Family – Wordsmith: At The Forge

Surrounded by Love

By brian francis

Oh, to be home in this season of giving
To walk the old lanes where I walked as I grew
The crunch of the snow, the crystal reflections
The potential of Christmas about to come true

The rhythm of sleigh bells as they jostle and jingle
Down backcountry roads in the hollow of my youth
Songs sung with shivers, and warm knitted mittens
Singing about the story believed, accepted as truth

The smells of the cinnamon the clove and the nutmeg
Eggnog so lusciously rich as you drink
The lights and the colors, the strings and the tinsel
Bring back the magic of Santa’s joy-filled wink

The meadow light, still seen from my window
Revealing the snow, as it silently falls
just like the child who once sat here nodding
Waiting for Santa’s elusive reindeer’s paws

Memories tickle and ooze out in moments
Here in this place so surrounded by love
Remembering seasons lost to the ages
And songs to honor our Lord God above

A Ring of Chairs

By brian francis

Sitting in a circle strumming on a six-string
All of my friends making music there with me
Grandpa with his fiddle stomping and dancing
Playing hallelujah while his soul is flying free

Johnny has a banjo playing out the challenge
Six of us strummers reply in answering
Smiles paint the faces of the generations
Sharing this tradition of the music ring

Billie took his chair and sat it in the center
Standing there beside it, his guitar on his knee
He started to play an old church house standard
Everyone in the ring joining to accompany

Missy and her mama sang the words of praising
While working in the kitchen preparing all the food
Jim and Sammy Daniels joined in harmony singing
All about their constant and sorrowful mood

Woody Guthrie came in spirit to join with us
As we sang about the plenty of this land
And how Tom Joad just wanted some too
So, he could place it in a hungry child’s hand

All through the day remembering in song
The building of this republic, the journey shared
The troubles suffered all along the way
The joys and sorrows of how we’ve faired

Late in the evening before we broke and parted
We played some favorites of friends, passed away
We closed with Roy’s farewell song of happy trails
With embraces and kind words we finished our day

Dandelion Dreams

By brian francis

Sometimes in silence
I remember corn-cob summer days
And pig roasts: smoke and fire
and the ever spinning carcass
Grass grown by a blazing summer sun
nurtured with sweating sky drops
Family – the laughing voices,
and comfortable rhythm and tones
Flag day or the 4th or just a family gathering
because there was love
Softball
where generations laughed
and fumbled to play a semi-sober game
Baked beans and salads galore, sodas, cousins, cars
Sometimes I wish I could live in my dreams
Forever laughing surrounded by love
Sometimes I think I can

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