The Lesson -- The Poetry Carnival

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Subject:

The Lesson

Author:
Dusty

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Date Posted: 12:33:29 01/24/02 Thu
Author Host/IP: spider-to074.proxy.aol.com/152.163.204.79

This was a story told to me by my grandmother when I was a
little girl... so I decided to see if I could make it rhyme! What do you think?

College graduation loomed ahead
The young man was most excited
Every day felt like a week
His parents were both delighted
Each time he went home he passed
A dealership down on Main St.
And the shiny, bright-red sports car
Always made him drag his feet
Dreams of that car filled his head
It consumed him day and night
He rehearsed how he would ask his dad
He must phrase it all just right...
But all his father did was smile
Saying not a single word
Though the boy dropped almost daily hints
He acted like he hadn't heard
Graduation day dawned bright and clear
And the festivities began
The family gathered from everywhere
To watch the boy become a man
Later, in the quiet study
Away from the bustling crowd
The older man said, "Son, you know
"That I am very proud!"
"The gift that I've selected
For this monumental day
Will serve to light the road ahead
And speed you on your way!"
The boy shook with anticipation
As his father handed over
A handsomely gift-wrapped package
Puzzled, the boy looked closer......
He was tearing the shiny paper off
When in his fumbling haste he saw
That what he held was the Holy Bible
The living record of all God's law
His eyes turned cold and hardened
His disappointment was crystal clear
"This is the best that you could do?
"After I studied all these years?"
He hurled the Bible on the desk
Scattering papers to the floor
Rage held him in its evil grip
He strode out and slammed the door!
From that day on they never spoke
His bitterness would not be healed
Though he married and had children
And much success in his chosen field
He never returned to the family home
Or spoke his father's name
He used bitter disillusionment
To feed hatred's angry flame
So time went by and he was blessed
With riches beyond measure
Though he never said a single thank-you
For money was all he treasured
Then, one day, after 30 years
A telegram arrived
Saying, "Come at once, your father's ill
And not expected to survive!"
Time had mellowed his bitter heart
He finally felt he could forgive
He flew home that very day
Hoping his Dad would live
But he did not arrive in time
Death preceded him by one hour
He slumped in shock and the grief he felt
Suprised him with its power...
Later as he wandered through
The lonely rooms and back again
Eventually he found himself
Alone in his father's den
As he sifted through some papers
Deciding where each should go
He found his graduation Bible
From that day so long ago...
Still only partially unwrapped
As he'd left it on that day
He wept as he recalled the angry
And bitter words he'd had to say
Now he opened it to the flyfleaf
Yellowed from all the years
And read his Dad's incription
Slowly through burning tears:
"YOUR MOM AND I ARE VERY PROUD
OF THE MAN YOU HAVE BECOME
WITH ALL THE BLESSINGS I'VE RECEIVED
YOU'RE STILL THE GREATEST ONE
AND THIS PRECIOUS HOLY BIBLE
THAT YOU NOW HOLD IN YOUR HAND
WAS THE GIFT MY FATHER GAVE TO ME
WHEN I BECAME A MAN
THE ADVICE INSIDE THESE PAGES
LEADS STRAIGHT TO HEAVENS DOOR
SHARE IT WITH YOUR OWN SON
HE'LLBE GENERATION NUMBER FOUR
DON'T FAIL TO PASS THIS LEGACY ON
DON'T LET THIS TRADITION END...
AND WHEN YOUR JOURNEYS'S OVER
WE'LL MEET IN HEAVEN ONCE AGAIN.
The son held the Bible with shaking hands
Like a treasure that he'd found
Then something fell from between the pages
And clattered to the ground
As he bent to retrieve the item
His tears again began to flow
As he realized he held the keys
To his dream car of long ago
The tag attached said "PAID IN FULL"
Marked with his graduation date
The man sobbed like a little child
With remorse come years too late...
So let this be a lesson
To all those who have a dream
Sometimes in your eagerness
To scratch and plot and scheme
You may let ambition blind you
To the simplest gift of all
That may contain just what you need
To climb the highest wall
Everything in life that happens
Can be a lesson tried and true
Because only God in all His wisdom
Knows what's truly best for you!

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Replies:

Subject	Author	Date
Re: The Lesson	Wayne Adams	16:25:22 01/24/02 Thu

Re: The Lesson	Lori S. Maynard	23:44:48 01/24/02 Thu

Re: The Lesson	icyheart	10:48:34 01/25/02 Fri

*Best of the Midway* (NT)	administration	11:38:04 02/05/02 Tue