THEIR DREAM [A Villanelle] They had a driving, all-consuming dream: Their family would live on its own farm. No obstacle could throw them off the beam. Whenever doubts cropped up and it would seem That they might never weed out all the harm, They had a driving, all-consuming dream. When Tom and Sarah stepped into the stream Of ownership, they feared no false alarm; No obstacle could throw them off the beam. Knowing too well the old sharecropping scheme, With hidden traps throughout its would-be charm, They had a driving, all-consuming dream. They planned to let their offspring skim the cream Of dairy, orchard, woodlands, fields and swarm; No obstacle could throw them off the beam. With steadfast faith in Power Divine, Supreme, They purchased and passed on to us a farm; They had a driving, all-consuming dream. No obstacle could throw them off the beam. This villanelle is dedicated in loving tribute to the memory of my grandparents, Thomas Carroll, Jr. (1878-1945) and Sarah Jones Carroll (1881-1971), who raised me from infancy.
With A Come-Hither Look (Revised) [Sort of a Booker T & MGs “Green Onions” rhythm] You came in through the door With a smile on your face; I had never seen before So much elegance and grace. When you said “Hi,” you caught my eye With a come-hither look. You came into my arms With a come hither look; You read my mind Just like a scholar reads a book. Right from the start, you stole my heart With a come-hither look. You came into my life Like loving turtle dove; You became my wife And you filled my life with love. Without a doubt, it started out With that come-hither look. Bill Carroll - February 2002
LITTLE PEOPLE ARE GREAT PEOPLE Stranger: “Are many great men born in this-here town?” Townsman: “No, only little babies are born here.” Both speakers laugh at the apparent cute put-down, Failing to perceive their little joke as just one mere Sign of their failure to perceive a truth so strong and sound.
Babies do not need to grow up to become great, Some infants losing inborn greatness as they grow Through teenhood to middle ages and into life’s late Stages, without having left lasting marks to show That they succeeded in fulfilling their allotted fate. Little people are great people; that’s a fundamental fact That makes a human being’s life worth living; Babes and toddlers naturally, perhaps instinctively, act In ways that bring out big folks’ gifts for giving, Sharing our best. We need to continue developing this knack.
For the Little People, especially for my granddaughter, Avery Clare Trice Carroll
Bill Carroll September 2005
NOW IS THE TIME We look forward to success, Ultimate happiness, As existing somewhere just around the bend; We should not have to wait, To sing and celebrate Until we’ve reached some great and glorious END. Each day provides the chance To triumph and to dance, To revel in a moment at the top; We need not wait and look For closing of life’s book To bring our earthly progress to a STOP. True happiness and pride Reside within the ride, Each step and stop a chance for jubilation; So always look for how To enjoy eternal Now: Success in JOURNEY, not in DESTINATION. William Carroll July, 2003 (For the Williamsburg Carrolls) To my Cousin Arlene M. Carroll and her sisters and all their children, grandchildren, great-grand... etc. Pass it on. Published in A Grownup’s Garden of Virtues, 2007
THE MAN WHO GROWS The man who grows to nourish others Is a man with a good vision of The needs and the dreams of his sisters and brothers, A man with a heart filled with love. The man who cultivates the grower’s art And brings forth good food from the ground Is a man with a super-size warm loving heart Full of blessing that seldom is found. A man who grows strong in faith and in hope And in charity for those left behind Is one whose strong faith will help us to cope With whatever troubles we find. The man with the knowledge and patience to show Young growers to care for the sod Is a man we can say that we certainly know Is a man with a mission from God. Bill Carroll, Ph. D. March 2004 In Memory of Deacon Booker T. Smith Of New Light Baptist Church, Virginia Beach, VA – My Gardening Neighbor and Gardening Mentor, R.I.P. Published in The New Journal and Guide, 2004 Published in A Grownup’s Garden of Virtues, 2007
PREVENTABLE EPIDEMIC? Yes, education is the remedy To cure the malady called ignorance; But hatred and deep-seated bigotry Can build rock-hard impregnable defense Against known facts as mighty as the sea. So racism and fear of difference, And festering, phobic longtime bigotry Surround the hater with a wall that’s dense Enough to render vain the pounding sea Breaking in vain against the rocks of ignorance. Education grows vast like the ocean, With ideas coming in with every tide; Facts and attitudes, even emotions Expand and grow, becoming deep and wide; But bigotry arrests all growth, all motion. Therefore, it behooves the School of Light To shine its beacon beams upon the youth, And teach them to seek out the good and right, To explore various routes toward the truth That makes us free to fight the righteous fight. Bill Carroll – March 2002 Inspired by and dedicated to the Youth (especially Adam Smith of the Unitarian Church of Norfolk [VA] Unitarian Universalist) Published in Songs, Scenes and Sentiments, 2003 Published in The New Journal and Guide, 2003 Published in A Grownup’s Garden of Virtues, 2007
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