My Art and Writing Collide

A piece I just finished for a loyal customer who ordered for a friend who lost TWO dogs in short time. I wrote a short poem to go with the piece, and this case had tags on it so I did a little tag that says dog tags from heaven with their names inside 🙂
A letter from heaven
Leaving you was the hardest thing I ever had to do
So I am writing you this letter in Heaven and sending it back to you
As I crossed the bridge, my head hung low, as you wept at my grave
But on the other side, I saw a long lost friend, Mom, It was ABE
He greeted me a dog I barely recognized for he was young once more
In the river’s reflection, I saw my youth had also been restored
We wanted to console you because we knew you were grieving
Mom, the hardest part of this journey, was simply leaving
We will be with you, even though we crossed that bridge in the sky
When you feel alone, we are there, for we did not die
We knew a love very few dogs are lucky enough to know
you loved us unconditionally, even when you had to let us go
We got to hear your soft voice in our ear and the touch of a gentle hand
A soothing stroke on our fur and snuggles, you were our best friend
Our bellies and hearts were always full and all because of you!
You made us a part of your family, a joy known by only a few
We will meet again, Mom, thanks for all the love you gave
Until we are reunited, know we love you, Signed Storm and Abe

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The Story of Marriage

Marriage isn’t a romantic novel filled with beautiful words on every page

It isn’t a play with two lovely people kissing upon a stage

It’s not a fairytale that leaves you always smiling at the end

It’s doing the things you never thought you’d do, it’s finding a lifetime friend

Marriage is an artist’s masterpiece, a never completed work of art

It is a card drawn by the one you love with meaningful words, and little purple hearts

Marriage isn’t a dance where the dancers know what steps to take

It’s a dance where we sometimes lose our footing and cause a heart to break

It’s not a flawless diamond that rests upon your hand

It’s an unconditional love symbolized with a single golden band

It’s not a chef’s gourmet meal at a place where you could never afford to eat

It’s a simple meal that he prepared with candlelight, that sweeps you off your feet

It’s not living in a mansion with expensive things displayed all around

It’s a little blue house that I call home and a small piece of ground

It’s not an office with high-tech gadgets sitting upon my desk

It’s just a little room that he built for me, that tells me I am blessed

Marriage is not always being right but instead fixing the problem to what is wrong

Marriage is no matter what lies ahead knowing you found where you belong

It’s not a narrow road with sunny skies that are never blue

Marriage is a trying journey of love that always leads me straight to you

My Sister, My Friend

MY SISTER, MY FRIEND
A little girl kneels to pray at the foot of her bed
“God, please give me a sister,” she says as she bows her
head
“I won’t ask for anything else, if you will make this one
prayer come true!”
That little girl was me, and God gave me you
God made us sisters, but love made us friends
Someone to turn to when no one else understands

You came along and I was no longer just a little girl
Because to my little sister, I was her whole wide world
She thought I knew the answer, when no one else did
It never occurred to her that I was only a kid
God made us sisters, but love made us friends
It’s amazing how someone so small held my heart in the palm
of her hands

I was never alone, it seemed you never tired of being at my
side
You thought you could do everything I did, and you certainly
tried
I would watch as you tried to make me proud, by doing the
things big girls could do
I was always proud but you were growing up and I wasn’t
ready to let go of you
God made us sisters, but love made us friends
Someone to share life as a chapter closes, and a new one
begins

Sometimes late at night I would awake and find you there
Snuggled in the bed with just me, you and your teddy bear
I would lay awake and look down at you as you slept
I’d think of all the love I held for you, all the secrets
you kept
God made us sisters, but love made us friends
A part of yourself to turn to when your world ends

I wish that I could capture our childhood and hold it for
just a little while
Perhaps I would capture a moment, or perhaps just your smile
I’ve prayed that I could rewind time, or make the hands of
time stop
But I know that all the prayers that could be answered, none
could surpass the sister I’ve got
God made us sister, but love made us friends
Sisters are a part of you from the beginning to the end

I can’t replace the mistakes I’ve made, but I have faith
that you know what you are chosen to do
So, though it is hard to let go, I put my total faith in you
It is completely selfish to hold on to something that is
born to fly
So I will let go, and I know you will touch the sky
God made us sister, but life made us friends
So, I will be here for you as part of my life closes, and
your’s begins

Prologue: I wrote this for my sister’s yearbook. It was such a heartwrenching time for me. Thinking of her all grown up and all on her own. I was filled with pride, and sadness. I missed the days that we could never get back. There is nothing like a sister!

Daddy

Doesn’t it seem like yesterday that I came into this world?
It goes by fast, Daddy, I won’t always be a little girl
One day you will look back on my first steps, and it will be a distant memory
Gone will be the days when you could pick me up and hold me
Gone will be the times that I danced on your feet to our favorite song
I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but I won’t be little for long

You will find yourself looking back on these days and wish for them once more
You will miss my feet on yours as we dance across the living room floor
Gone will be the days when you coming home is the highlight of my day
Gone will be the times when I say to you, “Daddy lets play!”

One day you will see that time isn’t really on our side, and I will be grown
One day, Daddy, you will look up and I will be gone
Cherish it now, won’t you please?
Enjoy the kisses, hugs and skinned up knees!

Years from now, it will seem like yesterday that I sat upon your lap and kissed your cheek
You will question when I got too big for us to play a game of hide and seek
Gone will be the days that the sound of your voice will light up my world
Gone will be the days, for you see, I won’t always be a little girl

One day you will remember these days and wish you had every moment back
One day you will wish for more time, but time doesn’t work like that
So hold my hand while it is still small, kiss me often while you have the chance
Never get too wrapped up in life that you forget to teach me to dance

I depend on you to teach me all the things I need to know
Please, Daddy, remember to do these things as I grow!
I love you, Daddy, right now you are the only man in my world
Love always, Daddy’s little girls

Dear Jersey Girl

Dear Jersey;
I couldn’t sleep last night, the bed felt empty without you there
So I stumbled to the couch and kept staring at your empty chair
I snuggled up by Silas, he misses you so much
What I would give if you were here to hug, to pet to touch
I fell asleep but would awaken and reach to pet your head but you were not in your normal spot
And like a ton of bricks I would remember that you were gone, somehow in my sleep I had forgot
I got up this morning and found myself calling your name, but you didn’t come prancing in the room
Instead there was silence and I was reminded I would never see you on earth, you were taken too soon
I went to fill your food bowl up and it still sits there untouched, and it broke me even more
I keep listening for you to come into the room, and the sound of your toe nails clicking on the floor
I feel so empty, almost fourteen years, and I have to live without you now?
I have to keep living and let you go, I miss you so much, I really don’t know how
Your collar is laying on the table, I keep looking at it but it only makes me miss the neck that it once graced
All your medication is labeled Jersey, but I can’t throw it away, this is one of the hardest thing I’ve ever faced
I long for the way you would crawl in my lap and put your head upon my chest; oh how it warmed my heart
You would be sad now because my lap feels empty even though Silas sits in it, and I sit here and fall apart
People say “she was just a dog” but you were so much more, oh I hope you know
You were my best pal, my sweet girl, my snuggle buddy and I had to let you go
You are gone, I know I have to come to terms with that, but it will never stop this hurt
So I will sit here, talk to you, cry, and miss you upon this mound of dirt
I know you are in a place of rest, running like a puppy, and completely restored
But I feel such an emptiness when I come inside and you aren’t there to greet me at the door
I miss everything, your presence, your love, your sass, your will to live
Oh, to rub your ears again, to kiss your little face, there’s nothing I wouldn’t give
I have other dogs to take care of and I love them too, I know you are watching but I’m doing my very best
It is just so hard to move right now, because where you once were there is now a hole inside my chest

Earthbound Angel

Once upon a time, in a land not so very far away

There lived a Mommy who wanted children and so she knelt to pray

The Lord heard her as night after night, the same prayer she uttered

“Lord, I want a baby, Oh Lord please let me be a mother”

He listened with mourning to hear his child’s heart broken in two

He loved her oh so much, He would one day send her YOU

He didn’t answer her right away, and her faith was being tried

Now she sat by her bed determined that her prayer would not be denied

God heard her every utterance, bottled her every tear, and wept

He would give her a child….just not yet

It hurt Him to listen to her cry out to him, his beloved was in despair

But He couldn’t give her an answer now there was still too much to prepare

What she didn’t realize as she was praying on her knees

God was working on a miracle: the most perfect baby the world would ever see

He looked into his canvas, pulled out his paintbrush to begin his work of art

With each stroke He made He listened to the childless mother’s heart

He poured in sunshine, til her hair was gold; just the perfect shade

So that when her mommy held her, she would see the miracle that God had made

Relentlessly the Mommy prayed, clinging desperately to faith

While God was crafting perfection for all the time she had to wait

The Lord gazed into his bag of wonders, to paint his miracle into existence

He knew what the Mommy needed, for every prayer she prayed, the Lord had listened

He borrowed some color from the sky, and placed it in her eyes

So bright and blue, for all the tears the Mommy had cried

While he worked behind the scenes, the Mommy’s prayers desperately began to turn to begging

God loved that Mommy so much, He refused to stop til he gave her a child nothing short of perfection

Tirelessly He drove on, inspired from his creations, his eyes fell upon his flowers

He picked a red rose with the most perfect bud, fresh from the field right after a shower

He looked upon the vibrant color, thinking it magnificent, He injected it into her cheeks and lips

Her smile would look like a blossom, because he had taken the essence of the rose tips

The Mommy prayed, wailing to the Lord as her heart was lonely and aching

The Lord worked with frenzy for He loved her and didn’t want her to think she had been forsaken

Now He put away his canvas, and reached down upon the earth for his clay

It was time to sculpt the angel He would give to the Mommy one day

First he sculpted the ears, tiny and flawless, so they could hear her Mommy’s story

He had no doubt that she would tell her that she was given a miracle, and give him all the glory

The Mommy told the Lord if it was his will for her to have no children to remove the pain within

She didn’t hear Him whisper, “I will child, in my time, you will be a mommy but not til then”

The Lord took the Mommy’s teardrops, and because he loved her so

He placed a treasured tear shape in each nostril on a tiny button nose

God knew that as the baby grew she would smell the wonders of the world

And the Mommy would know God loved her just by looking at her little girl

The Mommy asked God, “Lord please just give me an answer? I need to find my way,  I need to know your plans.”

She couldn’t hear because the Lord spoke in a whisper, “I have your answer,  I hold her in my hands.”

He sprinkled in a little energy and sculpted tiny legs to run, and jump and play

Laughing to himself that Mommy would soon ask for rest when she prayed

He made pudgy little arms just the right size to hug when Mommy’s days got bad

With a smile, he added in a little mischief, so she could play with her Dad

The Mommy was silent now and the Lord knew she was waiting on his reply

The Lord was quiet and still, “My love, you will soon know why.”

With a skillful hand he developed delicate little hands that would hold her Mommy’s one day soon

Then he shaped her eyes to look reminiscent of a stunning half sized moon

He placed in a heart full of his very own love to carry back down for him

Hoping that the Mommy would know how much she loved her then

The Mommy was praying again but this time for him to know she would love him no matter what

God was amidst working on his miracle when the prayer came up, he wanted to reply but his voice caught

He felt his tears fall as he pumped his blood into his tiny gift, so she would be pure, and free of sin

He picked her up into his majestic arms and wrapped her in baby soft skin

He knelt down whispering words of love into her heart before he breathed air into her lungs

As the baby began to breathe, the Lord wept and whispered, “It is done.”

The Mommy was praying now, asking the Lord to please stop the pain

“Lord, you know angels can’t survive on earth….” an angel pleaded in vain

“Your majesty you know what happened the last times,” another angel begged in unison

The Lord placed his finger to his lips to silence them as he picked up the little one

He whispered in that perfect little ear “I clipped your wings, you won’t need them there on Earth.”

“Your Mommy has carried eight of my angels, so I know she will know your worth.”

The Mommy’s prayer was praise for she felt an inner peace

“It is never easy to let an angel go but you my love, are one I must release.”

“Make up for all the losses she has endured, she carried my angels and I know the pain it caused”

“I needed more angels for my choir, to sing away my pain for my lambs that I have lost.”

“Tell her I love her enough that I can spare one for her,” he said as he kissed the teardrop nose

“Tell her as much as she loves you, I love her more, and I am sending her my finest rose!”

Exist

My heart beats your name, a name chosen before your life ever began

I can’t wait to hold you, my precious Braelyn ReAnn

My mouth refuses to speak at only the dream of you

I would give away all my dreams, if only this dream would come true

If only my prayers could build a bridge long enough to pull you from the heavens

But nothing seems to work, I have been praying, I have been begging

Life is taken for granted, but I’d give mine in an instance

If only I could breathe you into existence.

I have your nursery all picked out, if only you could see it perhaps you would travel

through time

Full of pinks, flowers, butterflies, dolls, rocking chairs, and toys of every kind

I have wished upon every star, I would jump over the moon, and shoot down the sun

I would do whatever it took, I would undone all the bad that I have ever done

I have followed every rule, even desperately believed in superstition

If talking would bring you here, I would bend every ear that would listen

Life is such a struggle, I have prayed, screamed, clenched my fist

I would do anything if only I could make my precious baby exist

I have your favorite books, just waiting to be read

But they sit upon a bookshelf gathering dust instead

I have my favorite Disney movies waiting to be seen

Wonderment awaiting upon every single screen

I have every word of every book, every show memorized awaiting your request

If you will give me the option, I promise your mommy will be the very best

Life is a gamble, but I would cash it all in, you are worth the risk

What I would do to make you a reality, to have you simply exist

I have tea parties, the dishes, the dolls the whole nine

What I would do to hear you say, “Grandma, it’s tea time”

To see the smile on your Grandma’s face as she joins you for tea for two

Although you haven’t met, she’s already madly in love with you

Your daddy has camo all picked out for you, and god only knows what else

But he longs for you already, for you to become an extension of himself

Life is a miracle, something that the deserving don’t understand how fragile it is

But I would gladly give my life, to showcase a miracle, just to see you exist

I would give all my heart, my soul, my breath, my life if that is what I need to give

There is nothing in my power I wouldn’t offer up just to make you live

If I had to perish to give you breath, I would die happy at my sacrifice

Never regretting my decision to simply give you, my darling, a life

I know his time isn’t our’s but I will pray until my clock runs out of time

But I won’t give up faith until the day that I can say my baby is mine

You will be perfect, with a face no one can resist

What a day it will be, when everyone sees the miracle God made exist