A special poem for a special lady on our 48th anniversary

A photo taken the first year of our marriage in the Washington DC area where we, by God’s Providence, now live.

On August 31, 2021, I begin this special day with a heart overflowing with gratitude to God for my beloved, Brenda Joyce, the wife of my youth, in whom I rejoice. Today is our 48^th wedding anniversary, and I celebrate this grand occasion with a special poem for a special lady.

This particular poem is a villanelle, a nineteen-line poem with lines of the opening stanza repeated throughout the poem and in the closing stanza. It also has elements of a Golden Shovel poem where I take another poem where each line or various lines serve as the end words in the new poem. Most remarkably, the new poem was inspired by a poem that wrote for Brenda “Before I Knew You.”

Here is that original poem followed by “An Amethyst Remembrance” which refers to one of the precious stones in the breastplate of the high priest and in the walls in the New Jerusalem. Amethyst is also the stone associated with the 48^th anniversary in France and one of Brenda’s favorite colors.

Before I Knew You 

for my beloved Brenda

I thought of you long before I ever knew you.

When through the mist I beheld your lovely face.

Before our two lives touched, my heart reached out to you.

I could not speak your name, yet somehow, I knew you

Would be all I could desire in style and grace.

I thought of you long before I ever knew you.

Alone, I saw the sunset, told myself you too

Needed a dearest friend to share this special place.

Before our two lives touched, my heart reached out to you.

Alone, I passed the time and asked myself who you

Were dreaming of, yet still longing to embrace

I thought of you long before I ever knew you.

I yearned to give my life, to share my soul with you

Who would make me feel whole and fill my empty space.

Before our two lives touched, my heart reached out to you.

God stretched out his hand, and then He gently drew you

To me with a true love that time cannot erase.

I thought of you long before I ever knew you.

Before our two lives touched, my heart reached out to you.

An Amethyst Remembrance                                                              

Variation on a Golden Shovel poem based on “Before I Knew You”
for my beloved Brenda on our 48^th Anniversary

Another precious stone–amethyst remembrance

Stone upon Stone: Psalms of Remembrance

You touched my life and filled my heart with love 

I thank God who heard and answered my prayer,          

Beyond all I could have ever thought of.              

You are God’s gift I still stand in awe of.           

I prayed and God brought me to a place where            

You touched my life and filled my heart with love.    

Firm as a rock, yet gentle as a dove                    

Is steadfast love that will always be there,             

Beyond all I could have ever thought of.               

You were my answer from the Lord above.                 

You fulfilled my deep desire to share.                 

You touched my life and filled my heart with love.     

You are the one—”You make me feel brand new.”          

A pure-hearted love such as ours is rare,              

Beyond all I could have ever thought of.               

You know, it’s still true—“If only you knew.”          

You see, I try to show how much I care.                 

You touched my life and filled my heart with love.         

Beyond all I could have ever thought of.              

One one of the lines in the new poem inspired by the first poem mentions a song that continues to be my heart’s song expressed to my Beloved BJ–“If  Only You Knew“

Reflecting on the goodness of God on a special day

Here is quotation that I use as the motto for every writing class I teach and a statement I apply each day of my life.

As an adjunct professor of English currently starting a new semester at St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, NC, I share a weekly email devotional with my students. A new semester started today, August 11, 2021, which turns out to be an especially significant day for me. Not only is today, the first day of classes where I teach, but it is also the 47^th anniversary of my ordination to the Christian ministry and the 5^th birthday of my grandson, Kingston Edward Simkins. All these events intersect in a glorious display of the Providence of God. I am posting this email devotional that represents my life and my ministry.

The devotional opens with a quotation attributed to Saint Jerome:

Good, better, best
Never let it rest
Until your good is better
And your better is best

Professional athletes, such as Tim Duncan and others, use this motto in an athletic context, but we can apply the statement in an academic context as well.

In discussing this inspirational quote, let us look for a moment at the adjective “good” which is derived from “God” who alone is good. Indeed, Jesus Christ said, “There is none good but the Father.” Good is an adjective, and an adjective has a comparative form and a superlative form. When you compare two objects, one is said to be better than the other. If you compare three or more items, one is selected as the best of the group. With God, however, there is no comparative or superlative. No, God has not seen “better” days, and God does not have the “best” day He’s had in a long time in comparison to others. With God every day is a “Good News Day” because “God is good.” Period! Because God is good, “. . . all things work together for the good, to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28—my favorite verse in the whole Bible) So no matter how bad the situation may appear to be, it will work together for the good.

“O, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that puts his trust in Him.”
“For the Lord is good, and His mercy endures forever.”

To further illustrate the truths of the opening quote, take a look at the video excerpt from “Facing the Giants.” Here we have a coach asking one of his players to “him his best.” That’s really all that anyone can ask of another person. Even so, as the facilitator of this class, that’s all I’m asking of you.

As we strive to apply this inspirational quote to every aspect of our lives, there should be an underlying motivation: that we want to express to God our gratitude for all that He has done for us through Christ Jesus, His Son, the least that we can do is give him our best. Like the coach in “Facing the Giants” that’s all that God is asking of us. This should be our response: “Giving My Best to You, Lord.” as offered by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir: