“Mourning” Mist
By: Charles Maddle

Submitted by: Bud & Selma Hodges

As I arose at daybreak and entered the morning mist,

My heart was set on searching for the memories of my past.

As the sun broke through the mist of the morn and the mist

That had claimed the night,

I was crossing the bridges of yester years seeking the

Morning light.

My journey was swift to the place of my memories and I stood

In the rubble and ash,

Of what was the school of my childhood that had nurtured the

Dreams of my past.

As I looked through the ash & rubble my heart yearned for

Days gone by,

The hallways that stood were empty, as the mist seemed to

Fill my eyes.

Gone was all but the stairways and hallways traveled so long-

Long ago,

But the corridors of my mind, was filled with friends of old,

Of faculty that had cultured my mind,

Of classmates that nurtured my soul.

As I carefully ascended each flight of stairs,

My heart raced with each step I took,

As I reached for the upper-most height just to take one long

Last look.

Standing there looking into the mist of the morn,

Through the mist still filling my eyes,

I saw once again the friends of my childhood,

As through the corridors of my mind they passed by.

The faculty passed by that had cultured my mind,

The classmates that nurtured my soul,

And the Lord from on high that had planted the seed of a

Treasure more precious that gold.

His Spirit to comfort my heart, descended on me from on high,

My spirit to lift from the ash-heap like an Eagle to soar in

The sky.

As I left with but one foundation brick, I seem to understand

That the fires of destruction can never destroy

What God has made by his hand,

The strength of the Soul,

The will of the Mind,

His Spirit incarnate in man.

Charles Maddle

9-5-92