MY TEN ACRES

There is this place I sometimes go
When I feel the need to think and grow,
Its not too big, just seems to be
Big enough, for God and me.

A bit of ground with boundaries clear
I have created year by year.
The northern limit is the sea,
A Sea of Hope and Equanimity.

To the west there is the sand,
The grit of life, I understand.
And eastward stand my mountains high,
Though I cannot top them, I still must try.

And as I turn and southward gaze,
I can see dimly through the haze
A fertile valley, where I find
All the things I need, from time to time.

Topping all this land of mine
Are all the stars that you can find
In any almanac, and yet, tis strange,
The sky and stars, they never change.

No deed of trust records this lot,
A bill of sale I havent got,
Nor on a map can you find
These ten acres of my mind.

No tax to pay, no house is found,
No surveyor's transit knows this ground,
No broad highway of any kind
Can find this place, its in my mind.

Yet my ten acres are very real,
My place to go when I feel
That I must be alone with me
To seek and find serenity.

I go when I must test the sea,
The Sea of Hope and Equanimity.
To Climb once more my mountains and
To taste again lifes gritty sand.

The fertile valley needs my care
To grow the things I get from there.
And all the weeds I must cast out,
Despair, Resentment, Fear and Doubt.

When the weeds are gone, the rows steady,
The rains finished, the harvest ready,
This fruit I gather from a yielding tree,
Those whom I love I must make free.

In the vineyard I reach for a grape to taste
And a clean, cool thought slows my haste,
That love is like this grape I choose,
If I hold too fast, Ill surely lose.

And I speak to the stars and they answer me.
They spell a message, and I can see
This message clear to me is crying,
Success is really only trying.

And when I know I have obtained
A soothing balm for all my pain
I can leave my acres, and Ill be
A friend to all, but especially me.

I cannot take you to this home,
Its just for me and God alone,
But I truly hope that you will find
Your own ten acres, right next to mine.

---by---
Emory Claude Morgan