Year: 2014

A Long Day at the Beach

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

Remembering D-Day 70 years later

It was a long day at the beach
as boys ran in the surf
the 6th of June in 1944
Unlike the days when they were small
and mothers watched nearby,
this beach day far from home was bloody war.

The castles in the sand they shaped
were freedom’s fortresses.
They forged a beachhead but at quite a cost.
These boys without their mothers
without thinking of themselves
found the means to dig the graves for soldiers lost.

On this poignant anniversary
as we ponder that long day,
we give thanks for mothers’ sons who dreamed of home.
And we bless the sainted memories
of those whose dreams were dashed
as they left footprints in sand and died alone.

A Tribute to Moody’s Mike Kellogg

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

Saying farewell to an all-night friend; The Caged Bird is Finally Free

A Tribute to Moody’s Mike Kellogg
Saying farewell to an all-night friend

Through the night all through these years,
your deep warm voice has calmed our fears.
Like corn flakes in the early morn,
you’re breakfast for the soul.

For those who have to work til dawn,
your words of insight urged them on
to do their best and keep the faith
amid their loneliness.

And for the restless counting sheep,
you lullabyed them into sleep
through music and the spoken word
that helped them hear God’s heart.

Yes, through the years all through the night
you helped us as we faced the fight.
You’ve been a means of grace to me
and countless listeners!

Thanks, Mike!

*Today Mike Kellogg retires from Moody after 42 years on the radio. If you aren’t aware of Mike Kellogg’s program “Music Through the Night” on Moody Broadcasting Network, just GOOGLE his name.

The Caged Bird is Finally Free
Remembering Maya Angelou

The caged bird’s sung
her final song.
At last, she’s been set free.
That warm deep voice
that called to us
is now a memory.

She rhymed us
into civil rights.
Like Michelangelo,
her art brought
moral truth to life.
We’ll miss Miss Angelou.

Peace to her memory!

(I got to hear Maya Angelou speak at a leadership conference at the United Center in Chicago 15 years ago. She began her speech singing a song acapella. Very effective!)

Take a Walk in a Park

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

It’s an exercise in patriotism and gratitude

Take a walk in a park.
It’s a good exercise.
It can get your heart beating quite fast
if the park is a graveyard
and you choose to walk slow
so to ponder the heroes who’ve passed.

Midst the flags and the flowers
a name can be seen
that identifies who’s six feet down.
Why not stop and remember
the price that was paid
that allows you to wear freedom’s crown?

A long walk this weekend
will do your heart good.
I am guessing it might skip a beat
as you add up your blessings
and subtract your gripes
giving thanks for the names at your feet.

Grandsons of Norway Take Pride

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

A 17th of May salute

Grandsons of Norway and their sisters
flip through photographs.
And as they do they brim with Nordic pride.
Those snapshots trigger memories
of stories they have heard
and of the ones who told them who have died.

These proud descendants of the ones who
left their native land
determine to uphold their legacy.
These grandsons and granddaughters
of the immigrants that came
bear resemblance to their kin who crossed the sea.

In them we see the Vikings’ spirit
seeking out success
courageously exploring better ways.
And I am who I speak of
as I wave the red and blue
on the 17th of May and other days.

* My maternal grandfather immigrated from Norway in 1905. In writing this poem I salute his courage and ancestry.

The Mother of All Nurturers

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

A Mothers Day tribute; The Guilty is Set Free

The Mother of All Nurturers
A Mothers Day tribute

To the mother of all nurturers
I proudly tip my cap.
My mom is still the wind beneath my wings.
From the time I was a baby
she has whispered “Yes, you can!”
And so with words that rhyme, her praise I sing.

When those bullies on the playground
pushed me down or bruised my pride,
when I was cut and didn’t make the team,
my mother would remind me
that while feelings can be hurt
rejection isn’t always what it seems.

“When a door is closed,” my mom would say
“a window opens up.”
And “the nos of life prepare us to hear yes.“
She would help me see that God’s at work
when I can?t see His hand
and that average is okay when it’s my best.

Mom would tell me I was gifted
long before I had a glimpse
of the talents I’d been given to succeed.
When the self-doubt demons stalked me,
my mother drove them out
and encouraged me to simply just believe.

Now the mother of all nurturers
needs nurturing herself.
Mom is struggling and longs to know she’s loved.
She forgets that I have called her
and misplaces cards I’ve sent
to remind her she’s the one I’m thinking of.

Lord, please help my little mother
as she drifts to sleep at night
to have dreams that celebrate her sense of worth.
May she also sense Your presence
and the comfort of Your peace.
Please sustain this one who’s nurtured me from birth.

The Guilty is Set Free
Alesson in redemption from the headlines

Though guilty,
he’s forgiven
of the debt he rightly owed.
A gracious judge has set the prisoner free.
The Law’s demand was satisfied.
His debt was paid in full.
That headline sounds
quite biblical to me.

A new birth
some might call it.
The old has passed away.
The prisoner is quite different through and through.
God’s grace means new beginnings.
What’s “amazing” can redeem
that ex-con in Missouri
(also you).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2621377/Conrealious-Mike-Anderson-Missouri-father-released-jail-brought-13-years-late-credits-God-getting-family-this.html