More Than Meets The Eye: Vision in Verse

By Joseph Kelton Stephen

Refreshingly honest, inspiring, and convicting, this poetry collection is far from rhyme without reason. Experience a roller-coaster of emotions as these poems penetrate your soul. Learn how to analyse life’s diverse issues from a distinctly Biblical perspective. Be motivated to cast off complacency and live passionately for the glory of G

• Language: English
• Publisher: Faithful Generations
• Release date: Aug 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9780992487560

Book preview

TO MY GOLDEN GIRL

Beauty is much more than meets the eye. My dear wife has shown me such patience and loyalty through our marriage in spite of my having a difficult disability to deal with and being a difficult person to live with.

No, not the hair,

No, not the skin,

It’s the heart that’s solid gold,

That hidden treasure within.

Yes, the outer beauty shines

But it’s not just skin deep.

It’s beauty through and through,

From the head down to the feet.

Thanks for being you.

For your love, your strength, your self.

God found my perfect friend,

Companion, and faithful help.

Your diligence to seek truth

Your humility to obey,

When all those around you

Just go their merry way.

These aren’t just my words,

For the Bible is plainly clear

That reward waits for such as you

Who hold no treasure here.²

Love and admiration

Just two words which come to mind

For my bride and faithful friend

Truly one of a kind.

The mother of my children,

The wife of my youth,

I love you dearly, Florence,

Know this of a truth.

THE FATHER

Every father must be a leader.³

We must have deliberate direction.

Our role goes beyond earning the money;⁴

And more than just physical protection.⁵

We must keep the purpose and goals of our family

Firmly fixed in our minds.

Our role of discipleship, nurture, and shepherding,⁶

Must not be left to spare time.

This must be our focus, our subject of prayer,

Our passion, completely consuming.

Our children are far more than just mouths to feed,

Godly seed we must be consciously grooming.⁷

Our other role of husband as well,

Must not be only in name.

The husbandman’s job is to care for his garden,

With fruitfulness being his aim.

The Bible says that his wife shall be

Just like a fruitful vine.⁸

His children around the table described

As olive plants and arrows refined.⁹

Our sons as plants grown up in their youth,

Our daughters as palace stones polished,¹⁰

We must reject any vain ism of man

Which sees this distinction demolished.

The husband must always be tender and kind,

And cherish his helpmeet so dear.¹¹

God created her equal, but different

To work in a complementary sphere.

Too often today he forces his bride

To be just like another man.

He pushes her hard to work outside,

This is the feminist plan.

But woman’s work inside the home¹²

Has higher value than gold,

She that rocks the cradle, it’s said,

Is the one who changes the world.¹³

So father and husband, consider our role,

Expect it fulfilled by no other.

And encourage your wife that she may be found,

A joyful and virtuous mother.¹⁴

Work together in this dominion plan,

To raise the next generation.

To fear the Lord and obey His command,¹⁵

And rebuild a godly nation.

But now back to us fathers,

It’s been too long unsaid,

We must take the lead,

We must look ahead.

Nurture is far more than clothing and roof,

It’s complete education,

It’s preparation for life.¹⁶

Teach them the scriptures with careful instruction,

Diligently passing on every conviction.

We must learn to be humble,

We must learn to be gentle,¹⁷

Remembering things are best learned by example.¹⁸

Pray for your children.

For their future spouses.

Plead for their hearts,¹⁹

Against the dark forces.

Pray for great wisdom.²⁰

Look well to your going.²¹

For every decision,

Has an outflowing.²²

Enjoy every year

As you watch them flourish

But don’t lose your vision

And see them perish.²³

THE HEROINE UNSUNG

I confess that this poem is a poor attempt at what is indeed a difficult task, to capture the achievements and unseen labour and love of a mother. To my wife, my childrens’ mother, and to every mother, this poem is dedicated to you. I wrote this in response to the headline news of a sixteen- year-old Australian girl circumnavigating the globe solo.

She hasn’t sailed solo around the globe,

But she’s been up many a night rocking infants alone.²⁴

She hasn’t had her face splashed across the big screen,

Her many achievements are by the masses unseen.

Her singing isn’t heard on the radio,

Yet her voice is the first thing her children will know.

Every child who knows the love of a mum,

Should express adoration to the heroine unsung.

She isn’t commanding attention from the big stage,

Her long overtime doesn’t triple her wage.

In fact the value placed upon her home role,

Is not recognized by society as a whole.

Her work never ends, she doesn’t knock off,

She’s always on call, through the calm and the rough.

Take a moment and consider what you’ve become,

It’s time to say thank you to the heroine unsung.

You won’t find her on the cover of a glossy magazine.

She’s not strutting her stuff as a beauty queen.

Yet as hidden treasure deep in the earth,

Those who are discerning understand her immense worth!

She’s not in the frontline, fighting our wars,

She’s busy keeping house behind closed doors.

A man one time wisely observed

That the one who rocks the cradle is the one who rules the world.²⁵

Remember the nights when she soothed your fears?

Cleaned up your messes and wiped your tears?

Those sleepless nights of endless feeds,

Cooking, cleaning, providing your needs.

Correcting your tantrums, your bad attitude,

Praising your behaviour when you were good.

You can never remember all she has done,

But you can say thank you to the heroine unsung.

There’s one more rare who deserves special note,

For mother of the year I cast in my vote,

She receives every baby that God sends along,

And chooses to educate her children at home,

Her life is poured out for her family and Lord,

For her sacrifice, she’ll receive great reward.

She prays that her children, godly become,

She’s content to be a heroine unsung.

Through the many years of toil and pain,

The love of a mother will always remain.

Though many things change, friends come and go,

The love of a mother is the deepest you’ll know.

Show her the honour her works so deserve,

Return her the favour of the deepest of love,

For the years of her caring you can’t fathom the sum,

Just remember to say thank you to the heroine unsung.

The storms and the billows she has persevered,

None sailing the ocean has even come near.

Marriage and children are for the long haul,

And it takes a special mum to persevere through it all.

Yet it’s those who for a season grab the limelight,

And not those who labour by day and by night.

So next time you’re tempted to lavish praise on someone,

Remember your mother, the heroine unsung.

A TRIBUTE TO MUM

At only seventeen, your life already rough,

You fled a lonely girls’ home, looking for some love.

Then you married early, and by the age of twenty-one,

You had birthed a daughter, and a blind and sickly son.

If that was insufficient, your man then let you down,

And along came another, who just seemed to hang around.

Neither really cared about the woman you truly were.

Both only thought of self and the desires you’d stir.

To your blind and sickly son, you gave all that you had.

He only had you, he never knew his dad.

Your daughter too craved the attention from her mother,

Because she saw so little of her problematic father.

Baby number three was born amidst enduring strife,

As man one left the scene, and man two took you as his wife.

Then came another son, and by the age of twenty-eight,

You had four dependent children, but still your heart ached.

Out on the town, ever yearning for a friend,

You met another man, who’d leave you in the end.

From one man to another, you sought a kindred heart,

But all