Poems for My Mom and Dad

Here are two poems I framed for my mom and dad's anniversary gift:

A Great Man and His Heart
If these walls could talk,
they would speak of a man
Who has worked with great heart
To accomplish his plan.
They’d speak of the times
That he’s prayed in the night
For the strength to go on
And to do what is right.

They’d speak of sweet moments
Of laughter and fun,
The times with his children,
His love for each one.
Oh, if they could talk,
It would just be the start
Of a story of love,
A great man and his heart.

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Are All the Children In?
I think oft-times as the night draws nigh
Of an old house on the hill.
Of a yard all wide and blossom-starred
Where the children played at will.
And when the night at last came down,
Hushing the merry din,
Mother would look around and ask,
“Are all the children in?”

‘Tis many and many a year since then,
And the old house on the hill
No longer echoes to childish feet,
And the yard is still, so still.
But I see it all, as the shadows creep,
And though many the years have been
Since then, I can hear mother ask,
“Are all the children in?”

I wonder if when the shadows fall
On the last short, earthly day,
When we say good-bye to the world outside,
All tired with our childish play,
When we step out into that Other Land
Where mother so long has been,
Will we hear her ask, just as of old,
“Are all the children in?”

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The poem for my dad was on a card my sister gave him some years ago. The poem for Mom is one she often mentions to me. It reminds her of her own mother who literally spent the last 45 minutes of her life praying that all of her children, grandchildren and the succeeding generations would make it home to Heaven and be with her.