Samples

Following will be given the first

verse of the first poem of each

book shown on the order sheet

OF ME: (HARD BACK----96 POEMS)

I desire to leave of me

Something so much more

Than just a fleeting memory

For near and dear to keep in store.

(CHAPBOOKS---21 to 31 poems)

TRULY BLESSED:

For lack of a friend I would die friendless.

For lack of a brother I would die kinless.

For lack of a wife I would die without love.

For lack of a savior I could not live above.

PULITZER PRIZE:

I'll never win a Pulitzer prize

For I am unknown and obscure!!

I haven't the stature, the man given size,

For my writings are far too pure.

THE MUSIC BEGINS: (Love songs)

The music begins when two people meet,

Slowly, perhaps, as it starts.

It can swell, yet remain softly sweet,

Timed by the beat of their hearts.

FLESH OF MY FLESH: (More Love Songs)

She is flesh of my flesh

And bone of my bone.

The Lord, through His word,

Has made of us one.

FRIENDSHIP:

There's a wonderful, warm feeling called friendship

It invades the very depth of the soul.

It's a thing that makes life worth living;

Makes people complete and whole.

NOSTALGIA and NONSENSE:

Waves of nostalgia sweep over my senses

At the strains of some sweet, haunting melody.

Before I can alert my stubborn defenses

I sink into that nostalgia sea.

FOOTPRINTS (ON MARRIAGE):

His love for her is soft, yet strong,

And hers is just the same.

In their hearts there is a song

For, now she's wearing his last name.

THE POET IN ME:

The poet in me looks upward to ascend

Into the heavens, where my God abides,

And all my worldly attributes transcend

Since, o'er my will, his blessed son presides.

JESUS--MY HOPE:

My hope is in the Lord of heaven.

I trust in Him, and in Him, alone,

For my hope to me, by Him, was given;

With blood, for sins I've done, He did atone.

POTPOURRI:

Man has etched his signature

On the face of every land;

Trails which reach the mountain top,

Or, cross the burning sand.

FAMILY:

For thirty six years our love has grown,

Somewhat slower at the last,

But when begun (we should have known)

It was an Adam's blast.

(Now it’s over 52 years)

PARENTHOOD:

Parenthood is not earned by passion

But, by doing what is right before God.

Illicit sex is not His fashion,

Only in marriage, and that's not odd.

CONTRO VERSE IAL:

There was a not in the devil's tale

Which caused the first man to sin

For man, through woman, was weak and frail

And, from that day, has been.

IS THAT CLEAR?

Clear means "unobscured",

And clear also means "net".

Clear means "to be understood"

And, there are many, many more yet.

LOVE SONGS #3:

The fragrance of the roses

Borne on the morning's mist

Reveal a page of memory

Of lips which I have kissed.

POEMS FROM THE HEART

I love the simple touch of her hand

Or, her lips pressed softly to mine.

I see, on her finger, her wedding band;

Having her near makes living divine.

OTHER BOOKS WILL FOLLOW SOON AND SAMPLES OF THOSE WILL BE INSERTED.

Until then I'll insert some complete poems and some more incomplete

hoping all of these samples will wet your appetite and curiosity to

read more in my books!!!!

OUR MOMENT

(This is fictional)

We walked for a moment together,

A brief span from the years of my life.

I loved her as Irish love Heather,

And wanted her for my wife.

She was sweet as perfume from a flower,

Her beauty as a dew sparkling rose,

As fresh as a brief April shower,

But, our moment came to a close.

So saddened was I at her death.

How brief were the years of her life;

As short as a gasping breath---

She would never become my wife.

I'll never find, though I try,

Another as radiant as she,

Who stood on a pedestal, high,

For all, her beauty, to see.

Though years have passed since that time

Her mem'ry is fresh as a rose.

The love which we shared was sublime

Till our moment came to a close.

MUST I EVER GUESS (Fictional)

The moon has lost it's glow,

The peaks have lost their snow,

The streams have ceased to flow

Since you have gone from me.

The seas have lost their tide,

The clouds have lost their glide

And I have lost my pride---

What can the future be?????

The first four of the chapbooks were published in

CANADA and were reviewed for the publisher by

another poet who lives in Canada. His evaluation of

THE MUSIC BEGINS (Love Songs) and FLESH OF MY FLESH

(More Love Songs) was that THESE TWO BOOKS COMPRISE

A MANUAL FOR EVERY WEDDED COUPLE. THEY SHOULD BE HANDED

TO EACH COUPLE AT THE ALTAR Hugh Alexander, BA, Canada.

The last book is from Watermark Press, and was the prize

for being a finalist at the ISP convention in 1997

I TRUST THAT THOSE WHO READ WILL FIND SOME BEAUTY OF

THOUGHT IN THE POEMS CONTAINED IN THIS SAMPLE SHEET,

AND MORE FULLY, IN MY BOOKS.. MAY THEY INSPIRE, IN YOU,

THE WILL TO HELP MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE.

L. B. STRAWN

SIMPLE

I am a simple man

Who would walk a simple mile

To write a simple verse

To bring a simple smile.

There is no hidden depth

No twisted mystery.

Open is each thought

For ev'ryone to see.

If a thought were hidden

No one would know the meaning.

Ev'ryone would then interpret

To gather their own gleaning.

Tho, one might say, hereafter,

This is what he meant,

I’m not so sure that bird dog

Would be on the right scent.

But, if I write that simple verse

As I walk that simple mile,

You’ll know the simple meaning

And give that simple smile.

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