It's Been Such A Long Time

So much has happened in my life since I last posted on this blog. One thing living strong though, and that would be my marriage to my wife Virginia. It's been 14 years since that very special day in 2007 when we were married by the Justice of the Peace. But since then, I remarried her in the Catholic Church in such a wonderful setting back in the Philippines.

To this day, we both consider us being on our honeymoon. Yes things have changed throughout the years, but both of us are wiser from it. One thing is for sure, regardless of our shortcomings with each other, and yes, we are both human, and we do disagree at times, both of us know that there is not another person in the universe that could replace our spouse.

For me, 'the third time is a charm' is TOTALLY TRUE. I don't believe anything could surpass how I feel about my wife Virginia. She lives in my heart and will Always.

For at least 8 years now, I wondered if I should continue to write poems. Now that I'm retired for the last two years from IBM, I can find the time. But the saying is true, that when a person retires, he/she will have less time to do things than they did when they were working.

For me, it's a case of being poorly organized at times. I start a project, and before completing it, I start another and sometimes it takes a good while for any of them to get done. So, it seems a little harder these days to complete things I would like to do. But again, I'm in no rush.

I'm the kind of guy that I do not let anything get to me. I tell everyone that I don't like to look back, and only look forward to today and tomorrow. What has happened in my life in the past is something I can never change. So why not strive to be better at what you do today, which will make things better for you tomorrow.

Sometimes though, knowing the above facts, I try too hard to move forward, but never seem to relax about some things. In the past when I was drafting poems on this site, it would bring out the lighter side of myself, and I felt centered in my heart about what I was writing, and it was good for me.

For the last several years, I've been so busy, and now I'm trying to find a way to relax and express my feelings in a kind and wonderful way. My wife suggested that I start writing again, so I'm contemplating on continuing to write on this website.

I would like to hear the opinions of others here that visit the website from time to time. Have you wondered why I stopped writing and if I would ever write again?  Would you like to see me writing again? Many of my readers here most likely moved on, but some of them may be coming back from time to time. It's time to give my readers some new material.

If you would like me to continue writing poems on this blog, then please leave your comments. I would hope that people would want me to continue, because I feel that I can continue to contribute to it in a way to help other people deal with their lives in many ways. Regardless of when they are written, they are timeless, meaning that they are relevant now as they were in the past and will be in the future.

So please leave your comments to this post, and I'll consider what people say and I just may begin writing again...

I hope to hear from you soon...

James

From the Beginning - to the Present - Now Married in the Catholic Church

A little over 3 weeks ago a 5 year uphill battle to push through an annulment process culminated in a Catholic marriage ceremony on March 28, 2012 that honestly became one of the highest moments of my life in Cagayan De Oro City, Philippines. Anyone who tells you that everything can come easy is just fooling themselves. The process that it took within the church to successfully receive an annulment is almost painful, and very intrusive. But if you have faith in God, the will in your soul, and the unending love for your mate, you can succeed in the process together. Life is just one test from God. Apparently, my wife and I just passed the test.  We defied ALL odds.
Again as stated, it didn't come easy. My wife and I first met online, on a fairly new mating website called Mate1. At the time, it was a very unusual site, mainly catering to Asian women searching for a soul mate. When I signed up at the time, I didn't know that fact, but also little did I know that I would find the love of my life, right there on that website from the other side of the world. One night because of that website, the will of God, and two people who just happened to be on the website at the same time, we found each other and my life would be changed forever. The chances of finding someone like Virginia in this fashion is like taking a chance of winning the million dollar lottery.
It took about 1 year after meeting my wife Virginia in person for the first time in the Philippines did she finally set foot in the United States. I went back a second time and accompanied her at the U.S. Embassy in Manila for the long awaited interview that granted her the papers to leave the country. Armed with a 90 day fiancee visa, she knew that if she wanted to stay in the United States with me, she would have to marry me within 90 days, or fly back to the Philippines. She also knew that if she did marry me, the process would continue and that she could not ever return to the Philippines without a Permanent Green Card which was still allot more money and would take time in the United States to acquire. But if she became homesick and decided to go back anyway prior to receiving the permanent green card, she would loose the privilege to return to the United States. Going back at this time would only mean one-way travel.  None of these facts stopped her from marrying me civilly on May 11, 2007 at Gwen and Charles Lout's home in Odessa Texas, just 4 days after arriving in the United States for the first time. As stated in the beginning of this story, the journey was a test from God, as a little under 5 years later we finally re-married again, this time in the Catholic Church on March 28, 2012, exactly one month past my 60th birthday in the Philippines. Now were were both able to travel freely to the Philippines and back.

Truly a test of time, a test from God, regardless of anything that happened, nothing would make us part. My wife and I can say that now we've been through just about everything, but we know that every day may bring something new. We are both up to the challenge, and who knows, maybe a new family will form. Regardless of what will come our way, we are ready to face it together as one. 

Wedding Dance on March 28, 2012 in the Philippines

Virginia and I just after the Wedding Ceremony

YOU and Me

You and me

we've been through everything

We've stood the test of time

We've weathered every storm

and still, here we are

You and me

we've had our ups and downs

We've gone around and around

We've seen it all

and we're still here.

Virginia walking down the Isle

You and me

we've been good together

and we've been on our own

but we are at our best

when we are where we belong

It's you and me

We are meant to be

No matter what may come our way

We'll be together always

A Promise to My Wife

A Poem called 'I Promise' by Danny Blackburn is a Love Poem about Marriage. This sacrament of marriage, most cherished by members of my church, the Catholic Church, gives many reasons to celebrate. The poem displays the passion and love that a husband should have for his wife. Married civilly in 2007, now remarried in the Catholic Church just a little over a week ago in the Philippines on March 28, 2012, renews my vows to my wife for the rest of my life. Noone is more important, and noone deserves my love more completely than my wife Virginia. She is my life and will be my breath until I cannot breathe anymore. Without her I am nothing, and I have nothing. Many people will tell you that promises are made to be broken, but when you keep your promises, they become very special. Many times I tell her that I live for her now, and I feel blessed to have her. Everything stated in this poem is my promise to her...


I Promise

© Danny Blackburn

I Promise
To take time for you and pursue you passionately
And I promise to love you compassionately


I do seek to understand your needs so deeply
And I promise each day to love you so completely


I will provide a home of love and emotional purity
And I promise love, laughter, honesty and a life where you feel security


I will make time for you, for without you I have no time
And I promise you to cherish, honor, respect, admire and be kind


Time may take us down a path where you need to be taken care of
And I promise to hold you, clean you and continue to admire you with love


If life places pain in your heart I will be there to fill it with love
And I promise each day to pray for our health and happiness from God above


I will awaken each day to see your sweet smile and feel your touch
And I promise to bring you happiness and laughter, I love you so much


I will be there for you each day of my life
And I promise to make you happy for you are my wife


I give you my heart, I love you girl that can’t you see
And I promise to you to be very attentive and caring indeed


I have ran for miles swearing my love to you for life
And I promise to God to honor you, my beautiful wife


I Love you

Time for Reflection at Easter - A time to step back into reality - A time to Pause

It's been a long time since I've written here, and time and time again I try to gather time to continue writing on this blog. This past year and up to now have been extremely busy for me and my wife Virginia. Only just one week ago, my wife and I celebrated our long awaited marriage in the Catholic Church, and we accomplished this in the Philippines. Originally, we were married by a Justice of the Peace in 2007. Virginia and I have been blessed, and I know I must be one of the luckiest men in the world. I plan to share pictures and videos of the wedding on this blog very soon.
Yes, allot has happened, including something that I almost hate to mention here. The word 'hate' to me is an ugly word, but best describes how I feel about another situation in my life and my extended family. My nephew Dominic from San Diego contacted me to inform me that his mother, who is my sister Cindy has passed away. She died last Tuesday, April 3rd at 9:25AM. Little did I know that she had passed away at that time as I had just returned from the Philippines, trying to get back into gear at work. My sister passed away from a bout with cancer, and she fought it for almost a year. Even though we were not close siblings, I truly miss her, and I will always wonder if there could have been something I could have done that could have brought us closer together. But wondering accomplishes nothing. Noone on the face of this earth has the power to change what happened yesterday and in the past.
All I can do now is to try and live my life a little better. I've mentioned it many times in the past, I live for my wife now. She is the most important person in my life. I have two grown children, and they live on their own, and live their own lives. I just hope that they do not foget about me as I grow older. It's been a long time since I wrote a poem, and in a sense, I feel that I let my readers down. But each day, I realize I'm getting older, and it's time for me to slow down a little. I will start writing again, as writing poems is a great way for me to reflect on issues and on my own life.

I hope readers continue to come back and enjoy this blog...

Poem with a Rhyme

I've had so many great things happen to me in my life. I know that I'm blessed.
From my wife to my children to my friends,including all the wonderful bloggers
I have met, and you know who you are. Thank you for being a part of my life.
Writing blogs helps me express my inner feelings. Writing poems brings
the calm within my soul. I'm hoping that others that read my poems can
also express their feelings through writing poems, and I would like to
give everyone an opportunity to have a poem published right here on this
blog. Who are you? I am making a promise here and now to my readers. I will
write one poem for every poem I receive from a fan of this blog. I'm hoping
that many people will send poems that I would love to publish. Let's keep
this blog ALIVE!!!

Poem with a Rhyme
written by : James Frank

It's been a long time,
since I wrote a poem with a rhyme.
But as the days go by,
I step back and almost cry.

But that's ok,
What shall I say.
I miss writing to my fans,
Hoping my poems are read across the lands.

Sometimes they are sweet,
sometimes they are sad,
but always from my heart,
I begin to write from a new start.

I hope my fans all return,
as now it's my time to churn,
All the poems from heart,
And I hope my fans never part.

For my fans that do come back
My promise to you is that I won't slack.
But all I ask from you sometimes,
Is to write a poem that rhymes.

One Year Ago, I lost Mom with Her Passing

Today has been a day of remembrance of my dear mom, who passed away one year ago today. To me, it seems like yesterday. Time is just passing by, but the pain of her passing still is with me. Why are people so vulnerable to pain and suffering when others celebrate their passing? For me this year has just made me numb, with sickness and death all around me. Maybe it's because now I find myself caught up in the elder years of my own life. But I continue to pray, and I continue to hope for better days, always keeping into consideration my thoughts of the most important person in my life, and that would be my wife Virginia.
On another sad note, i am faced with another reality of more sickness in our family. Being one of two only siblings of mom, I now find myself trying to cope with the expected loss of my sister Cindy. She is now in the advanced stages of cancer, and only experimental treatments that cost a fortune may only be able to help her now. Still, what the treatments may do is to extend her life for a few months, and what kind of pain and suffering will she have to cope with for this extended period of time. To make this situation harder to cope, my sister and I haven't spoken to each other since mom has passed away, and I only found out about her sickness lately when my wife Virginia ran across pictures of her in a hospital. She had been there already over a month and I have been hoping and praying that she would at least want to talk to me, but she must be so depressed, that she will not even call me.
For the last several months, I have been totally out of a mood to write poems, but I realize now that writing would help me allot. Sometimes hopeless feelings cannot be avoided, and I often wonder during these times how I would ever cope without the love and comfort from my wife Virginia.

Will stand the test of time.....- by Jessica

Being able to stand the test of time is a challenge for most. People are unforgiving, and most of all, not patient. Patience can bring you riches beyond belief, but standing by the test of time can also be a test from God, as God always tests us, in the best of times and in the worst of times. In the end, there can be an indelible bond, that was created because of patience and time. 

 

Will Stand the Test of Time

by Jessica

You make me light up
When I feel like crying
You make me wanna live
When I feel like dying.
You make me wanna walk
When my legs are on crutches,
You make me wanna talk
When my face is covered with smudges.
You make me wanna dance
When my heart just isn't in it
You make my heart sing
Even when I can't mean it.
You make me laugh
When there's nothing to say
You make me jump
When I can't even play.
I'll love you forever
You have my solemn vow
Because whatever we go through
Whether then or now....
I've got your back
And you've got mine
And the bond we have
Will stand the test of time.

LOVE by - Demetrius Whye

Love can be found many ways, but what is the best way to explain it? Is it the same for everyone? Most likely not. For some it is for the love of another, and sadly, for some it is only for the love of themselves. But for people who understand what true love is, regardless of how knowledable that person may be, just to understand where it is and what it stands for, may take a life of trials and tribulations, and experiences with others that will define the true meaning of love for that person. People live for it and even die for it. Love of our country, love for one another...love shared in many ways....

LOVE

It cannot be found through seeking

Yet we are consciously aware of where it lurks.

It cannot be detected in other unless first discovered in ourselves.

It defies definition yet its meaning is perfectly clear.

We grasp at it in vain for it is unable to be held.

Yet we will cling to it for all eternity

In our possession it is worthless and void.

Yet when released its value is beyond measure.

It leaves us with a pain that only it can soothe.

The wounds it will cause may forever heal but the scars

will remain as a constant reminder of its power.

We do everything we can to control it,

yet it controls everything we do.

In the End we succumb to its greatness,

and in our surrender we realize our victory