A Talk at the River

Today's September weather was perfect: crisp air, sunny skies, and a blue cloudless sky.  So I decided to pick up my sixteen-year-old niece to enjoy it with her. We drove out to the park where we sat along the river on a bench talking about life.

I said to her, "It's a shame we can't stay with the people we love when we are young. I'll always love him and I'll probably never be with him again. It's so sad, so tragic, and yet beautiful."

"It is beautiful," she responded.

Surprised by her reply I asked her why she thought so.

She answered, "Because it shows you how long real love lasts."

Olivia McGuire

If I Take My Pain

If I take my pain and channel it into poetry or prose

I end up happy 

because I've turned it into something beautiful.

Olivia McGuire

Thankful

Though my income may be modest,

I am thankful it is steady,

and that God continues to provide

Though my neighborhood isn't fancy

I am thankful it's near love ones

and that God has kept us safe here

Though our house isn't my fantasy cottage

I am thankful that it is comfortable

with heat in the winter

and AC in the summer

Though I do not travel as often as I like

I am thankful for where I have visited and lived

and realize that not everyone

 has seen and experienced

what I have

Though I live with lupus

and live with incessant health challenges

I am thankful to be alive

and that God continues to heal me

I even beat cancer

Though I can't shop to buy all that I would like

I'm thankful there is a library where I'm free to borrow

all the books 

and DVDs that I want

Though I haven't met my mate in life
I am thankful for the peace and patience that 

 God gives as I continue to wait 

I am thankful to not frantically be looking

Though I have yet to be a famous writer

or earn a living from my writing

I am thankful God has given me a talent

and that I know the joy of being published

and doing stand-up

So I can look at my life

and see all that it lacks

or I can look at my life

and be thankful for all that it has

Are you thankful ?

Olivia McGuire

Moon In Her Eyes

If you look closely 

you can see the moon

in her eyes

radiating,

 a reflection of the sun

shining over the dark

Olivia McGuire