Valentine 2009

It’s the time of year I start to sweat,
As I try to think of what I can get,
To give to you as a sure bet,
To say, “I love you” and not bring debt.

The proposition seems quite dicey,
Since diamonds, pearls and gold are pricey.
There is one thing that seems to work quite nicely,
That’s to write a love poem that’s a little bit spicy.

When we first met, you stole my heart.
I fell in love with you from the start.
We’ve now sworn that we will never part,
And that makes me think I’m pretty smart.

For I have come to realize
That you are my life’s greatest prize.
But I know these things are no surprise,
When I look into your loving eyes.

So I didn’t buy jewelry from down the street,
Nor buy you candy or anything sweet.
But I’ll read you this poem and then for a treat,
I’ll rub your shoulders and warm your feet.

2/9/09
Jim Shimer

February 14, 2007

When I was just a young man,
Starting out in life,
Before I could support her,
By faith I took a wife.

And faith is what we lived on,
For at least a year or so.
We had a lot of love between us,
But precious little dough.

But faith and love are what it takes
To build a life that’s strong.
With lots of love and faith in God,
You really can’t go wrong.

And so the months turned into years
And decades went by fast.
‘Til now the path that lies ahead
Looks shorter than what has passed.

Without a lot of money,
We’ve lived a life of wealth,
Based upon a promise good
In sickness and in health.

Now when people ask me
About my joy filled life.
I simply smile and answer,
“Let me introduce my wife.”

James C. Shimer
2/14/07

Feb. 14, 2003

Shirley,

I’ve been thinking and planning for hours and hours,
Seeking something better than candy or flowers.
Something that’s different than all the others
Are giving today to their wives and lovers.

So I decided to tell you how special you are.
You’re more precious to me than a brand new sports car.
Another measure of how much you rate,
I prefer you to a home game at K-State!

So to give you a valentine that’s hot as a fire,
I’ll announce in public, “You’re the one I admire.”
If everyone knew you as well as I do,
They’d all sit down and write you a poem too.

If this poem doesn’t work and I just come across cheap,
And not getting candy causes you to weep.
Then I’ll take action to make sure I don’t fail.
I’ll buy you some candy, tomorrow on sale.

Jim Shimer Feb. 14, 2003

Oh, To Sing

Lord, it’s true I have all I need.
There are libraries full of books, and I know how to read.
I’ve always been healthy. I won’t complain about that.
And though I could lose some weight, I’m not really fat.

So what could I want; what could be lacking?
If I had this one thing, I’d really be tracking.
As it happens, I don’t want much, just one more thing.
What I want that I’m missing is to be able to sing.

I know people are hungry and I eat too much.
Many are Bible-less and I’ve many versions within my clutch,
Millions have no possessions, and I’m almost rich.
Yet, this one thing I’m missing, and it’s making me itch.

I’d sing You praises and sing to Your glory.
I’d sing of Your Son and sing of His story,
I’d sing of Your grace and sing of Your love,
But instead I’m silent, with no song from above.

But, oh, You know me inside and out,
And all of the things I want to sing and shout.
You know what You’re doing when Your gifts You disburse.
My thoughts will start flowing as I write them in verse.

JCS
Orlando, Florida
October 29, 2002

The Stranger

Between Marty Robbins’ “Big Iron” and Clint Eastwood as “the man with no name” I imagined myself in the old west as the stranger with a gun. There’s probably a little of a whole bunch of different western movies and characters that formed this particular daydream.

The Stranger

I could feel their eyes watching me
As I walked down that dusty street.
Each step I took raised a cloud of dust,
And it stuck to the boots on my feet.

The people in town didn’t know me.
But as I walked in the midday sun,
They knew I was a man to be reckoned with;
They could see I was wearing a gun.

I stabled my horse at the livery,
Then started off straight across town.
The blacksmith said where I’d find him.
There was no point in waiting around.

The saloon was buzzing with business;
A trail drive was just outside town.
I stepped up to the bar for a whiskey,
Paid my dollar and drank it right down.

There at the corner table,
Sat four of the hardest I’ve seen,
Playing poker with their guns on the table,
And every darn one of them mean.

I stepped right up to their table.
And looked the toughest of the four in the eye.
I said, “I hope it’s not your turn to deal ‘em,
‘Cause right now it’s your turn to die.”

Three men leaned back from the table,
And left their guns there marking their place.
Red kept his hands on the table,
The mean look still on his face.

Your back-shot me down in Laramie,
Remember me now, Red?
You made a mistake and it’s fatal.
You didn’t make sure I was dead.

As I talked he inched his hand forward;
It rested now right on his gun.
I’ve never seen anyone faster,
But his shot and mine were as one.

His bullet smashed into my shoulder,
But in the second it took me to fall,
I saw my bullet reach its mark,
And knock him into the wall.

As I walked slowly away,
My shoulder burning with pain,
Nobody asked where I was going.
Nobody asked me my name.

JCS 26 August, ’74

Did They See Jesus?

I met some folks the other day.
From the things they had to say,
I don’t think they know the Lord.
Of that they were of one accord.

Oh they were friendly and polite.
They didn’t act snooty or uptight.
In fact their behavior could be praised
As behavior you’d hope for in one you raised.

However the subject of the Lord
Was something with which they were bored.
Like talking about baseball with a Brit,
Or cricket with an American isn’t a hit.

Now I wonder just what they’d say
About our encounter the other day.
I hope they’d say, “He knows the Lord.”
And not just remember that they were bored.

I hope the Lord Jesus was seen that day.
I hope that my flesh was not in the way.
But to tell you the truth it may well be,
That they didn’t see Jesus and only saw me.

“Yeah, he was a nice guy, friendly and polite.
He didn’t act snooty or seem uptight.
In fact his behavior could be praised
As behavior you’d hope for in one you’d raised.”

“Then when he brought up talk of, ‘the Lord’
I guess we must have looked like we were bored.
Because he pretty much followed our lead
When we asked him about political greed.”

But God is gracious. He won’t quit yet.
This wasn’t the only chance those folks will get.
God will show them Jesus from another view.
So Christian be ready, it might be through you.

1/1/10
JCS

Christmas Cheer

In the land of the free, our freedoms are dying.
Each night on the news our leaders are lying.
They claim it was others who made things go sour,
But they’ll make everything better with a little more power.

They in their wisdom will redistribute your wealth,
And apply that same wisdom to care for your health.
They think that you are too dumb to make do,
So the “all knowing” government will do it for you.

If you worship at the foot of the government shrine,
You may well believe things are working out fine.
But even our country, the best the earth offers,
Is running on empty with no funds in its coffers.

The Bible says it’s truth that makes you free.
The Lord says you’ll have power, “when you follow Me.”
He says all of our wealth comes from His hand
And even bad leaders get used in His plan.

We, the people of earth did not evolve
And our biggest problem is one we can’t solve.
We’ve denied our Creator and followed a lie
And because of this sin, we’re all “gonna” die.

The reality is we’re dead from our birth
And have to find life during our time on the earth.
He came and died so that we all can live.
What we do is believe. What He does is give.

Wichita, 12/19/09
JCS

Sad and Lonely

I got to thinking I should write a sad poem. To do that I had to be sad, so I tried to imagine a really sad situation. This was pretty fanciful for a twenty-six year old…

Each day is like forever,
I’m sad and all alone.
The girl who said she’d never
Leave me, now is gone.

We shared a joy together
Few couples ever know.
Our love, we knew could weather,
Any winds a storm could blow.

Little did we realize then,
As we promised not to part,
That coming was the time when
She would break my heart.

She left me though I begged her,
Not to leave me all alone.
It’s small and little wonder
That my soul let out a moan.

Now that I’m without her love,
Nothing can lift me from this gloom.
If there’s a loving God above,
He’s not present in this room.

You say we had a long affair,
And all affairs must end.
I say it isn’t at all fair
That my broken heart won’t mend.

Fifty years is not a long time.
It passed just like a day.
But one day seems like eternal time
Since my wife has gone away.

There is one comfort I can see,
That keeps the walls from closing in.
Since she has died ahead of me,
She’s not in the state I’m in.

JCS
June 24, 1974

Climate Change

It really begins to make me sore
To hear more blather from Al Gore.
He claims the planet will soon be toast
With the oceans flooding every coast.

All this he says will soon come true
Because we breathe out C O 2.
He’s more concerned that a few bears might die
Than for the people killed by the tsetse fly.

How arrogant to think that man,
Has the power to defeat the Creator’s plan.
The Bible says He holds all things together,
And is in complete control of all Earth’s weather.

While it’s true we should avoid pollution
I don’t agree with Al’s solution.
All these plans for Cap and Trade
Are nothing more than a taxation raid.

A raid to destroy our nation’s financial health.
A raid of our grandchildren’s wealth.
They no longer have wealth to share,
They’ll have to pay for Obamacare.

December 2009
JCS

Generations: A Father’s View

This was my first poem if you don’t count school exercises. (I don’t.) I didn’t plan to write a poem. I seldom do. Shirley was working in the Pioneer Girls Club at church and I walked into the church nursery to check on our baby who was sleeping there. Amy was five months old and I was (I still am) overwhelmed by the wonder of being a father as I looked down on her. The next thing I knew I’d thought out the first few lines of the poem below and found some paper and started writing.

As she lies there and looks up with her precious smile,
I sit and smile back and wonder all the while.
Will she ever understand the love that I feel?
A love from my heart. A love that is real.

She’s the result of a true love expressed.
With my wife and me, it’s love at its best.
My two girls were sent to me from above,
They’re gifts from the author of what we call love.

I wonder if my daughter will ever realize,
The love that I feel when I look into her eyes.
But then I think back to when my life began,
I think of my parents and then I understand.

When my little daughter becomes a woman
And she finds the guy for her in God’s plan.
When she and her husband have a child they love so,
Then as she looks at her baby, she’ll know. She’ll know!

November, 1972
JCS