May 18th, 2012
High school and college graduations are milestones in a young person’s life. They should be celebrated, and the work of your student should be appreciated. These young people have worked very hard, under much stress, and they face a future that offers no guarantees. Let’s hope they take better care of our world. We need them. Celebrate them! Appreciate them! Love them.
This poem was written several years ago for the beautiful daughter of some dear friends. I hope you enjoy it.
It Wasn’t Very Long Ago
It wasn’t very long ago
you came into this world.
Your family has watched you grow
to a woman from a girl.
When you were born, the universe
brought forth a shining star.
Your parents are so proud to see
how beautiful you are.
Now you take a few small steps
in to your own domain.
Today the stars around you dim
in honor of your reign.
You’ve learned that education is
the key to your success,
And with talent and ambition
you always will impress.
Your smile, strength and confidence
reflect the work you’ve done.
Wisdom still reminds you that
you’ve only just begun.
While we praise your great achievements,
we now take time to pause:
We remember most your kindness
and we break into applause.
But more than your accomplishments,
more than medals won,
you are a loving daughter
whose smile blinds the sun!
Copyright 2008-2012 Daniel Mark Extrom. All rights reserved. No part of this poem may be copied or disseminated with express written permission.
Tags: "children's gifts", "daniel mark picture poems", "gift for graduates", "gifts for child from parents", "gifts for graduates", college graduation, graduation, graduation from college, High school graduation, picture poems, poem, poems, poetic graduation gift, poetic graduation gifts, poetry, words
Posted in Education and Schools, Family-Children, Graduation Poems, Love and Family | No Comments »
May 11th, 2012
It’s graduation season again, a time of looking back, a time of looking forward, a time of reflection, a time of anticipation. It is a time of celebration. A milestone is reached, as new paths move into view.
“Learning to Fly” was originally written for my nephews when they graduated from high school. It is actually written as a congratulatory poem from the perspective of the parents, with some advice to the student. I hope you enjoy it! It makes a great gift for the graduate, whether high school or college. You can insert your graduate’s photo in the opening, or a photo with the parents or siblings or significant other too! The above version is in the Store, 20 inches by 16 inches. Follow the link: http://wp.me/P1F6K3-6
Learning to Fly
A beautiful graduation gift!
Today we see a happy hawk
prepare to leave the nest.
Eager feet now take the walk:
and so begins the test.
Excited, happy, tentative,
confident, afraid.
“Can I fly? Can I live?”—
emotions firm but frayed.
Parents’ thoughts race wildly
of tiny legs and wings,
recalling moments tenderly;
but time to cut the strings.
“Fly, come fly, majestically—
your wings spread wide and strong!
Keep us in your memory
as you fly so high and long!
“Remember what we’ve taught you:
move with strength and grace.
Let no one deter you
as you move among your space.
“There are many others similar,
but none so quite unique.
Your place above the clouds secure,
be strong in what you seek.
“The winds may blow against you,
cold and sharp and strong.
But nothing can restrain you:
know that you belong.
“Adversity is always there—
without it you’ll grow weak.
Be wary of the crowded air—
it’s filled with those who do not seek.
“Celebrate diversity—
without it, life’s mundane.
Seek individuality—
your name is your refrain.
“Find comfort in the friends you make,
but do not let them mold you:
the goals you hold may be at stake—
let integrity enfold you.
“Learn from those who love to learn,
and not from those who must.
Knowledge gained seeks return
and wisdom is a sacred trust.
“Now fly and do so happily!
You have passed the test.
But know that you will always be
a child in our nest.
“This is all we ask of you:
Be kind. Be strong. Be free.
And know that we will love you,
wherever you may be.”
All poems copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2009-2012. All rights reserved. No copying or other use of these poems without express permission of the author.
Tags: "daniel mark picture poems", "gift for graduates", "gifts for child from parents", "gifts for graduates", college, gift, gifts, gifts for graduation, graduation gifts, heirlooms, high school, picture poems, poem, poems, poetry, wisdom, words
Posted in Education and Schools, Family-Children, Graduation Poems, Love and Family | No Comments »
May 4th, 2012
You Are Love For Mom
Here is a poem I wrote for my mom a couple of years ago. The text is below, but to the right is a sample of the framed picture poem.
Celebrate your mom. Buy her a picture poem.
See our Store. http://wp.me/P1F6K3-6
You Are Love
You are a song of love we know
deep within the heart.
You are the bond that binds us
when we are far apart
.
You are the inspiration
that says to do our best.
You are the voice of reason
telling us to rest.
You are an ancient proverb
whispering wisdom in our ears.
You are a source of comfort
that quiets all our fears.
You are the softest blanket
that warms us when we’re cold.
You remind us to enjoy our youth,
for one day we’ll be old.
You are the strong foundation
for the home in which we live.
You are conscience and compassion,
teaching us to give.
You are the healing fingers
that always ease the pain.
You help us find the words
when we cannot explain.
You are kindness. You are comfort.
You are wisdom. You are love.
You are sunshine in our daytime.
You are starlights in our night,
providing inspiration,
smiling from above.
We thank you most for loving us
and helping us to grow.
And especially on this special day,
we want you to know
that we are grateful, ever grateful,
more than you can know.
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2009-2012. All rights reserved.
Any copying or other use of this material without express written consent is prohibited.
Tags: "daniel mark picture poems", family, gift, gifts, honoring mothers, love, love for mom, love for moms, moms, Mother's Day Picture Poem, mothers, mothers day, mothers day poem, mothers day poems, picture poems, poem, poems, poems for mothers, poems for mothers day, poetry, wisdom
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April 27th, 2012
A Gift Your Graduate will long remember! With his or her photo in it! You can even put their name in it!
Or, you can email a photo to us and we can put the text in the photo. (Choose a photo that has room for text. We don’t like to write over their beautiful smiling faces!)
Here is a gift your graduate will treasure forever! Put your graduate’s photograph in the matte, accompanied by the printed or etched matte to make a graduation gift to remember. And there are some words of wisdom (if I do say so myself!) in the poem.
Here is one graduation poem that we gave to a young lady several years ago. She still treasures it!
Each Day You Write Your History
*
Sometimes it’s so hard to see
just how much we’ve grown.
We measure life in stages
and by people we have known.
*
And now you’ve reached a milestone,
and turned another page.
We applaud your great accomplishment
and watch you take your stage.
*
There are those who’ll try to change you.
Hold firm to who you are.
Be in charge of your own life:
make your home but travel far.
*
Leave time for some adventure,
and let your spirit soar.
But listen for your silent self
above the world’s roar.
*
Each day you write your history.
You know you have the skill
to solve your own life’s mystery:
Write it as you will.
*
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2008-2012. All rights reserved. No part of this poem can be reprinted or copied without express written permission.
Tags: "children's gifts", "daniel mark picture poems", "gift for graduates", "gifts for child from parents", "gifts for graduates", celebration, celegrate, college graduate, gift, gifts, graduate, graduation gift, Graduation poem, heirlooms, High school graduate, inspiration, picture poems, poem, poems, poetry, wisdom
Posted in Education and Schools, Family-Children, Graduation Poems, Love and Family | No Comments »
April 22nd, 2012
It is still Organ Donation Month. I am re-running “The Legacy.” This is a poem written from the perspective of a donor to his or her family. It is intended as words of comfort to the family, and as a tribute to both donor and the family.
Donate Life: Your life will go on living!
The Legacy
I loved my life and had great plans
for dreams I would pursue.
I loved to learn and loved to work –
so much for me to do.
*
But plans and dreams - it always seems –
are subject to delay,
for life can bring surprises
that take us from our way.
*
I didn’t mean to leave so soon;
so much was left undone.
We always think that later’s there:
it comes with every sun.
*
I wanted to accomplish much –
perhaps do something great.
And though I have now moved along,
I’ve learned it’s not too late.
*
My family loved me very much,
and taught me well to share.
And I am able yet to give,
though I am not there.
*
There is a special part of me
that helps someone to live.
I’ve done something great, you see:
I found a way to give.
*
So a part of me still sees the sun,
in a different way.
My legacy gives life, you see,
each and every day.
*
So mourn me not, my family:
my spirit’s still in you.
The lesson that you taught so well
gives work I love to do.
*
I’m grateful I can help someone:
I’ve left a legacy
so someone else can yet live on
with some help from me.
*
The work I do now helps to hold
a family together.
Keep the memory of my gift
in your hearts forever.
*
I hope that you find comfort
in my memory:
the work I do helps someone live –
my greatest legacy.
*
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2009-2012. All rights reserved.
Any copying or other use of this poem without express written permission is prohibited.
Tags: "a gift of life", "daniel mark picture poems", "donate life", "organ transplant", "poems of inspiration", gift, gifts, gratitude, legacies, love, organ donation, organ transplants, picture poems, poem, poems, poetry, poetry to honor deceased person, tribute poem
Posted in Family-Children, Love and Family, Organ Donation | No Comments »
April 12th, 2012
It’s Poetry Month and Organ Donation Month, all at once! Be a donor! Be a writer! Be a reader!
Here is “Have A Heart,” originally written for a young man who underwent his second heart transplant at age 20 (the first was as an infant), and a kidney transplant, also at age 20. And he’s doing great! Steve Jobs was an organ recipient. And former VP Dick Cheney is now a heart recipient. Be an organ donor! And write or read a poem!
Have A Heart
*
Sometimes life can break a heart –
it cannot stand the strain.
But no one lives a life, we know,
that does not have some pain.
*
But I have seen the frantic eyes
of mothers in their tears –
overwhelmed by life itself,
overwhelmed with fears –
fearing that the kids they love
will live but months, not years.
*
And I have heard the quiet prayers
of fathers in the dark
asking God to give their sons
just one more healthy heart.
*
I have seen the heartache
of a husband for his wife,
who needs a healthy kidney
so she can can have her life.
*
There are so many children,
so many broken hearts,
needing just a little help –
perhaps a few spare parts.
*
Your gift can save a mom or dad
or help a child survive.
You can mend a broken heart
and keep someone alive.
*
There are so many people
who are just like me
whose lives might well be mended
and you might hold the key.
*
I’m not asking for a favor;
I’m just looking for a friend
who wants to help another life
reach its destined end.
*
Your life can keep on giving
even when you’re gone.
You will go on living
as someone else lives on.
You see, there are so many lives
that you can help to mend.
Be a gift. Have a heart.
Be the one to save a life:
your life will live again.
*
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2009-2012. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer: I am not an organ recipient, and I hope I never have to be one. But, for all of us, it’s good to know that the medical technology and skills are there if we need it. And, it’s good to know that there are donors too!
Tags: "a gift of life", "daniel mark picture poems", "donate life", "Have a Heart", "heart transplant", "organ transplant", "poems of inspiration", Health, heirlooms, kidney donation, organ donation, picture poems, poem, poems, poetry
Posted in Family-Children, Health, Love and Family, Organ Donation | No Comments »
April 1st, 2012
“So Hope Will Live”
This poem was written as a thank you from an organ recipient to his or her donor and donor family. It is called “So Hope Will Live.” It can be etched with room for a photograph. See it in the Store. Disclaimer: I am not an organ recipient, but I know someone who is, and his gratitude, as you can imagine, is eternal, as is his family’s. We all hope that we will never need the gift of an organ, but it is sure nice to know that if we do, there are donors and families who care, and there are medical professionals who have the skills and the caring to facilitate the donation. And sad as it is that someone needs a donor, and sad as it is that the donor is often a deceased young person, the gift of life joins two families.
So Hope Will Live
*
We are strangers now a family,
forever joined – not by choice –
but joined by need and joined by pain:
a cry for love, a cry for life,
so hope will live, eternally,
born of saddest irony.
Life will never be the same –
not for you and not for me.
One you love – who shares your name –
now is gone, but I remain:
a second chance, a new domain –
a gift of life that lives in me,
strangers now a family.
*
A part of you now lives in me,
and we are joined like family –
not in blood and not in name,
different, yes, and yet the same –
joined in cause and common voice –
knowing that there is a choice
to donate life to someone else
so they may live their life again.
May each life be for all
a light ahead in driving rain.
*
Your gift has given life to me –
a gift of love, born of pain;
joined by science, joined by fate –
a bond that bridges life and death –
a bond of love, a bond of pain –
a sad and strange irony –
a gift of life now given me,
and strangers now a family,
burdens borne with different names.
*
Know that I am grateful
for the life you gave to me.
May my life give you light
wherever you may be.
And may my life bring comfort
from the pain that hurts you so:
we are strangers now a family,
wherever we may go.
And may the life that lives in me
shine the light so all can see
that life goes on ironically
when we choose to donate life,
so hope will live eternally.
*
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2009-2012. All rights reserved.
Donate Life!
Tags: "a gift of life", "daniel mark picture poems", "donate life", "gift of life", "organ transplant", family, gift, gifts, Health, heirlooms, legacies, love, organ donation poem, picture poems, poetry, poetry to honor deceased person, So Hope Will Live, transplant
Posted in Family-Children, Health, Organ Donation | No Comments »
March 7th, 2012
It seems hard to believe, but it has been a year since the tsunami hit Japan and severely damaged the nuclear reactor. I am re-running “Winds of Death: Nature Claims Its Victory”.
Wind of Death: Nature Claims Its Victory
How now shall the living live
with so much life now gone?
Nature moved the water’s edge –
an echo of a rumbling thunder
urging waves to drive asunder
an ancient land to history’s ledge –
illumined by a modern sun
that now becomes invented dawn
glowing upward from the ground,
naked now with walls all gone –
bringing clouds on wispy wind
that burns the skin but makes no sound.
*
How now shall the living live
with death now floating all around?
We look for faces on the shore
amid the fish and cars and ships,
brought to us by seismic blips
in ways we have not known before.
*
Nature mocks with every tide;
beaches fill with those who died.
We turn away from the winds,
but see the fires and the clouds,
knowing they can kill the crowds
searching ground, searching sea
for glimpse of life among the dead,
a thousand thoughts in our head.
*
Nature took what we had made
and we can only wait and see
if life itself now will fade.
The clouds we made are moving now;
we watch the winds so warily:
Hearts with hope submerged in dread.
We feel the winds; we see the dead.
*
We ask ourselves: What are we now?”
We ask ourselves: “What will we be?”
Our minds benumbed of clarity,
we stumble through the lives we were,
victims of technology:
Nature claims its victory.
* Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2011-1012. All rights reserved.
Tags: "daniel mark picture poems", "tsunami poem", Health, memorial poem for family member, memorial poetry, Nature, Nature Claims it Victory, nature poem, picture poems, poem, poems, poetry, poetry to honor deceased person, technology poem, Tsunami, Winds of Death, wisdom
Posted in Health, Love and Family, Memorial Picture Poem, News | No Comments »
February 14th, 2012
It’s Valentine’s Day! Happy Valentine’s Day!
Here’s a poem for those in love, and those who want to be:
A Thousand Dreams
I have dreamed a thousand dreams
in vivid colors
with brilliant hue,
with still blue waters on golden sand,
with mountains rising from the land,
and endless flowers waving then
in gentle winds in summer sun.
I have dreamed a thousand dreams,
and you are there in every one.
*
I have seen the spectrum of rainbows cross the sky,
showing every color
to discerning eye.
I have touched the endless waves
of seas upon the shore-
a hypnotizing rhythm always changing yet the same
as it ever was before.
*
I have smelled the scents
of a million lovely flowers,
making beauty just by being,
dancing in a gentle breeze,
heeding not the passing hours.
I have heard the whispers
of the wind across the sand,
and I have felt a mountain move
when you held my hand.
*
And now I see it all so clear:
this is real and we are here,
touched by fortune, kissed by grace,
now as one in love’s sweet space.
And as I look upon your face,
a thousand dreams are now in view.
Kiss me now and hold me near:
All my dreams have now come true.
*
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2009-2012. All rights reserved.
Tags: "daniel mark picture poems", anniversary poem, dream, dreams, gift, gifts, heirlooms, love, love poem, love poems, love poetry, passion, picture poems, poetry, Thousand dreams, Valentine, Valentine poem, Valentine's Day
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February 5th, 2012
This is Part II of two parts of a poem called “That You Remember Me.” This was written in reference to Alzheimer’s Disease, which afflicts so many people and their families. I wondered what it must be like to realize that one’s mind is becoming forgetful. The victim must fear being forgotten, just as they are forgetting. How frightening that must be. Please give generously to the Alzheimer’s Foundation.
That You Remember Me
I love to watch a baseball game,
or listen to the birds.
I love to tell you secrets.
I love to hear your words.
*
I love for you to sit with me;
perhaps you’ll hold my hand
and tell me that you love me–
that I’ll understand.
*
My mind has ways of taking me
where I don’t want to go.
I know I know your name, you see;
just right now it’s hard for me
to think of things I really know,
and to know what really is
and what may not be so.
*
Though I might forget you,
it’s important that you see
just how much it means to me
that you remember me.
* * *
Copyright Daniel Mark Extrom 2009-2012. All rights reserved.
Posted in Family-Children, Health, Love and Family | No Comments »
