had quickly moved along
 Now, I am left to gaze and wonder why
A player left upon an empty stage
No one around to listen to my song

I must admit to wondering now and then
If everything I value were all gone
Would I begin to question who I am
Could I muster my faith and still be strong
Or would my strength and fragile faith be gone
As fleeting as an angry summer storm
Oh, could I find the strength to carry on

These questions plague my waking and my dreams
Perplexing thoughts that somehow I won't know
How best to live this life that I so love
This aching fear of failure haunts me so
That sometimes I withdraw and search within
In hope the answers deep within me lie
And finding them will be my final task
So I may be at peace before I die