Our Kingdom by the Sea

by Darrel Webb

This I promise to do for you

In our kingdom by the sea

My love took me by the hand

Our time we did spend

My love and I

Walking in the sand

In our kingdom by the sea

My love taught me Patience

In the matters of the heart

Frustration and blackness

Did disappear

This she did from the start

In our kingdom by the sea

A fantasy world did we create

Where time became a thing nevermore

Our hearts touched Lips met hands caressed

Bodies longed for the sweet oblivion

For it to never be o'er

In our kingdom by the sea

Dawn and dark merged

Into a swirling kaleidoscope

Our minds afire Senses expanded

Taking us to places never dreamt before

But we must we able to cope

In our kingdom by the sea

My love dreamt of a new world

And I a part became

Entwined in the fantasy

To declare my love anew

While we became one, the same

In our kingdom by the sea

A prayer I send to the gods above

you a gift to me

A thing I could never find

In another life

I will be free

In our kingdom by the sea

You are a mystery

I hear you call my name

As I turn my back

I hear your voice

Please please make our world the same

Returning to our kingdom by the sea

I close my eyes

To find you once more

In all my searches

No love did I find

As I walked that shore

Returning to our kingdom by the sea

I could not find my love

For she returned to her world

I to mine far far away

from our kingdom by the sea

Returning to our kingdom by the sea

If you hear my prayer

You are a part of my soul

Think of me once

Your love will find me

And I will be made whole

In our kingdom by the sea

Our dream will never end

You will always be my queen

No matter the distance

A dream I dreamt

To make the darkness smaller

To take another chance

October 8th, 1993

Sheraton Poipu

Kauai, Hawaii

Written for MM

THE STARFISH STORY
adapted from The Star Thrower
by Loren Eiseley (1907 - 1977)

One day a learned man was walking down the beach and noticed a little figure in the distance, moving like a dancer. As he grew closer, he saw a little girl in a pink bathing suit. She wasn’t dancing, but bending down over and over again, throwing something into the sea.

When he got closer he realized she was picking up starfish that had washed up on the sand. The man chuckled and shook his head, “Why are you throwing those starfish into the ocean?”

The little girl pointed up, “The sun is hot and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they will die.”

At hearing this the man replied, “Don’t you see that there are thousands of starfish along many miles of beach? Your little effort can’t possibly make much of a difference.”

The little girl looked up at him with big blue eyes and then bent down again. She picked up another starfish and threw it into the water. As the wave took it away, she smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one.”

THUNDER

By Darrel Webb
 

Helen of Troy was taken

Fleets of ships were lost at sea

All for the love of a woman

Like the one I've found for me

And when the gates were opened

And she could not be found

His tears filled the oceans

And birds did cease their sound

When you love like thunder

When you love so strong

All the really matters

Is to hear her song

Percious fought the Titans

To set his lover free

His heart would not forget her

Their love just had to be

And when the battle was over

At last the victors crown

He gave up all his kingdoms

Until his love was found

When you love like thunder

When you love so strong

All that really matters

Is to hear her song

I would warp the folds of time

For the instant that we met

I would bring the hounds of hell

to heel

for the hours that we spent

I love you like thunder

I love you to the core

I would fly as Iciris

To relive the moment

Our lips and hearts first soared 

UNDERSTAND

H. Darrel Webb
 

Love is something many people think they understand

I used it to bring me out of the depths of despair

Love is something few people ever find

It shows me that you really care

Many have lived with day to day problems

Many have given up to despair

I have found a way out of the depths

Now I want to bring you there

This is about the possibilities

Though they all are not bright

They are the futures ahead

Many will lead us into the light

You are a shining vision

Brought down to earth  for a time

You are an angel

Shining so sublime

You will be a goddess

From which new worlds emerge

Bringing out

The love which will surge

Deep in our love

We must reside

A queen, a beauty

In which I will abide

Only in body

Am I far away

My thoughts and spirit never

Leave you any day

These things I promise to you

In our kingdom by the sea

Our worlds will never be torn asunder

Our love will always be

DO NOT STAND AT MY GRAVE AND WEEP

by Mary Elizabeth Frye (1905-2004)

An early version, printed by others on postcards:

Do not stand at my grave and weep;

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die.

Her later confirmed version:

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am in a thousand winds that blow,

I am the softly falling snow.

I am the gentle showers of rain,

I am the fields of ripening grain.

I am in the morning hush,

I am in the graceful rush

Of beautiful birds in circling flight,

I am the starshine of the night.

I am in the flowers that bloom,

I am in a quiet room.

I am in the birds that sing,

I am in each lovely thing.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there. I do not die.

The Edge of time

By Geraldine Greene

Racing through totality of life

Thorns of cruelty, paralysis, futility

Torture of love forsaken recalls the strife

Stabbing pain--seeds of man's inhumanity

Devastated soul--hearts desire gone

A child voice pleading fear--a flashing sign

Unfulfilled suicide--falling--oblivion

Alone, lost there on the edge of time

 
Clutching ragged cliff rocks looking down

Torrents of rain pouring through muddy slime

Slipping, bleeding hands clawing on and on

Clinging to life there on the edge of time

 
Through cloudy mists of body floating

Arms uplifted calling, asking for a sign

Pointing toward a dazzling rainbow chanting

Come to glory from this edge of time

 
Blanketed softly with peace radiating love

Inviting heart fulfillment-joy sublime

Musical voices softly calling from above

No longer alone on the edge of time

 
Precariously hanging--slipping away

Toward peaceful tranquility for all time

A sobbing child's fear pleading stay!

Holding on to the edge of time

Faintly moving, misty holes--pulses quicken

Happy child face--two lives--hand and heart entwine

Exhaustion--fleeting light briefly awakens

'Twas a long way back from the edge of time.

Written by Geraldine Greene Agnew, after her near death experience during surgery.  1959

The Forgotten

By Geraldine Greene
 

Long ago they brought her here

This prison for the damned

A nursing home they called it.

She didn't understand, why

She couldn't live with one of them

As surely God had planned.

Occasionally they would come,

Then hurry on-their duty done,

Leaving only things to look upon.

No tender touch to warm the heart

No words of love-they depart.

Oh, where has love gone?

Memories no longer sustain her

She's lost all track of time.

Her eyes are dimmed-all tears shed.

No need to do, to hope, to be

To live with all this cruelty, here

Alone among the strangers-Love is dead

Written about Mable Darette Greene

By Geraldine Agnew, daughter

GROOMS WEDDING VOWS 

By Dale Derstine

I have dreamed about marrying a girl like you all my life. I did not know my dream would come true. I would have preferred to begin my life with you at a much earlier age when we could have experienced certain things together that are not to be experienced again in this life. There are advantages and blessings that are received by choosing properly in our youth. I am grateful that wrong choices are not just a blueprint for pain, suffering and failure but can also be used for growth and wisdom. Adam and Eve could not progress until they made a wrong choice. Afterwards, they were able to appreciate their joy more fully. I feel better qualified to appreciate you now than I would have in my youth. I am grateful to have been given another chance to find the girl of my dreams. You are my dream girl. I am physically, intellectually and spiritually attracted to you. You have qualities that inspire me to become better than I am. I am honored to be the recipient of your love. I intend to strive to remain worthy of your love, admiration, and respect. There is no doubt I will continue to learn many things from you. You are an extraordinary woman. Your person extends to the quality of children in which their quality is a reflection of you.

It is difficult to convey how much your love has captivated me. Your spirit blends with mine. Your interest satisfies my loneliness. Your tenderness soothes my emotions. Your understanding relieves my anxieties. Your respect and admiration validate my worth. Your love fulfills my life. I am totally in love with you, my darling.

You are the person I like. I don't have to, nor do I want to change you into anyone else for me to be happy. I love and accept you just the way you are.

After today, I will no longer have to bear the pain of separation from you again, but will enjoy the personal fulfillment of your love forever. It is my desire and intent to culminate my bond to you by taking you to the temple of the Lord to be sealed to you eternally. I don't want  to be without you in this life or the next.  I commit myself to you publicly without reservations. Everything I am or have, I share with you.

1994