What Does Family Mean? (Poem)

WHAT DOES FAMILY MEAN?
July 16, 1996
Richard O. Harris

Someone once asked me what family means.
I asked them how much time they had to listen.
Fried chicken, potatoes, and turnip greens
Were but a few of the things I planned to mention.

They thought I was joking and I did not understand.
So they asked me to please explain it a little more.
I replied that family was more than just a clan.
It was one place I knew I could find an open door.

With great effort, they over came their frustration,
And asked if I was enjoying these jokes.
I explained that family was an inspiration
And I wasn’t kidding, just ask any ones folks.

Then they said, Stop, let’s just start all over again,
Go back to the beginning and figure it out.
I stated family included ALL my kin.
I didn’t know what all the confusion was about.

All the little things that make a family
Are more than I can count times a hundred.
So, if you want me to say it quite frankly,
Family includes everyone that’s my kindred.

Those with whom I live and abide,
Those I love in every state,
All the members of my tribe,
Even those who show up late.

To me it all seems very clear
And to define it all real simply,
It’s all the people I hold dear
That I mean when I say family.

It’s all of those who have gone before
And all of those who will come tomorrow.
It is all of you and so much more,
In time of happiness and sorrow.

So to you I give my reply
Of what family means to me.
You are always there when I cry,
“I LOVE YOU ALL – MY FAMILY!”

Don't Ask, Don't Tell (Poem)

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
(First Published Poem 2000)
Richard O Harris

Through the years there are those who go unnoticed
Since if they’re noticed, they’re often crucified
They are thought by many to be unnatural
They are taught their feelings should be denied.

Don’t ask if they’re your brother or sister
Don’t ask if they’re someone you know
Don’t tell if they ever helped you
Don’t tell how they helped you grow.

Still they feel their feelings just as deeply
Each day as they search for happiness
And yes, their blood flows just as freely
When faced with life’s tests.

Don’t ask if they had someone to love them
Don’t ask how they have hurt having to hide
Don’t tell how many died serving their country
Don’t tell if they never had time for goodbye.

(Unpublished part of the above poem)

As they grow, they have no one to turn to
For fear those they care about will leave
So with those who are closest to them
They learn quick how to deceive.

Don’t ask how they feel about you
Don’t ask how they finally came to know
Don’t tell if you’re afraid of them
Don’t tell if you already know

Yet, when faced with all of life’s tests
To acknowledge their love is not allowed
For to show that love is abnormal
And makes them a danger somehow

Don’t ask if they had someone to love them
Don’t ask if they ever had cause to cry
Don’t tell how many loved their family
Don’t tell how they worked to provide.

Many serve in the Navy
Army, Air Force, and Marines
While those of us who love them
Must stay unheard, unseen.

Don’t ask if they ever felt lonely
Don’t ask if they have reason to cry
Don’t tell how many have gone missing
Don’t tell how many have had to die.

Grandma (Poem)

GRANDMA

1985
Richard O Harris

Well-loved, respected, honored, and cherished
Easily, happily, willingly she perished.
No longer there to help the idle time pass
When we’d stop for a minute – then had to dash.

Never again to feel her loving embrace
To see her warm, gentle, smiling face.
She was a true, loyal, devoted wife
Left with eight children early in life,

To mourn the death of her husband, brothers, and a few sons
Her place up in glory I believe she has won
She set an example that will be hard to meet
Her life like her house was clean, nice, and neat.

I’m sure there were times she stumbled and fell
But she always seemed to hold herself so well.
I know I’ll miss her as long as I live
And the love I had for her she’d want me to give

To someone else, whomever I may choose
A friend, a stranger, neither way will I loose.

The Beauty We Can Not See (Poem)

The Beauty We Can Not See
Richard O Harris

Oh, if I could describe,
The way I feel inside.
The words would be too beautiful to speak.
To strong for one who is so weak.

If I could show the love I’ve come to know,
Then others would have to cease to crow
About their vain and foolish cares.
And enjoy with me a love that dares.

If I could be for all of you,
What this is for all of me,
Then you would know how true
Is the beauty we cannot see.

HOW? (Poem)

HOW?

1986
Richard O Harris

How can I describe to you the things that have been mine?
The hurt, anger, sorrow, hatred all the time?
How can I tell you how this all has changed?
The secret to my happiness is something I can’t name.

It started with a man who was willing to die for me.
Willing to shed his blood and die in misery.
He gave his all and asked for nothing in return,
Except I be as a child – willing to learn.