MY  CHOICE

All my heart is yearning for that  faith;
Show me that life has an endless path,
And will endow what l'd love to gain.
Then l'll do my best it to attain.

I'm too weak; please send me Your life rope
Which can lead me where l get great hope.
Life has frightened me by its cruel death,
And You have defeated its grim wraith.

You are known for Your most tender heart.
Don't leave me alone in this hard fight.
Just a cue from Your finger, my Lord
Can cheer all my life in this mad world.

Lord, l choose Your light to clear my way
And to show my path by Your bright ray.
No ray pulls my heart except Your own
Shown by love of Father and His Son.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

CAN WE TRUST FLESH?

Frank and sincere l have been in life.
I can't do what provoke doubtful strife
In the mind of those too little ones
As that will lead them to full ruins.

But the mettle of my heart is strict.
I want all my thoughts to be exact.
Don't give me a part of what l love;
Give the whole or it to hell you shove.

Flesh, you can't convince me of your state
As time to a servant you abate.
How can l place all my trust in you,
And little worms will all your might chew?

Days are passing and flesh gets too frail
Slowly to grave it crawls like a snail.
Hope can't be sought in flesh or its might
As it's hopeless those weak worms to fight.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

FATHER DENIS FITZ PATRICK IN A DREAM

You taught me English from the start
And helped me till l got B.A. in art,
Then appeared in a dream with prize for what l write.

You taught me verse and cleared my course
Through teachings of the Lord you gave me force
Till l could indite what my Lord would me announce.

You are the saint who came to me
A gift from God to show what l should see,
And then to make me write on which God will agree.

So pleased, l asked you why you gave
Me such a medal that l truly love;
You said to protect me and give my work a shove.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

AN ANGEL SERVES A SAINT.

None can wipe off what your hand has done.
It's depicted near the flaming sun
By the Lord Who dwells in His high skies;
None dare look at it with human's eyes.

Your acts are towards a mother dear.
You don't want another to come near.
All the time yours replace her old hand
And no one but you she would demand.

You have been in such a post for long.
Words from you sound like her sweetest song.
You are locked beside her for long years.
Just an angel lives such life with cheers.

Mum and daughter you have been for long.
She sang lullabies when you were young.
Songs of yours have been so sweet to her;
Dreams of past days in both hearts they stir.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

HEARTS OF STONES

When you extend your hand and l stretch mine
The two most eager hearts meet on cloud nine.
We both get joyous as you want me glad,
And l can't smile if l find your face sad.

I do my best but find those whom l love
Shake hands as if my dirt demands a glove.
I lose my nerves and get so much depressed
As those l love want me to turn distressed.

How hard life is when those you love refuse,
And your kind acts they purposely abuse.
You show that without them you cannot live,
But their looks show that they want you to leave.

Why do some people have the hearts of stone
That nothing can make soft or deeds atone?
Their stupid minds insist till they destroy
The sparks of love in you and gleams of joy.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

MARRIAGE, A NEW BIRTH

She is so loved in parents' house,
The toy of all, and joy main source.
All members find in her their joy.
She is for all their main life buoy.

They bring her what she loves to eat
To get her smile, so cute and sweet.
She brings her house a man one day,
Her choice to share with him her way.

What will that man bring her new life?
She finds in him a new birth strife.
What sort of life will he create?
To what new land will they migrate?

He is the captain who will sail
Her sailboat which is small and frail.
What will this birth show her and give?
Is it worth what she plans to leave?

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

HONEST CRITICISM

When people check what l indite
They fill my heart with great delight.
If l am wrong, they show the flaw
And fill my eyes and mind with light.

They show my lines deserve their strain
And they try my thoughts to attain.
They respect me, and l the same
As we both new viewpoints obtain.

My father used to criticize
My faults and me used to advise.
That's what makes me who speaks with you,
A man who correct thoughts applies.

Those, who with love my faults correct,
I owe deep love, the greatest debt.
If they correct and hark defence,
Their thoughts and mine deserve respect.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

THE LOVING DUCK

A duck was walking in the street
With little ducklings near its feet.
A duckling fell inside a drain;
The cover could fat mum detain.

It waited out quacking for help.
Some people came to grant that step.
It waited long till duckling came
And joined again the anxious mum.

I wonder if men are like ducks:
They fill the land with loudest quacks
For ***, the source of chicks, their love
The same with hens, a bird and dove.

Wise men and women practice ***
In ways artistic and complex,
But they use pills new life to ****,
In urgent flaws abortion skill.

If that poor child is among us,
How long do we stay in the house?
I wish that duck will make us think
That life is not mere *** and drink.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
___________

DUTY AND FEAR

A craven act derives great shame
And makes you feel you are too small.
You commit it and proudly claim
That strength is master of us all.

What makes a person use his might,
Opposing all those cheated crowd,
Or shouting for the death of Christ
When all their leaders wished Him dead?

Saint Peter escaped shy to speak
Though he was faithful and quite strong.
The poor could shout and so the weak
As they were shouting with the throng.

But Peter wept as he could not
Say what he thought to wrathful men.
Words of the truth would cost a lot;
Who can fight beasts in their wild den?

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH

GOOD POETRY

When people write and call it verse,
Their lines must have appeal and sense,
Which draws attention to a thought
With depth and meaning must be fraught.

When words are joined in skilful way,
They make your verse a lovely tray,
But when we look at gifts on it,
We will be fully frustrated.

For me the contents should come first
To charm the readers by its gist.
I want the tray to be quite clean,
But what it holds should please the brain.

When thoughts have charm, that pleases much
As your verse can its purpose reach;
But when you give your lines good form,
That gives your contents much more charm.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

LET'S CONVINCE GOODNESS TO STAY.

Why do we look for what is bad?
Does not what we behold round us
Make us quite sure it is abound
And fills the world with dreadful fuss?

The ugly sights are spread nearby
To make this world a fearful scene.
Let's seek what causes all that cry
And replace it with smiling sheen.

How strange is man when sparks of hell
Provoke his hatred from inside,
And make it on his face reveal
The devil with its hateful pride?

The vicious sights have filled the world.
Let's light a lantern in the dark
And roam dark streets; we may behold
The ship which goodness will embark.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

THE LOVE OF THE SOUL

I'm not aware of eyes or nose;
I'm not so fond of thoughts or form.
What makes me my heart and mind lose
Is that nice creature whose soul's warm.

That creature traps my heart though plain
As my eyes get blind to his shape.
What l care for is one big gain:
My soul with his yearns to escape.

They flee to where no eyes can spot,
Where no ears can hear what they say
And live_ far from the flesh and rot
The greatest joy of endless day.

No flesh can attain that warm glow
When two souls mix and their third's God.
They start their heaven from below
And both go up to upper ground.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
___________

SELF  CONTENTEDNESS

Little frog, don't drink much
Though big size does entice.
Water can't your aim catch
And you'll pay such high price.

Don't you know that your size
Won't match that of a cow?
Water brings your demise
But no bulk will endow.

God gives you certain height;
Don't reject; don't abhor.
That will bring you a plight
If you look for much more.

Satisfaction's a gift
That makes life smile to you.
Your low height toil can lift
To see what you should view.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

LIVE YOUR LIFE.

Human life, which we live, is too short;
How dare you spend its time on a dream?
Throw your book; don't let it life abort
As sunshine turns your drink into steam.

Don't let books show you life as a whim
On which you spend long time in false joy,
Thinking that you will get blinding fame,
A mirage all your life can destroy.

Your own life passes by void of prize
While you don't appreciate what you live.
All your joy will then come to demise.
No rewards ere your end you receive.

Does this sort of short life need a book
Which takes you to the worlds others lived?
You desert your own life just to look
How those men human life they conceived.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

THE FRUIT OF VICE

When man indulges in his vice,
And gives his flesh all what it needs,
Does not he think of its high price
When in his eyes his honour bleeds?

How can he meet the other folk?
Does not he look mean in his sight?
Does he accept himself to walk
Among who then appear so white?

I doubt if he can meet a friend
And shake his hand with that pure one.
All people will seem of pure trend
Except himself who has a stain.

He'll see himself a pile of dirt.
What has his vice endowed to him?
He deems he hides in his clean shirt,
And seeks a way out of his shame.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

THE CONTEST

Man is destined for a goal,
Hard to reach but can install
His  name in the book of life
With those famous for their strife.

He begins an empty page.
Thoughts in his mind seethe and rage.
Looks he casts on those great men
Who could paint a splendid scene.

Lots of people lived with them,
Came and left with no small claim.
Nothing could they leave to show,
How they lived, what they could know.

Man is born to start a race
Which he should so boldly face.
Its reward is just to write
His name in the book of light.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

EYES NOT MADE TO CRY

Those eyes whose beauty is so cute
Are not for crying or for tears.
They are to show love and its fruit
As love from them gets its sharp spears.

I love to look at them and float
In their most charming atmosphere
Where life can give its smooth delight
And show a world of endless cheer.

I love to sail inside their sea
On just a small and frail sailboat,
Not caring where those eyes take me;
My aim is not to keep afloat.

What are those eyes; they drive me mad.
I forget life and stick to them.
They get my hope and all my world,
In which l live most lovely dream.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

STOP WHINING!

Why do you weep? Why do you whine?
Your tears will make your state decline.
You give a chance to those around
To show false care, but their boast hide.

Man proves that he is weak and cruel.
He lives to master and to rule.
When you cry, he feels pleased and gloats
But does not show you his true thoughts.

Don't show him weakness; he will use
When needed just you to abuse.
He will stare in your eyes and say,
"Don't you recall that stupid day?"

Show man your power not your fear.
Your fear is clear, won't disappear.
Your power stops him to provoke,
To destroy you with your bright work.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

THE TRIP OF LIFE

The normal man will have a wife;
Time takes them in the trip of life.
They get inside the car of time
That hurls them to that unknown clime.

They sit quite thoughtless in the car.
Their first main station is not far;
There they meet their so dear first born,
And their car journey will go on.

To their great joy, the child grows fast,
Though that in old age fhem will cast.
The children play their parents' role
While their cars' wheels do keep their roll.

They get old and grandparents called
And their effective role gets stalled.
They wait for what God only knows
While their jobs get to snooze and doze.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

DEATH AND ETERNITY

The heart that God resides
Will live eternal life.
That man to heaven glides
To be of endless stuff.

But that who gets his joy
From what his flesh can give,
Will face a sly decoy
As flesh can't for long live.

Where is your might poor flesh
If you cannot resist
Cruel death and its strong mesh
That you can't flee its fist?

Supposed to trample death,
And live eternal life,
You should control your filth
That renders you its serf.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

THE STORY OF MAN

What can man be?
He is an image that eyes see
Trudging on earth
After a cry that starts with birth
To reappear from time to time
And ends with that loud chime
When he departs to land so far,
So close to furthest star.

That's not the end.
He leaves on earth what can extend
For quite some time, on certain space.
He leaves a trace,
That Christ will see
Through eyes of people, you and me,
And gives that man a timeless lodge
That suits what he could drudge.
No one can erase what he draws;
He will submit to certain laws
That suit what he endows.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

MEN AND BOOKS

He was my dearest friend.
He went to such a land
Where transport could not wend,
Yet he remained in mind.

He came in dream to me
And asked me what l did.
He wanted just to see
What ways l loved to tread.

I got up and went straight
To see the books he'd used.
I saw books of his date,
By which he was amused.

Those dear reminders stayed
While he had left my eyes.
They got aged and quite greyed,
But did not taste demise.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH

DON'T LEAVE ME.

Father dear, don't leave me;
My frail work's not enough.
Without you, l can't be
Happy in this hard life.

Without your strongest pull,
I can't stand on my feet.
I see life hard and cruel,
And ends with full defeat.

Like a child, my sole toy
Is held in your strong hand.
Life makes me weak and coy;
Have some ruth on Your child.

Please my Lord, don't leave me;
I don't know what to do.
I implore just to see
From your hand a small clue.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

LOVE, THE ONLY CURE

We are on earth subject to cruelest harm
And live among the teeth of luck and health.
We work so hard in mines and on a farm
To supply honest living and small wealth.

Tell me about a man without much care,
Or lives with smiles on face coming from heart.
Who does not say if he were strong or fair
Or had a greater wealth that brings delight?

We work like slaves between the huge mill stones,
And seek a narrow path to shun blind death.
All work is done but none the flesh atones
As nothing can cure from fast time and death.

From work to toil, from age to death we move,
Aspiring to what worried hearts will soothe.
Nothing can save but deepest care and love,
That all life's gloom a merry dress can clothe.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

THE BLIND CAT

It sits beside a huge dustbin,
The site that wafts the smell of food.
This place has always for it been
What's saved it from starvation rude.

A little boy has daily come
With carton plate and some offal.
He waits for it all to consume,
And have a stomach pleased and full.

It lifts its mouth and softly mews
With gratitude but full of whine.
He strokes its head and calms its bruise
And assures it he won't decline.

It lives in darkness, it can't move,
But has a face full of delight.
A look at that calm face can prove
It's gained great love though it's lost sight.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

MAN AND LIFE

Nothing can make me hate
Human beings in this world.
Lots of mess, small and great,
On their heads is seen hurled.

Man is poor in his life;
Greatest care spoils his joy.
For his luck, he should strife;
Some cruel men it destroy.

He fears germs; he fears death
For himself and those dear.
He fears luck and its wrath
That disturb who are near.

He wants those whom he loves
To live joy and true smile.
He neglects self and craves
To bring them best lifestyle.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

THE  MIND

We don't know if the mind
Is a bliss or a curse.
Through this gift, one can find
Man's great gain and his loss.

Man can build, reach the moon,
But his end is a gloom.
He works hard, but dies soon
As each start has its doom.

Birds move round and are glad,
Eat and drink, soar the sky.
In great joy they are clad
As no care makes them cry.

Soothsayer, keep your mouth
Fully closed, and don't say.
Let man's ignorance soothe
The strong plight of that day.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

THE MORNING BREEZE

Soft breeze of morning, please slow down and wait
Till l can kiss your soft cheeks and your smile.
You are that old, kind friend so far from sight.
He can't approach, so his breath comes awhile.

What shall l do to make you stay for long ?
You've charmed my heart and brought my mind that time.
Please linger till l recall that old song
That l forget but used to dream its rhyme.

You've come, please stay; you have provoked that dream
That's lurked for long and fed the wish for life.
You've brought those days which now l quite esteem
As none but them can form life joyful stuff.

I give my thoughts light wings to fly with you
To where you can join them with that dear soul.
There, l would live the past with all its view,
Which none retrieves but my thoughts can recall.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

THE VIOLIN AND THE DRUM

Some people are too proud and vain,
But surely no one can know why.
They speak as if they bring the rain
While they eat what you toil and l.

Life has taught us that those big mouthed
Whether they are right or quite wrong,
Or if they're liked or fully loathed
Their own tune must go with each song.

How strange it is that who have sense
Are always faulty and not sure,
Whereas those who mean gross offence
Are right and their words have great lure.

The fiddle strives to carry you
To planes on their sublime cloud nine;
Few strokes of drum give much ado
And from your height they bring you down.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

THE POEM I LIKE

Don't tell me l should wreck my head
To guess a private unknown thought
Which none knows what it can intend
Not even the man who it wrote.

If you would like to quench my thirsty heart,
Give me a thought my mind conceives.
It has a charm that can my mind delight
And my fond heart at once receives.

How great if you can give that thought a form
That flows with ease and rhythmic beat
That makes my heart and mind live your strong storm
If rhyme your cadence can complete.

When language flows like water in a stream
And joins hands with clear sense that me can please,
The poem can give me the softest dream
That will inside my heart flow in with ease.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

AN UGLY GIRL

I am a human being my dear
And have same feelings like all girls.
Don't look at me to taunt and jeer
As l'm not svelte with lovely curls.

I dream of beauty and shed tears
Since l can't draw the eyes to me.
My heart is crammed with hateful fears
That no one would my plain face see.

What can l do with such a heart,
Full of emotions and and great zest
While l lack what gives girls their might?
A senseless heart would be the best.

It's said that life is fair to all
And gives each what equals their strain.
Life has neglected my heart's call
That l would drudge just to obtain.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

THE LONELY FLOWER

Don't ask me why l grow just there;
God has placed me where none would stare.
He makes me grow where no one likes
Among the nettles and the spikes.

I do my best to give the smell
That all would love to receive well.
No one would like even to try;
They just from far wave me good bye.

I thirst and hunger just to give,
But none would stretch hand to receive.
With pride and neglect they reject
What l with blood and tears collect.

Not even bees would like my place
Although all nectar they would chase.
I've cooked for them the nicest meal,
But does not have the slight appeal.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

WHICH SHOULD BE FIRST ?

When your house is on blaze of fire,
You can't think of a meal you miss.
First, put out what may you expire;
Then think of what your stomach miss.

I feel surprized at those who think
Of lovely eyes and perfect nose.
You can't do that when on the brink,
And you may fall and your life lose.

What is the meaning of this life
If all will end in that dark grave?
With problems and hard work is rife,
Can the prize be that gloomy cave?

A call l have to those who think
To strain their minds and solve this quiz.
When it is solved the cheers can clink
As then we will enjoy those cheers.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

GIVE ME A SIGNAL, LORD.

No length of time on earth to lose
Without an aim that cools the heart.
Life is too short; use all the clues
To find life gist ere you depart.

Life is a chance to find your peace
When you a mighty goal achieve.
Then fear of time you will erase
As you the pith of life conceive.

Your peace may come from works of art
That leave on earth a glorious fame
Which keeps you glowing as a fact,
And your torch shines as brilliant flame.

The greatest gift is just to know
And get of second life so sure.
Can we  gain it through what we do
Or through what God on us confer?

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH

THAT'S WHAT I SEEK.

I seek the state of serene world
That gives the calmness which l want.
It is the site of holy mood,
Where l get pure in that clean font.

I shun a word that can cause you
A wound in your most tender soul.
That word on my tears has a due
That makes me cry before you gall.

We're born to live heaven on earth.
If not, it can be scorching hell.
Both earned by acts of love or wrath
That with joy or gloom can us fill.

Nothing but heaven is man's goal
That each discerns in his own way.
My heaven is when l see all
Live this short life so glad and gay.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

CHRIST'S SYMBOL IS THE CROSS.

This is the sense that l get from
My life and that of everyone.
Sadness fills Mine and yours can cram,
From the great to the weakest man.

You whipped and hung Me on the cross;
I was none in your haughty eyes.
I pity you as you will pass
Same death ere you get in My skies.

I came from up to show the type
Each one who lives on earth will see.
You laugh and cheer but have no hope
As your end won't be that of glee.

I give a symbol to My creed
That shows My love mixed with great pain.
This symbol is the painful rood
That l climbed just to bring you gain.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

Please read parts 1+2 of: THEY CLEARED THEIR CONSCIENCE !
Part 3_ THEY CLEARED THEIR CONSCIENCE !

A friend of mine told her the truth,
And she was too clean to accept.
She threw me out with all my wealth,
And tears all my dreams quickly swept.

The house was locked, the wealth was left,
And we both lived poor and apart.
All my dreams in my heart were kept,
And with sad heart, they would depart.

She left me and sailed on wide sea.
I could find her but had no face.
All my hope got her eyes to see
Ere l dwelt in my final house.

I lived with dreams and thus would die
Wrapped in the tears l could not shun.
I built great hope that turned to sigh,
Caused by my daughter and that man.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

Part 2_ THEY CLEARED THEIR CONSCIENCE !

I had a girl, but did not want
To give her what they'd given me.
I kept her far from all my dirt.
At boarding schools, l set her free.

I missed her much but was afraid
My ***** hands would bring her shame
As shameful acts by touch could spread
And burn her heart with my own flame.

I saw myself through her so pure
And bequeathed her my house and wealth,
Which high class men would soon allure,
And we'd live pure life ere my death.

The sun of joy began to fill
My rainy sky, which had been dark.
I hoped with cheer that my life chill
Would for once show that rainbow arc.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

1_ THEY CLEARED THEIR CONSCIENCE !

They were so hard, those years supposed
To be the sweetest in my life,
The early childhood that composed
The period void of care and strife.

I drudged to earn the bread l ate
With no one round to love or teach,
A poor girl that men would await
To find a chance to leap and reach.

All people gathered to destroy
That stupid girl that was too young.
They offered me a little toy,
And l connived what they had wrung.

The toy is still with me till now.
It is so dear, an old friend.
It cleared their conscience to endow
And lead my life to this foul end.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
___________

THE EARS OF WHEAT

I wonder how man can accept
To write about a trivial thought.
He even calls it a precept
While it is minus than mere naught.

A poet has an aim to give,
A notion that can open eyes,
Not what he only can conceive
A clever thought he does appraise.

Wise men forever think they need
More knowledge as they are too small,
For better learning ask and plead
As learning has no end at all.

The empty wheat ear lifts its head
As it is light and contains none.
The fruitful one's heavy as lead;
It bows under its heavy crown.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

WHY DON'T WE?

Glowing warmth shines in my heart;
God gives me that warmth to live.
It shows me how life is bright
When we live to take and give.

I find lots of things you have.
I see them just in few words
That make tranquil hearts strive
To read more from your soft hands.

Few words from you make me dance;
I have such words that make you
Dance like me and soar with bliss.
How rich is this life we view!

Life is full of love so pure,
Clean and blessed and makes you laugh;
Live that joy that can endure,
And enjoy your happy life.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

THAT'S WHAT YOU DO.

You are my spring with its soft breeze
That takes me long to stroll and breathe,
And feel that life floats on with ease
While you my fond heart cool and soothe.

You are a field of prime jasmine
Where l so slowly love to walk.
The smell you waft is my heart's kin
Whose fragrance dew my skin will soak.

No one but you can give such love,
Which grants the heart long lease of life.
You're pure and charming like a dove
That no love we give is enough.

All that will happen when we stroll
Together in a crowded street
In summer and when sweat can boil
All people who hate summer heat.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

What can a person do to calm
The fear that can disturb his heart
While age is taking him to harm
And he can see his nearing blight?

He lives some years of careless mind
When life shows him his bottle's full.
He drinks but knows it can still stand
Whatever large gulps he can pull.

Then age appears to stare and wink.
He looks at life with some clear doubt.
He cuts down on what he can drink,
But none will take him from age out.

Old age comes fast like furious steed
To prance just by a high rock brink.
The steed will balk; none can impede
To make him fall, no time to blink.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

LOVE IS NOT AN EXCUSE.

I've made your soul; l won't leave you.
If l leave you, you will be dead.
Your face will lose its lovely hue
If your morale can't go ahead.

What if you stand with your own child
Unable just to defend him!
What if your wife cannot abide
Your weakness that goes past the rim!

Love is not just a good refuge,
You practice when you cannot act.
Jesus could withstand whips and grudge
To show His love through His great might.

Christ always knocks the door of soul
To show you that He is in sight.
He does not force you Him to call
But when you call, He comes to fight.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

A DUTY OR ENJOYMENT?

Are prayers interesting to say,
Or just a duty we can't shun?
Do they to heaven pave the way,
Or acts through which pleasure is won?

Are they mere visits to the Lord,
Who can decide a lot of things?
We visit Him for His reward
And to avoid the plagues He brings.

To write is not an act we like,
But ask a poet,"is it so?"
For him to indite is the peak
Of pleasure where he likes to go.

Why don't we pray just as we write,
And live with those most lovely Ones?
Then we spend sweet time in God's sight,
And no one such a visit shuns.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

I AM THE GOD OF YOUR SOUL.

You don't intend to know that l
Incite the feelings inside you.
I stir your fear, and move your eye;
Those are my signals that l show.

You ask for clues, but what are these?
They are so clear, but you lack sense.
Who helps you and controls your fears,
And gives you peace and strong defence?

Don't you ken that l've made your soul,
The Father Who lives inside you?
You want material life, you toil
Or ask the parents, who flesh grow.

Your soul l protect with my hands,
With my pain on the cross, you know.
I protect you from that who stands
To sever you from me through woe.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

PETALS AND THORNS

You want to write about your love,
Don't use a sheet with ink stuff.
A subject as pure as white dove
On rose's petals you should graph.

The petals so soft and fragile
Can convey meaning of great depth.
Paper for love is not worthwhile
As love is dearer than huge wealth.

Don't write about it with your pen.
Your pen is plastic and can't feel.
Write it with rose's thorns which then
The thorns to petals can appeal.

Between the petals and the spike,
You can have hope mixed with great pain.
The pain that Cupid caused to Psyche
Can't be conveyed on sheet by pen.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH

WHERE ARE THOSE DAYS ?

Went and passed, but still in mind,
Days that showed us life is sweet.
Cares my parents loved to stand
To see joy in us complete.

Days look like a charming nymph
With long hair, sitting on shore,
Combing black hair with triumph.
She attracts; none can restore.

Where are we from that great charm
That makes all life appear void,
Like the days of that past dream
That no hard toil can afford ?

Cares were placed in mum's fond hands.
Nothing can bring back to me.
Where are your tales and your lands ?
I recall, but l can't see.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

THE NEGLECTED OLD MAN

He has a place for smile on face
Though nearly crippled in his house.
Nothing his good heart can replace
Though nearly thrown out with despise.

He was much loved and so agile,
And all the people loved his acts.
They loved his gifts that were worthwhile
As dear gifts could bring great impacts.

When old with broken leg in bed,
No one remembered his old days.
So near to blindness with eyes red,
No one would tread his distant ways.

Despite all that, his laughs are loud
As if he sees a group of saints.
They bring him joy deep and profound,
And leave no place for his complaints.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

E A S T E R

The rays that fill the sky and earth
Give light that makes us see and move
As Jesus' feat gives rays whose mirth
Fill our hearts with cheerful love.

No death can cast its gloom in space.
He has shown us that death is void
As He rose up to death efface
And join His twelve and all the crowd.

That makes us on earth dance and sing;
The trip to His great land elates.
All mothers, ere that feast, begin
To live great time preparing plates.

We dance and sing; all friends will come
And we'll enjoy a feast so great.
The cheers will fill our hearts and home
As Easter is the greatest feat.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________