Stirring morning
Open eyes then feel… open ear starts to listen… open mind learn humbly to think and to grasp… open heart with passion to feel… (Continue quietly breathing in and out)… "What that feel deep inside?"
Sensing and intuiting, searching  with all feeling and wits, while heart and mind still clear and unblemished.
Attempting to fly off into the morning wild blue yonder. Once again, no ponder souls' supposing… only relinquish… go beneath the core of being human: "What that feel deep inside me?"
At the culmination, golden morning rays teach, to experience  the surrounds as they are, as gold as they are naked… as warmth as they should be… allow diminishing self-image first to be humble… then I might cloth being in the present and be a friend with I am who I am…
"What that feel deep inside me?"
And I know…
When…
There will be…

I've always yearned to taste the golden and shimmering sunlight, dripping steadily down the sides of my cheeks. I’ve licked my lips in anticipation, and with intense imagery I've found myself basking in the warm glow, enveloped by a soft blanket of light, savoring this tantalizing prospect. Each day I would wake and press my palm against the cool, hard glass of my bedroom window and gaze at the bright yellow blaze in the sky, the light dancing in my eyes. And as I watch the sun one last time, a melancholy prospect, I fully appreciate the sight. The orange rays filter through the ridge in the distance, the dusk permeating the entirety of the valley below and I hardly dare to breathe. For so long I've concentrated on the sun rising. Never had I given much thought to how it sets in the heat of the day. And so I’d lived my life watching the sun rise and die, much like my short time spent in existence. I knew that each day I would rise, neither focusing nor caring on those last dying rays. I could live with the knowledge that someday I would have to die. In fact, I knew fully well of this imminence.
I just didn't think it would be so soon.

The little girl stood, with cone in hand. The ice cream on the ground.
The tears welled up in her eyes, as people stood around.
Tears fell like rain, her heart was breaking, she didn’t know what to do.
Then through the tears, saw grandpa kneeling… Saying, “Grandpa’s here for you.”

Grandpa said to the ice cream man “Another ice cream please.”
“Stack it high and pack it tight.” “We’ve got things to do and see.”
The little girl melted into his arms The sorrow turned to joy.
When grandpa’s near, all is better For grandpa’s little girl.

Oh, grandpa loves you Lucy Girl Forever and always.
When things get tough, call on Him He will lead you through the maze.
When you get to Heaven, many years from now. You will find me waiting there.
I’ll be by the ice cream stand a waiting Just for you to get there .

The little girl grew to a fine young woman. The time went by so fast.
She learned of things not of this world. The things that will always last.
You could see grandpa and the young girl, Walking side by side through life.
When things got tough they called on Him, To help them through the strife.

Oh, grandpa loves you Lucy Girl Forever and always.
When things get tough, call on Him He will lead you through the maze.
When you get to Heaven, many years from now. You will find me waiting there.
I’ll be by the ice cream stand a waiting Just for you to get there .

The young woman cried when grandpa died. As they lowered him in the ground.
Tears welled up, in her eyes As people stood around.
Tears fell like rain, her heart was breaking. She knew just what to do.
So she looked up high to see the Father And heard “Grandpa’s here for you.”

Your, grandpa loves you Lucy Girl Forever and always.
When things get tough, call on Me I will lead you through the maze.
When you get to Heaven, many years from now. You will find him waiting here.
He’ll be by the ice cream stand a waiting Just for you to get here

Oh, grandpa loves you Lucy Girl Forever and always.
When things get tough, call on Him He will lead you through the maze.
When you get to Heaven, many years from now. Your will find me waiting here.
I’ll be kneeling right next to Jesus While I’m waiting for you to get here.

Good night sweet Princess. See you in the morning.
©9-15-06 John Stevens

11-08-2013
Written originally for my grandson Tony (8).  People say we are joined at the hip.  He is a 24/7 little guy and this is how I "wish"/"hope" life will be lived.  I realized I needed to make a copy for Lucy Girl (4) so she will be included.

Ice Cream was written for my grandson Tony (Anthony Stevens) as a reminder how I want to be as an influence in his life. There is also an underlying deeper meaning as to our relationship to God. Our Ice Cream (blessings) hits the ground from time to time because of our neglect or possibly no fault of our own, but God is there if we just look up and see Him kneeling to take us in His arms.

It all started on a Sunday morning when my Pastor said, “imagine a little boy standing there with an empty cone in his hand…. and the ice cream is on the ground. The images came flooding in and by the time first service was over, most of it was written. Since I run the sound system I listen to both Sunday morning services. Much of what I have written about has come from a trigger on Sunday morning or something similar. What do you do when YOUR Ice Cream hits the ground?
It has been sung to a couple of venues.

I put your hat on my head
It made me feel closer to you
From across that room
It was you and I
And nobody knew
But they all knew

We used silly excuses to bridge the gap
The gap that kept me safe
The empty space
Full of everyone else
Where the party was happening
So no one would know
But they all knew

And oh god, I overdressed
Not in a **** way
In a too many layers way
And I decided to take off my sweater
Attempting to disarray my face
From the disarray I felt
And because it's arrogant to think so
I told myself no one noticed
But they did
Ha
And I knew it

And we took our sweet time
We let the alcohol move us
It always moved me the same direction
Your moves mirroring mine
And that was all I needed
So we didn't stop to take notice
We just knew
Everyone did

And then we could finally touch
Nothing too fancy
It was enough to share space
Our excuses built up high around us
An appropriate illusion
Protecting us from ourselves
So we wouldn't have to talk about the truth
That everyone else could
That strangers often did
That we would casually shrug away
But we knew
And they did too

It's a shame that it came down to that night
Because there was someone else watching you
Someone you used to love
Someone who loved you still
Someone whose composure was now mine
Left under my watchful eye
Someone I'd rather not have known
Especially that night

And it really wasn't fair
The way you could ignore it
The way you left it all up to me
That you wouldn't share in this too
That you left me alone with her
It wasn't fair

And if she hadn't been there that night
Waiting for her end
Not ready for it yet
If I hadn't been there
That night
Compromised by empathy
Looking at you and understanding how bad it could hurt
How awful it would be
To be her instead of me
It would have been different
Another night and it would have been different
And they all knew that
They could all see
But you didn't

And I think you felt betrayed
That I wouldn't give you my emotion
The emotion you knew I had
The emotion we built walls for
Because you had it too
But I couldn't
And you knew
But you didn't know why

And the connection broke that night
The connection was all we had
We broke it with all the things we didn't say
And we knew it was silly
And we still didn't speak

I hope it was pain not pride
And I hope you regret it
Like I do
It could have been different
It was just that night
And everyone saw it
And they all knew
But no one saved us
From ourselves