I WONDER HOW THEY CAN.
A girl that does not know the trip she has in life
for me is like a bud forced to a world of frost.
I look at her and think of what her road will hide,
which makes my heart go soft and rue the heartless world.

I yearn to catch her hand and hide her from soft rain.
It's head can't keep straight up under the weight of dew.
I seek a way to hide her where it's safe and warm.
I cry when l see her with thornless stem she stands.

How can cruel egoists pluck her for just a smell
and throw her in the mud to face that fate alone?
Am l a stupid man or are they made like beasts
whose hunger has the word to **** the frailest lamb?
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

I YEARN TO SIT WITH HIM.
Let me sit on my chair with calm mind to write verse.
I refuge to my heart where Christ sits on His throne.
I go there, where He sits; He makes me feel secure,
but He leaves when my heart is upset with the world.

He has changed my dull heart into His paradise.
I love that cosy room where my Lord gives His warmth
though outside it's so cold and the ice paves the ground,
while the wind blows and roars to uproot trees and roofs.

When some men drive me mad and force me to be cruel,
I think of my dear Lord, and He gives me great force.
I endure all their words as l hope to get there,
and forget all the world to sit with Him and verse.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

JESUS  IS  MY  FRIEND.
Your friend can affect your mind and change your style.
He can make you cheer and laugh or tend to wail.
Tell me who your dear friend is, l can tell you
who exactly you can be, and it turns true.

I've read books about old myths and histories,
and those heroes who have lived in friaries,
but l cannot find a man whom l love more
than Jesus Whom l admire and adore.

He is Whom l love as man of refined traits.
He has such great might of heart that never hates.
No one can be strong like Him and bear a grudge.
He forgives all as He can't the weak men judge.

He's made me love all my life as l do now
as most gleeful sight He can my eyes endow.
I've begun to see all folk as most loved men,
which grants me a tranquil heart void of all strain.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

JESUS' LOVE TO MANKIND
You are so soft and full of deep concern.
You can do all, destroy or build the world.
You built it, and then shaped Adam and Eve,
in perfect form and loved them like your kids.

Your love to them was great, which made you take
the shape of man, and come to earth as one.
Then Your most sublime soul abode inside
their hearts to turn them pure and more humane.

You showed mankind the love that none's revealed.
You've built a bridge that leads man to Eden.
When l behold your face inside my being,
I strum my harp to play the angels' song.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

JESUS ON PALM SUNDAY
You rode a donkey, my great Lord !
You are Who rule the sky and land.
All kings rode chariots and top steeds.
You are the Lamb of peerless deeds.

You did not care what they would ride.
You knew Yourself, no need for pride,
that was employed by who felt slight
and their steep horses gave them height.

You are the Son, extremely strong,
with value known among the throng,
no need for worth from those outside
to give You what Your traits supplied.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

JESUS SPEAKS TO A YOUNG MAN.
Do not pray, young man, but save the child,
in the boat, and his mum's on the shore.
Fearful waves and winds so strong could cut
the unstable rope his mother tied.

Diving in the water is too hard;
it's the loudest prayer you can sing.
I am urging you to save the child
as l saved poor man from his first sin.

Your great saving act is so divine
as the child will be in his mum's arms.
With utmost content, l'll look at you,
and the happy two give you delight.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

JESUS SPEAKS TO A YOUNG MAN.
Do not pray, young man, but save the child,
in the boat, and his mum's on the shore.
Fearful waves and winds so strong could cut
the unstable rope his mother tied.

Diving in the water is too hard;
it's the loudest prayer you can sing.
I am urging you to save the child
as l saved poor man from his first sin.

Your great saving act is so divine
as the child will be in his mum's arms.
With utmost content, l'll look at you,
and the happy two give you delight.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

JESUS, THE GREATEST MAN EVER [AS A MAN, NOT AS A GOD]
Lamb of God, You knew Your killers,
and You knew what they intended,
but Your love could stay as burning
till Your death and not affected.

You could teach the deepest lesson
from the start till our present.
Those who wished to see You suffer
Continued to be Your brothers.

I adore the people who can
offer something of great value.
Ere the Passion, You could conquer
with Your angels those offenders.

On the cross your love was heartfelt.
You forgave those who were butchers,
and You asked Your mighty Father
to absolve those simple hearted.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
________

JESUS' THOUGHTS ON THE CROSS
I feel my sheep's deep grief more than my pain.
Their hearts are bleeding though they don't complain.
Their gloom has dressed their faces with despair.
My cross brings them a plight too big to bear.

Three days in tomb, but then l will rise up
and tint their gloomy hearts with hues of hope.
Delighted they will be and filled with faith
as l can overcome the might of death.

They'll live a kind of thrill so new to them
as thorns of mighty death can cause no harm.
When they discern that l from death revive,
they will forget all grief and joy receive.

So clear the life to come will be to them,
and yields them all the bliss that man can dream.
They'll live at rest from fear of horrid death;
what beatitude can be of equal mirth.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

JUST MOVE YOUR HAND.
If you want me, move your hand.
I'll be under your command.
I'll leave all what's dear to me
and come just your eyes to see.

With you, l live in a world
so far from the noisy crowd,
gardens with the purest stream
Where soft breeze gives hearts their aim.

You make me fly like a bird,
gliding on wings strong and wide.
Its aim is to reach the sky,
which your soft eyes can supply.

You show me what the sky gives,
pure love whose joy my chest heaves
in a world calm and serene,
where we crave to be unseen.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

JUST SELF TO BLAME

No one on earth l have to tell
Why l do this and don't do that
Except my heart that brings me hell
If it does not approve my act.

When l sit and review my past,
Recalling what l've done before.
I blame myself and feel aghast
How could my deeds land on that shore !

I look around and see my state
Which l have knit with my own hands.
Then l behold who find me great
Though l've brought them to such moor lands.

No one's obliged me but myself
To achieve or to come to none.
Now l can live great joy or grief,
Depending on what l have done.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

LESSONS CAN'T BE FORGOTTEN
Some events were great surprises
that could print on mind some pictures.
Seen so clearly and so wisely,
time cannot disturb their features.

Once, l had a friend quite boasting.
He supposed he was a genius,
and he claimed he taught his classmates
how to reach  the highest levels.

Sitting near me in an exam,
he pretended to have knowledge.
I beheld his answers differed;
changing mine, l wrote his jewels.

When we went home, l discovered
mine had been the correct answers.
Laughing, l said, "lt's a lesson
that l will not ever forget."
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

LET ME LIVE LIKE THEM.
Let me live the beauty that exists around,
birds that fly without much care for what may come,
flowers living for today not caring for
wilting or their petals drifted by a storm.

Let me live like butterflies that never cry,
moving from a flower to a rose tree.
If a flower is depleted of its sweet,
that will not reduce its freshness or its glee.

Let me live like that poor man whose clothes are torn,
and his feet are black with dirt and give bad smell.
He will dance and thank his Lord when some dry bread
fills his stomach and makes him feel strong and well.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

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
____________

LET'S  ENDEAVOUR.
When our pen intends to write, let's seek the truth.
It's a call for you and all who read this verse.
Life is short and we have problems quite unsolved.
Why do we deplete the time on trivial themes?

If your heart is burning down, you don't sip tea.
How can poets rhyme their whims while fear is near?
Let's discuss the fire that burns deep in hearts
and conceive the gist of fear ere rhyming trash.

What is man on earth but just a little being
facing problems from the start till his near end?
Great is he whose warning can save other ants
ere the foot of giant vice can end their roles.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

LET'S JOIN HANDS.

People of a hateful grudge
are beheld through one we call a drudge
who has gained no outcome of avail.
That makes him so full of loudest wail.

They hate the people who can have
success in life and be so calm and suave.
They know how they can get respect from all
as they have set and reached a precious goal.

Most of us are not from either class.
Let's join hands; we may pass
gates of grudge and go straight to success.
By joined hands, we may reach God's great bliss.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

LET'S SEIZE THE NETTLE !
I write what my calm pen indites,
and you write with a pen that fights.
I treat the sujects that appeal
while you don't care how l may feel.

I go with you to your own isle
while you intend to cramp my style.
I like your dale and your high peak
while you act like a smart Aleck.

Let's be good friends in verse and need,
and then we enjoy what we read.
Let us, we two, seize the nettle
and as good friends our rows settle.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

LIFE IS MERE LUCK.
He walked along the moor to soothe his mind
and think about the sense of life on Earth.
He saw a girl; she ran away from him
as she was scared of kin who sought her trace
to take her to a house she loathed to see.

Her charm was really rare that he could not
let her escape as that would bring him woe
for being lazy bones when he could act.

He stopped her and they sat; they talked for long.
He found some traits in her that he looked for.
His love was clear and shone in his fond eyes.
It was contageous to her hungry soul.

He was so pleased she was fit as a wife,
and she was glad to meet the man she wished.
They went to where they called their cosy house,
convinced that life was just a lucky chance.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

LIFE WAS IN THEIR HANDS.
Once, l went to see the pool of ducks
where the flower trees were green and red.
On a bench, l saw a mid-aged man,
sitting with a woman of his age.

They were blind to what there were around.
Just they could behold their precious wealth.
Life lay docile in their shy, meek hands;
they were just aware of what was there.

They did not discern that l was near
and were quite involved in their own dreams,
but their faces could unfold that life
could be gained by such a grasp of hands.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

LIGHT AND THE TRUTH

Noone sees daylight and insists
On life in darkness scaring fists.
The truth is light and can convince
Our heart and free us from suspense,
Which throws us in the well of doubt
With none to save except clear light.

Doubt seems like that deep and dark well
Where we are hung with rope so frail,
Fearing the long expected fall
That if it happens, it ends all.

None can save us from that dark doubt
Except a clear and cheerful light
That sends us its well plaited rays
To climb up back to lighted ways.

No ghosts can lurk if you are there;
No doubt can let dark well to scare.
All gets so clear and life gets bright
When light's strong plaits lift us from night.

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
____________

LOOKING FOR A TREASURE
Show me love and take my heart.
Beggar l am for true love.
It's the hope that l look for.
Far from it l can't survive.

People search for this great wealth
in the eyes of some cute girls.
I peruse and hope to find
my great wealth hidden somewhere.

Love is what my eager soul
hope to melt in to meet peace,
which l've looked for all my life,
valued treasure, hard to gain.

Lucky are those who don't care,
but l am in serious search.
Just one promise l can find,
my great Master, Jesus Christ.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

LOOKING FOR PERFECTION

The sense that man is incomplete,
And wish to feel he is replete
Will stir his heart to take a move
Towards the feeling of sweet love.

Love is the call of flesh and soul.
Both keep the shout and keep the call
Till they both find what's fit for them
To make them both live sweetest dream.

No incomplete man can be calm
Till findind the girl and the balm
That soothe the thirst in his dry heart
And with her he can never part.

She gets the flesh, the heart, the soul,
And he says, " You have got me all.
Give me just your heart and take me.
Without You l can never be. "

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
___________

LORD, GRANT ME YOUR HOLY SPIRIT.
I move from day to day; my thoughts enlarge.
My days increase, approaching my old age.
I feel that hope gets smaller than before.
I need Your Holy Ghost to learn Your lore.

You say the truth will make the humans free.
I need Your freedom, Lord; it gives me glee.
You are the Lord of life, Who controls death.
You resurrected, filling us with mirth.

I want to live Your joy, but l'm quite lost.
Please grant me Your great Soul, the Holy Ghost.
He shows me all the truth which makes me live
the joyful life when Your lore l conceive.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

LOVE ALL, BUT PARENTS FIRST.
Don't let your selfishness blind your poor sight.
There are a lot of things you have to see.
If parents are a bit angry with you,
it does not mean they prefer your strong kin.

You have to show them both the love they want.
It's not the matter of receipts and gifts.
Perhaps, your father needed your strong hand;
his heart was asking you to take his seat.

Love all the people, but your parents first
and give them what you can of help and needs.
If it's too late and they have gone to rest,
direct your love to what they loved the most.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

LOVE AND COINS
Man needs love in this cruel world,
but most people are absurd.
You give them what they need most;
they look at you with distrust.

People love whom they will need,
who will give them food and gold.
You want people to love you,
***** them your coins; they will do.

You are wealthy, all love you.
They hear your word; it's their clue.
No one can resist your will
even if you are a fool.

This is man; he leaves your heart
and looks at your cash and vest.
What your heart yields he neglects,
but your pocket him affects.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH

LOVE AND PAIN

You are sore loss; you are not gain.
What can you bring but endless pain ?
You see who is loved weak and frail,
Which makes sad thoughts your heart assail.

That person gets dearer than life.
You give him all, yet not enough.
You feel you must give him much more
And your defects start to deplore.

How full is life of ups and downs.
You live a ***** to keep his crowns.
At times, you can't achieve that aim
And live the hell of endless blame.

Your life gets nothing in your eyes.
You wreck it just to build blue skies
And make whom you love great joy live,
Not minding what pain you receive.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

LOVE AND SELF RESPECT
When you love, you wash feet and get servile.
You don't care if you lose your self respect.
Which is much dearer to your heart and soul,
your self esteem or keeping him quite safe?

Let me one thousand times wash your dear feet
and not see you for seconds in distress.
My heart and soul are tied to those gold rays
that your eyes send to enslave my poor soul.

I am a bunch of love which finds its dew
in your sweet smile that frees my mind from care.
If you accept my hands to wash your feet,
I feel you dwell so safely in my view.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
All rights reserved
____________

LOVE AND THE ENDLESS SOUL
Thoughts and feelings, you show man the way to life
as you make the mundane eyes see through the soul.
Man comes here not to consume his time and die,
but to live the endless love that Jesus lives.

Love is what the greatest Lord forever lives,
and shows it through His forgiveness on the cross.
He loves people and His love augments each day,
and will stay for endless life mixed with His soul.

Love's not made of flesh and blood that die and drain,
but of spirit that exists to live and stay.
It will fly on varied fields of nectar juice
that can give the soul of man the sweetest sense.

Live on, my soul, with my love, blessed both by God,
Who will give you hallowed grace and make you one.
Love makes you, my living soul, like Jesus Christ,
Who rose up from His dim grave to endless life.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Eyes that can see what
lives inside my heart
send their ray to me,
which l love to see.

This enslaving ray
in my core will stay,
giving me a breeze
that won't leave with ease.

Love at that first sight
some say it is right,
but l say it's true
since my eyes saw you.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

LOVE  BIRDS

Birds of love, how don't you feel a little shy?
Beak on beak in deepest kiss close to my eye.
We the humans, feel ashamed of public kiss.
It's a shame that we look at with some malice.

Why don't you wait till the room is just for you?
Then you can enjoy your kiss with none to view.
No one will say one bad word of sin or shame
As we, human beings, can do and keep good name.

My dear man, l am a bird and known as pure.
I don't do what anyone can least injure.
What l do with my mate bird is good for all
My mate is my only love since we were small.

I don't mate with other birds or flirt with them
Or look at them with bad eyes or a worse whim.
What we do is known to all and can't bring blame,
So we do all our deeds and keep good fame.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

LOVE COMING FROM HEAVEN
You're right if you love your mum,
who has been your strength for long.
Who can blame you when she's near
even if they are so strong?

Her heart's with you all the time.
Where can such great love be found?
Whether you are right or wrong,
her love for you is profound.

No one can replace her face
when she admires your eyes.
Nowhere can you find such love
except in the endless skies.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

LOVE FROM ABOVE
The mother cleans her child while he cries loud.
He thinks she is too rough and awfully bad.
He does not know her act is kind and good,
but deems she is too cruel and always rude.

She gives him medicines of awful faste.
He screams to accuse her of being a beast.
He would like to grow up to have revenge
on that cruel woman who stirs all his rage.

She does not care but does what should be done
to her most babied but quite thoughtless son.
Her duties are not easy and they need
a lot of efforts with no gratitude.

My Lord, You loved a lot and bore your cross,
but that led you to sadness and great loss.
Despite all that, You forgave who killed You,
and said, "Forgive; they don't know what they do."
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

LOVE  GIVES  COURAGE .

I know you are the warmth of heart,
That thaws the winter ice and blight.
You remove them from the cold chest,
And give the courage which is blessed.

You are the power that drove God
To come to us and die on rood.
You are the force that drove His mum
To stand beside Him cool and calm.

You are the force that drove saint John
To stand beside fearing no one.
You drove saint Arimathaea,
Not fearing who ruled Judea.

How much l ask this force to dwell
My heart and drive me to excel
At times temptations knock my door
To ask Who died for me ignore.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

LOVE I CAN'T DENY
Your eyes make me adore the world.
They make two hearts play one love tune.
This tune tells me how great you are,
and tells you that you're my fortune.

They make you see how much l love,
and how my heart is no more free
as what goes on inside my heart
is in my eyes for you to see.

Your eyes show beauty of rare genre,
in shape, in touch that lives inside.
They enslave my soul ere my eyes;
the soul's love cannot be denied.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

LOVE IS MUCH NEARER.
What are you, love? Are you a wink that takes
the heart to distant space where the stars live,
or that sweet smile which sails with us so far
and hard to reach like that most distant star?

What are you, love? Are you a magic wand,
that substitutes a man into a dove?
Are you like ****** snow that blinds the eyes,
or what can rob the mind of its sharp will?

Are you so far or are you more than near
and live in those red lips and eyes so dear?
Aren't you in those soft hands whose touch conveys
a nice electric wave that stirs the heart?

You are so near and in those words appear,
but she can't say, and so her cheeks you sear,
and print a potent word on that fond heart
of that young man who feels the same appeal.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH,
All rights reserved
____________

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
____________

LOVE IS ONE.
Love, you are one, but seem in various ways
like that which brings a man to his dear girl,
or mothers to their kids, and Christ to us,
and you are pure and clean in all your forms.

You are so pure, and have a snow-white hand,
that wants to give and touch to please and guard.
The lover does not touch to please himself,
but to delight the person whom he loves.

The lover's life is not of great concern.
He lives for whom he loves and for her smile.
He is prepared to risk all what he owns
to see that whom he loves is in full joy.

So pure is she to him that he can't deem
it proper to dress her chaste face in red.
He gets near her with well anointed hands
to make her feel she gets much more sublime.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

LOVE IS THE PROOF.
If this life has got an end,
it's a crime to have a child.
Life's not sure and full of care
and quite crammed with pain and doubt.

How can man enjoy good times
if he soon will disappear
in a place no one will like
so his life is in great fear.

What is love if it can't last
till forever from the past.
It's mere pain that none can stand,
so no one will risk to start.

Love's the proof that afterlife
is quite certain as the Lord
is the endless love that joins
life on earth with that above.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

LOVE LEADS TO FAITH.
God is mighty. He has made
all the universe and man.
Endless power, none can match.
All are little in His hands.

And His love for man's immense
as He gave him His own form,
same outlook His son had had,
which can show His love for man.

God the Father is a soul,
but His Son has flesh and bones;
Christ is God but can be seen
and He shares Him His own Soul.

Man can't love Whom He ignores.
First, he saw his mighty Lord,
and he loved Him much, so much
as His mien can be adored.

Then He died in flesh to save
man from his most painful sins.
When he sees His love is great,
man will know that God is love.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
____________

LOVE  RULES  LIFE .
Thorns of fields, you can unnerve my frightened mind
for a while but then you weary my calm soul
whose strong love is wildly rampant and can't wait
as the love of souls can't live under control.

Man has not been asked if he would come to earth.
That's a proof that life is full of glorious gifts.
Man's heart is a copy of the Artist's heart
which is flaming with warm love whose heat is strong.

Earthly love, no force can stop your sailing boat
whose unfolded sails drift you to that long line,
where the endless skies meet our land to join
great, divine love with that of little men.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
____________

LOVE STARTS WITH UNDERSTANDING.
You write your words and think we live
inside your mind the sense to reach.
You add to that some obscure words
and lots of your figures of speech.

Your poem gets a horrid piece
that you don't grasp after a day.
How can we know what you would mean?
Only a witch its gist can say.

You know that mumbling to yourself
can't build a thought in people's mind.
If you would like to dwell in hearts
the heart's key is to understand.
____________

LOVE,  THE  BEST  PRAYER

You pray and think you do God's will
And deem you will in heaven dwell,
But if in love your heart is cold
Heaven won't be your coming world.

The world you seek is in your heart
Where God, His throne and peace has built.
There is your heaven and your dream
If love and peace from your heart gleam.

Your alms and prayers are so good;
They help to love and show the road
To love, to help and dry the tears;
Then you dwell in the world of cheers.

If you pray and that does not move
Your pity and your  heart's deep love,
Your prayers are not well addressed,
And their right way they have digressed.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
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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
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LOVE THROUGH PITY
Nothing else but deepest love
burns so warmly in my heart.
I love people of all kinds,
Young and old, too dumb or smart.

Love is kindled in my heart,
aflame by the heat of grief
for what people endure through
this harsh and most horrid life.

What can man do in his life
except racing with swift time,
thinking that a little fame
helps him highest peaks to climb?

He runs fast from birth to death,
saving money, writing verse ;
then so quickly disappears
in a grave, his final house.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
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LOVE TO AVOID REGRET.
You can feel a soft touch fill your heart
when you have profound love for all men.
Never think of their deeds that hurt you.
Days wipe them and show you your old grudge.

Think of those who loved you but their acts
caused you pain that made you turn your face.
When days passed and they got far from you,
you see them perfect men, and blame self.

Look at dawn that's fought with the night's hue
and appears a soft view of red light.
Never deem that it is rather cold;
in a jiff it becomes a dark night.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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LOVE TOUCHES EVERYTHING.
I feel that love is spread round me
in every object l can see.
I see it in the trees around.
I feel it in the table wood.

Each one tells me a story that
to my old past it can relate.
I saw the trees when a sky bird
on branches green came down to land.

I saw the table when my friends
sat round it and outstretched their hands.
They ate with love that in me crept
to make the table permanent.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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LUCK OR BEAUTY ?
She was so ugly, with a forlorn look;
she looked at her reflection with a shock.
She accused her vile mirror of deceit.
Then she believed it and lost all self trust.

She went to see a sorceress whose fame
had filled the region where she used to live.
She prescribed her a herb that grew so far.
She went to have that plant to please her heart.

The way was rough, and she came to a land.
Their queen had died and they would give the throne
to that lass who would pass their bereft state,
and had an ugly face like their late queen.

She sat on her new throne and thanked her luck
that gave her such a look to be a queen.
If she'd been charming like her neighbours' girl,
She'd have had such a spouse so rough and mean.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
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LUCK OR WHAT?
Do you think that there is luck
and it rains on one while he
is so thirsty up a dune
and he quenches burning thirst?

It is said that luck can make
rainy days become quite clear
when a woman wants the sky
for a picnic to be fair.

Lots of people get so rich
through a business of no worth.
They have little mind to use,
but their dumbness is the cause.

Is it luck or is it skill,
or can it be lots of work?
Some would say that luck is all;
others laugh at what they drawl.
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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MACBETH AND BLOOD
Poor Macbeth, l know what you'd gone through
ere you met your death in that last fight.
You were sorry for the men you'd killed
and did not want a new man to add.

Looking at your hands, you saw the blood
you had shed in previous fights you'd had.
All the oceans' water could not clean.
You decided to be killed and slain.

So profound you were with what you thought.
You repent. Would Jesus shrive your crimes?
Where are we with our sins, my Lord?
Shall we yield and die, or pray and live?
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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