I'd like to capture a rainbow
And stick it in a big box
So that,
Anytime you wanted to,
You could reach in and pull out
A piece of sunshine.
I’d like to build you a mountain
That you could call your very own—
A place to find serenity
In those times when you
Feel the need to be
Closer to yourself, or to God.
I’d like to be the one
Who’s there with you when you’re
Lonely or troubled
Or you just need
Someone
To hold on to.
I’d like to do all this and more
To make your life happy.
But sometimes
It isn’t easy to do
The things I would like to do
Or give the things I would
Like to give.
So . . . until I learn how to
Catch rainbows and build mountains,
Let me do for you
That which I know best . . .
. . . Let me simply be your friend.
- Jacqueline J. Hancock
SKINHORSE:
In the early 1980s, I sold this poem to Blue Mountain Arts Company. They subsequently used it to make a card; later, it was included in a calendar and a book. Since then, I have discovered this poem has been published on several websites, often with words altered. Imagine my surprise and great honor to recently discover it had been included as part of the obituary of a cherished mother of 16 children:
Roark, Laura -a model mother, entered eternal life August 30,1991. She was born June 19, 1907 into the family of Jeff and Mary Jane Halcomb Caudill, in Letcher County. Laura was married to John D. Roark, who preceded her in death. Laura reared sixteen children. This in itself would qualify her as a superwoman. Of these sixteen children, ten were her biological offspring. She was a member of the Defeated Creek Old Regular Baptist Church, wherein she had been a member for approximately thirty-five years. Mama was an obedient servant of God and cherished her fellowship in the Old Regular Baptist Association. Mama believed and proclaimed that Jesus was the solution to all problems. She never failed to express His wondrous ways and to recommend him as a savior for her children and others. Mother had a wish that she echoed often, her wish to die in the spirit of the Lord. We, the children, other family members, and Christian friends, were by her bedside when she died. I feel that her obedience and devotion to God contributed to her wish being granted, because we witnessed spiritual events that convinced me that Mama died in the spirit of the Lord. I feel that this eloquent passage from Jacqueline J. Hancock echoes Mama's thoughts, especially for her children. "I'd like to be the one who's there with you when you're lonely or troubled or you just need someone to hold on to. I'd like to do all this and more to make your life happy. But sometimes, it isn't easy to do the things I would like to do or give the things I would like to give," so trust in God. Submitted by her children. http://www.knottkentuckykinfolk.com/orb_indian_bottom/1992_2.htm
And stick it in a big box
So that,
Anytime you wanted to,
You could reach in and pull out
A piece of sunshine.
I’d like to build you a mountain
That you could call your very own—
A place to find serenity
In those times when you
Feel the need to be
Closer to yourself, or to God.
I’d like to be the one
Who’s there with you when you’re
Lonely or troubled
Or you just need
Someone
To hold on to.
I’d like to do all this and more
To make your life happy.
But sometimes
It isn’t easy to do
The things I would like to do
Or give the things I would
Like to give.
So . . . until I learn how to
Catch rainbows and build mountains,
Let me do for you
That which I know best . . .
. . . Let me simply be your friend.
- Jacqueline J. Hancock
SKINHORSE:
In the early 1980s, I sold this poem to Blue Mountain Arts Company. They subsequently used it to make a card; later, it was included in a calendar and a book. Since then, I have discovered this poem has been published on several websites, often with words altered. Imagine my surprise and great honor to recently discover it had been included as part of the obituary of a cherished mother of 16 children:
Roark, Laura -a model mother, entered eternal life August 30,1991. She was born June 19, 1907 into the family of Jeff and Mary Jane Halcomb Caudill, in Letcher County. Laura was married to John D. Roark, who preceded her in death. Laura reared sixteen children. This in itself would qualify her as a superwoman. Of these sixteen children, ten were her biological offspring. She was a member of the Defeated Creek Old Regular Baptist Church, wherein she had been a member for approximately thirty-five years. Mama was an obedient servant of God and cherished her fellowship in the Old Regular Baptist Association. Mama believed and proclaimed that Jesus was the solution to all problems. She never failed to express His wondrous ways and to recommend him as a savior for her children and others. Mother had a wish that she echoed often, her wish to die in the spirit of the Lord. We, the children, other family members, and Christian friends, were by her bedside when she died. I feel that her obedience and devotion to God contributed to her wish being granted, because we witnessed spiritual events that convinced me that Mama died in the spirit of the Lord. I feel that this eloquent passage from Jacqueline J. Hancock echoes Mama's thoughts, especially for her children. "I'd like to be the one who's there with you when you're lonely or troubled or you just need someone to hold on to. I'd like to do all this and more to make your life happy. But sometimes, it isn't easy to do the things I would like to do or give the things I would like to give," so trust in God. Submitted by her children. http://www.knottkentuckykinfolk.com/orb_indian_bottom/1992_2.htm
1 comment:
Your poem expresses so beautifully the desire we all have to make a big impact in the world, and the realization we come to that "by small and simple things are great things are great things brought to pass" (Alma 37:6. Your friendship makes a big difference in my life.
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