A Glimpse of His Glory: what we think, what we feel, what we see, what we hear and what we experience

By Leila Hayes

In her new poetry collection, A Glimpse of His Glory, author Leila Hayes explores the ups and downs of life. She considers the deep valleys that we find ourselves in sometimes, the high mountains that we must climb, the highs and lows of human experiences, and the ins and outs of bad situations.

From the cradle to the grave, we are bombarded with difficulties and trials. These poems examine what humanity goes through daily and takes a long look at the big, beautiful, and wondrous world of nature—all that is in it and all that it has to offer. The verses paint vivid images of the sky, the constellations, the galaxies, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the Milky Way. Nature comes from God, and He uses it to teach us some very valuable and important lessons.

Smile Anyway

It’s hard to smile when you are hurting,
When your heart and soul are almost breaking,
But try to hold your head high,
And keep a bright light in your eye,
And trust Him for all your tomorrows.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9798385016532

Leila Hayes

Leila Hayes is originally from Antigua and currently lives in the Bronx, New York. She holds a BS in Business from Audrey Cohen College in New York, an MA in Education from New York University, and an MA in Instructional Technology from the New York Institute of Technology. A mother of five, she worked for the postal service for thirty years and has taught high school English language arts for seven years.

Book preview

Where Do We Go from Here?

Millions of people are falling through the cracks of life,

Lulled into a sense of false security

Across the threshold of time.

Stepping out into the nothingness of space.

Absorbed in pleasure, business, money-making, and trafficking;

Greeting their dying agony with laughter and applause;

Magnifying this world’s progress and enlightenment

With false doctrine that saps the foundation of many.

Some slighted, some abused, rejected, downtrodden,

Spinning and hurtling through this new age at an unbelievable speed.

Unable to sense the immediacy of their foreboding disaster

When they shall be cut off in their places.

This whole world teeters on the brink of eternal destruction,

Locked in the prison house of sin

That grips their empty form of worship.

Consumed with selfish pride and cold formalism!

Desire not the night of gloom

When this tornado of supernatural intensity

Shall burst upon us with the gravitational force of a Boeing 747!

Turn back the veils of disguise before the stones cry out

And sudden destruction comes upon the careless and

the ungodly.

The enemy is playing the game of life for your soul!

Heed not his call and his lies.

Oh, despise not the pleading of God’s unchanging love,

Sent as a snow-white dove from above!

Lift up the victory banner of love

And push back the evil forces of darkness!

They cannot stand in the face of

The Holy Spirit’s declaration of power.

They cannot and will not prevail!

Rejoice! Rejoice! The tempter once again is vanquished,

And God’s people have been made free!

Appreciation of Nature

When the soul is hungry,

Just feast on the sky.

It is always there. Its immensity,

Its blazing beauty, its blue haze—

Quiets and calms the stormy spirit,

And turns disappointment into delight,

Heaviness and hurt into hope.

Just viewing the starry sky

Imprisons and captivates the imagination

And transforms dreary nights,

Into illustrious days.

When I look up into the sky

At night, I remember

The creative power of love

Contrasted against the defective

Nature of selfish lust.

Love that puts and holds

The stars in place,

Silhouetted against beauty and hate,

Lasciviousness and tenderness.

The trees give off; we take in.

We complement each other.

Ode to the Black Man

Yo, Black man!

How can I express myself to you?

You are handsome, smart,

Stalwart, and strong.

You are my dream come true!

Yo, Black man!

You are the father of the earth.

You are someone to look up to.

You are precious; you are my hero!

Yo, Black man, you are a father.

You are a lover; you are a friend!

You are decent; you are fair.

You are kind; you are loving.

You are God’s gift to me,

Your beautiful Black woman!

Yo, Black man!

What are you looking for?

And what did you find?

Did you find a virtuous Black woman,

With her tremendous love,

To love you in return?

Did you find a loving mother

For your little boy and girl?

Did you find a tender lover

To warm your bed at nights

When the night is cold?

Yo, Black man!

You are the solution to the problem.

You are my go-getter,

My intelligent Black man.

Go, go, my Black man!

Go! Make it to the top!

My heart is with you, my Black man!

Pray

When you haven’t got a prayer left to say—pray.

When dark and stormy grows the way—pray.

When the bills are high, and the funds are low—pray.

When the kids are sick and you don’t know what to do,

Just kneel on the ground and pray.

Pride of the Black Man

The pride of the Black man

Should be in his Black woman.

She was there for him

When, as a baby,

He depended on her for food.

So don’t give up on your Black woman.

Stand by her and protect and love her.

Just like the pride of Egypt

Was undoubtedly the Nile.

So, make the Black woman your pride!

Make her your choice. Cherish, nourish her,

Guide, and respect her for life!

Beautification

The sun goes forth on his errand of love,

Shedding his golden beams from high above.

Not a penny he asks for his wages,

As he warms us throughout the ages,

Beautifying forests and mountains

And shedding light on the fountains.

Light is humanity’s love, and lighter their wages.

The story has been told throughout the ages.

Stay in School

Black boys and Black girls, stay in school!

Remember you have one strike against you!

You are Black,

So, learn the golden rule,

And stay in school!

Let no one tell you who you are.

Know that for yourself.

And the only way to do that

Is to educate yourself,

So, stay in school!

Prepare for tomorrow by building today.

Prepare now and don’t delay!

Stay in school!

Reflection

I see myself in every leaf and flower,

In every green foliage, and every earthly bower.

When the sunshine spills on the baby’s face

And the teardrops glisten from a warm embrace.

In the lovely flower and the choicest shrub,

Peering above the very precious bud,

Each little petal and each little stem

All comes from the wondrous hand