Showing posts with label Cree's Poems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cree's Poems. Show all posts

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Poems for Mother's Day

From "Writings" by Carrie "Cree" Probst ©1985

MY MOTHER

She was tall with dark eyes and high forehead.
She was quiet––she put on no airs.
Her forehead was wrinkled from worry.
No wonder––she had many cares.

And oft when I go back in memory,
I think of her work day by day.
I think of how each morn without failure,
Dad would come home to her bedroom and say,

"Come on, Jane, the teakettle's boiling."
And that was her signal to rise,
And stir up the mush for our breakfast,
And try to get us to do likewise.

Her life was a lifetime of labor.
Each day brought its own work to do.
There was washing and ironing and mending,
And choring and gardening, too.

There was sewing and sweeping and cooking.
She just seemed to never stand still.
And often things must have looked useless,
Like pushing a load up a hill.

But she kept on; no work was too tiring.
No task seemed too heavy to bear.
So long as she had strength to do it,
If worked called, she always was there.

Nine children she raised––what a mission!
One w
as called back a long time ago,
Leaving sorrow to add to her burdens.
What she suffered we
never shall know.

Let us build on the start that she gave us,
In her failings find ways to improve.
For we know she would like nothing better,
Than to have us united in love.

(Written about my mother, Lara Jane Morris Wright)

------------------------------------------------------

MY BABY


God gave her to me and I love her,
this dear little baby of mine.
Her face is as pure as an angel's.
Her eyes like stardust shine.

And when in my arms she is sleeping,
a feeling steals o'er my soul,
A feeling of awe and of reverence,
a love that knows not control.

And I pray in my heart for guidance,
that God will help me to be,
Forever aware that this baby's care,
is a privilege given to me.

I ask Him to make me worthy,
of the soul I'm entrusted to.
I ask Him to make me equal,
to the tasks that I needs must do.

As I hold her yet more closely,
my heart is torn with fears.
When I think of life's rugged pathway,
as she toddles along the years.

How I long to smooth that pathway,
and pluck out the thorns that tear.
How I long to remove temptation,
and leave only goodness there.

Could I strew her path with roses,
make all things pure and sweet.
My soul would lose it's anguish,
My joy would be complete.

But I know God watches over,
my sweet baby, day by day.
And with humble spirit,
can only kneel and pray.

Then I think of gentle Mary,
of the sacrifice she stood.
And something whispers softly,
"Have faith, for God is good."

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Merry Christmas, Grandma

From "Writings" by Carrie "Cree" Probst ©1985

Merry Christmas, Grandma

Merry Christmas, grandma.
If wishes all come true
A load of all good things in life
Would come addressed to you.

I love you, grandma, and today
I wish I could be near
To tell you all the lovely things
That make you seem so dear.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Thanks

From "Writings" by Carrie "Cree" Probst ©1985

Thanks

Give thanks for what?
Can you raise your eyes,
For the gorgeous blue of the morning skies,
Or see the glory of God's sunrise
And not give thanks?

Give thanks for what?
Can you gaze and see
A blade of grass or a stately tree
A butterfly or a humming bee
And not give thanks?

Give thanks for what?
Can you dry a tear
From a little face that presses near
Or hold in your arms the form so dear
And not give thanks?

Give thanks for what?
Can you see at night
The stars pinned round
With the moon for light
And feel that God makes all things right
And not give thanks?

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The Piano


Cree Probst in her flowers in Midway, Utah.
She authored and published many poems and short stories.


The Piano
by Cree Probst ©1985
The poem refers to Beatrice and Madelyn and Marilyn (the twins).

Today they took the piano
It was out of tune and old.
The ivory keys were brown with age
'Twas worthless I'd been told.

So many years I had varnished
And polished and dusted its wood.
Now it was old and useless
I needed the space where it stood.

Today they came and took it
And as I watched it go
Fond memories came racing back
Of the lovely long ago.

A cunning little six-year-old
Had begged us every day
To "please buy a piano,"
So she could learn to play.

And long before her daddy
Could find the cash to spare,
She thumped out tunes of make-believe
on a table or a chair.

I saw the stars shine in her eyes
The day her dream came true.
I saw a talent come to life--
Her love for music grew.

I saw her grow from year to year
And, oh, how she could play!
How time goes by--my little girl
Grew up and went away.

I dusted the old piano,
And even it seemed sad
Until two little brown-eyed twins
Began to make it glad.

They played and played--the music seemed
to brighten every day;
But as before these little girls
Grew up and went away.

For years it stood forlorn and still
Grown old and out of date.
On top were pictures of the girls
Who'd brought it to this state.

Today they came and took it
And as it went I knew
The piano didn't go alone
For a piece of my heart went, too.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The Old House Speaks

Memories of Cree's Poems as told by GWP:

(Click on picture to make it larger.)

This is one of my favorite poems. My mother (Cree) wrote it as a tribute to the Huber family. Dad (Karl) did the oil painting of the old Huber home just below our cabin up Snake Creek. Uncle Joe Huber (old bachelor) lived there as long as I remember. He was a very kind man, and I enjoyed stopping by for a cold drink of water out of the little stream that ran right by his front door there on the left of the cabin. The old creamery is to the far left. They made cheese and took it to the mining camps in Brighton and Alta to sell to the miners. It was one way they could get cash. Ulrich and Jacob made the three-day round trip, if my memory serves me well. They walked up either Lime Canyon or Snake Creek Canyon, depending on their destination. When my sister Joyce lived in Prescott, AZ, she put Mom's poem and Dad's painting together and printed some copies at the press they owned at the time.

The poem reads:

THE OLD HOUSE SPEAKS
©1985

I'm old and tired and lonely
My boards are weather-worn,
My windows and doors are sagging
I'm deserted and forlorn.

My porch is bent and broken
My roof is almost gone,
But inside there's haunting mem'ries
Of happy days long gone.

I sheltered first a man and wife
A young and happy pair,
They planted trees and tilled the soil
And music filled the air.

The years passed by and children came
I sheltered them by day,
At night I listened to their prayers
I watched them at their play.

There was John and Al and Mary
And Em and Neph and Lize,
Then Joe and Ida came along
To strengthen family ties.

They worked and played together
They laughed and loved and grew,
Their mountain home in Snake Creek
Was the greatest joy they knew.

But time passed by - they went away
Grandchildren and Greatgrands came,
For years their laughter filled the air
They shouted and played games.

Each year the memories of this place
Grew deeper in each heart,
And many a tear was freely shed
When the sad time came to part.

I felt myself grow older
When everyone was gone,
Except the one called Uncle Joe
And he stayed on and on.

He loved the streams and mountains
the Flowers and the trees,
He loved the handiwork of God
The sweet cool evening breeze.

And then one day he said goodbye
And as he went away,
I felt I couldn't stand it
Till he came back to stay.

I waited, but he didn't come
My boards began to creak,
But oh, the stories I could tell
If I could only speak.

Today I'm sad and lonely
Yet, I cherish all the years,
I sheltered the Huber family
and shared their joys and tears.