Poetry Through the Years:

Tears, Wishes, and Dreams

by
Paul Anthony Minger

Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co.

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank Percy Minger, Patti Brown, Jennifer Foster, and Kathy Yates for all of their support during my work on this book.

And a very special thank you to my daughters Lani and Kara Minger.

Introduction

The way I write poems is similar to the way an artist paints a picture. Artists look at something and try their best to capture what they see. They start out by looking at the big picture and then they often sketch it in before they go back and capture every little detail of the scene. The subject could be something that’s right in front of them, it could come from their memories, or their imagination.

I can’t say how other poets get their inspiration, but what works for me isn’t for everyone. I have a few different ways I write a poem, but in order for one to be any good, I have to be so inspired by something or someone that the words come out naturally. I can view a picture in my head and, like an artist, I try to find the best ways to describe it before even putting pen to paper, or in my case, striking the keys on my laptop. I write about every emotion I have—being happy, sad, inspired, and even in love. I’ve tried a couple of different styles as well. If a picture is worth a thousand words, I am always ready to take up the challenge to find those words and put them on paper.

My first poem was written when I was sixteen. That summer my cousin started dating a friend of one of his step sisters. He and his girlfriend fixed me up with her sister. I was still real new to the whole dating thing and wasn’t sure what to expect. But I definitely got the sense that she liked me. I started to get phone calls, letters and even sweet little kisses every time we got together. It was a dream come true, and I enjoyed spoiling her any chance I got.

I decided I wanted to do something special for our one-month anniversary. I went to my cousin, who had also been dating his girlfriend about a month, and asked him for advice. He told me that he didn’t do one-month anniversaries and wasn’t getting his girlfriend anything. I still had every intention of getting my girlfriend a gift of appreciation for putting up with me for a month.

That night my sister and my dad were heading off to the store. I didn’t have much money so I gave my sister what I had and asked her if she could pick me up something. She took the money, and a couple of hours later she returned with a box. In the box was a plastic red rose with a piece of chocolate and some decorative ribbons. It wasn’t anything spectacular but it fit within my small budget.

When my sister handed me the rose, my cousin saw it and decided that if I gave my girlfriend a one-month anniversary present, he’d have to do the same. He went to the store and came back with a real rose in a vase. When I saw the rose I was frustrated, because I hated being placed in a position where I felt that I had to compete. For some reason, I felt I had to do something to one-up him.

Later that night I sat down at the kitchen table and started to write for the first time. I opened up the box and started writing about the rose. I only remember parts of the poem, but I know it was about how the rose could never grow in the sunlight since it was fake.

The next morning we went to church where we met the girls every Sunday. My cousin came in first and gave his girlfriend her rose in the vase. The look on her faces wasn’t what he expected because now she was in church with a big rose and a vase that she had to carry around. I then handed my girl her gift. She opened the box, bypassing the plastic rose completely, and pulled out the poem. She started reading it and the expression on her face said it all. That was enough to inspire me to write even more.

And over twenty years later, I’m still writing. Poetry has gotten me through good times and bad. I never intended to publish a book, but many of my friends and family members suggested that I should put my poems out there to the public. I love writing and now that this book is complete, I’m even thinking about writing a second one!

Contents

Wish

The Tear

A Few More Glasses

A Lonely Life

A Girl From The Past

Am I Really In Love?

Someone Special

An Ideal Friend

If

Without You

Cupid’s Advise

A Game Without The Rope

I’ll Be There

A Valentine Poem

My Only Wish

I’m No Romeo

Feeling Down

A Soldier’s Cry

An Angel Like You

The One That’s Forgotten

I’m No Romeo (Revised)

I’ve Seen Love

Where Did I Go Wrong?

A True Love

Hope It Fills Your Heart

Bed Time Prayer

A Place For You

You’re Prince Charming

A Poem to You

The Gift to Give

A Mother Is . . .

Dream Maker

Feelings

You Will Always Be Beautiful

The World is My Playground

I Miss You Already

If Love Was

Picture to Picture

A Soldier’s Cry II (The Soldier’s Story)

Wishing I Was There

I Couldn’t Imagine

Adapt and Overcome

Blessed this Little Room

God Bless My Family

Common Words

All I Want to Do

Eternity

A Soldier’s Cry III (Tapps)

He’s a Soldier

Footsteps Within the Night

The Puppet and the Puppeteer

Where May My Tears Fall?

Thirteen Stripes

The Believer

I Miss My Little Girls

The Engineer Soldier

Do You See Me?

Why Does It Hurt?

Another Wonderful Day

I’ll Write You a Poem

For He is the Fisherman

My Dedication

Wipe Your Tears

A Simple Prayer

I’ll Wait On You

Without You

My Crippled American Pride

A Perfect Night Sleep

I See You

The Sweetest Dream

Raging River,

RIP

Shook the Hand . . . of a Hero

Within the Grassy Green Fields

What Do You Want?

Candy Hearts

Man Behind the Mirror

Don’t Worry About Me

My Favorite Game

Shallow Water

Glass Walls

The Deepest

Daddy, I Love This

In the Blink of an Eye

Eternal

A Chat with God

Wishing on a Dream

Holiday

Holiday (Written in Dari)

Living the Memories

Independence Day

Ghost

Someone to Hold

The Wolves are Howling

Mr. Lonely

Dog Tags

The Little Things

Coming Up Short

I May

What I am Looking For

Bonus

Wish

I wish that I had some candy as sweet as you

And it would last the whole night through

I wish that I had a rose as red as your lips

In which I would love to kiss

I wish that I had a diamond as precious as your eyes

As they look upon me as their only guy

I wish I had a kitten as soft and lovable as you

But I would find nothing that would match a heart

that’s true.

Written: 7-15-92

“Wish” was the second poem that I ever wrote. I really didn’t think that I would keep writing, but more and more things started coming to mind. As I continued to write, I realized that I actually enjoyed doing it, and it came naturally to me.

The Tear

I wish that you weren’t going away in the fall,

As I see our relationship pulling away from it all.

I will be sitting up in my room thinking of how our

relationship was born,

As I will be shedding a tear for every single day you are

gone.

If a heart could cry,

You know mine would light up the sky.

I would write you letters when you are not here,

As I show my care down to the very last tear.

Written: 7-15-92

I wrote “The Tear” because my sister asked me to write something to express how she felt about her boyfriend leaving for Job Corps. I really didn’t care for the guy, but I felt bad for her at the time. So I wrote it and she gave it to him. Later they ended up getting married, but it was short-lived.

A Few More Glasses

I will be thinking of you

As I drink a glass or two

When I get to three and four

I start thinking of a lot more

When five and six rolls around

The other couple glasses start slipping to the ground

As I finally get to seven and eight

I start asking other girls out on dates

When I’m done drinking nine and ten

I’m back thinking of you again

Written: 7-15-92

I just wanted to experiment with this one. I was too young to drink and hadn’t even felt a buzz yet. I just wanted to write something funny.

A Lonely Life

My life isn’t all fun and games

When deep down inside I feel pain

My heart feels like it’s between two walls crushed to pieces

While no one cares to reach down to try to release it

My mind seems like it’s in a world of its own

With no one around as it’s all alone

When I’m having fun and I just start to meet girls

And I feel like I’m in a whole new world

I wake up to realize it’s just a dream

To a lonely world as it seems

Written 7-16-92

I guess in my teen years I felt lonely a lot of the time. Poetry became a good way for me to write down those feelings and enabled me to express my emotions through words. I didn’t date much and really didn’t get out, besides school and sports.

A Girl From The Past

I wish upon a star

So shinning and so far

I’m looking for the girl of my dreams

From the past as it seems

Long, curly, blond hair and blue eyes

As when she looks at me I feel great inside

She was the prettiest girl I have ever met

In which she could have any guy of her choice I bet

But as gorgeous as she may be

I had to be the only fool to resist her beauty

Written: 8-11-92

“A Girl from the Past” was written as a memory from seventh grade. I had a huge crush on this girl who was so cute and popular that I would never have thought that she would ask me out. One day she actually asked me to a dance and I sat there not knowing what to say. I was a poor country boy and I was so shy that my mind begged for the word “yes” while my mouth opened up with the word “no.” She asked me out a few times after that as well, but I still said no and I don’t even know why. We were friends, but I was just too shy.

Am I Really In Love?

As I look into your eyes

I see the moon, stars and sky

When I see you smile

Everything else seems out of style

I could barely sleep at night

Then I dream of you as my guiding light

I toss and turn in my bed

As your name dances in my head

Every time I look at you

I see someone who is really true

An angel from above

So I ask, “Am I really in love?”

Written: 11-26-92

“Am I Really in Love?” was written when I was in high school. Teenage hormones and girls always kept a boy confused.

Someone Special

You will always be someone special to me

Whether a friend or a lover to be

I’m always thinking of you each and every day

Wondering what you do and about what you say

I wish that you could be nowhere else but here

So I could tell you just how much I truly care

The hardest things to tell you is what I feel deep inside

What I feel in my heart for you is too strong to even hide

There isn’t a song or a poem that could express my feelings

for you

But what could express my feelings I do not have a clue

Every time I get an image of you in my mind

I cannot help thinking of what I’m leaving behind

Even though I know there is no chance of us getting

together

I will still remember you deep down in my heart for now

and forever

Written: 12-25-92

The girl for whom I wrote “Someone Special” has never known how I feel about her. She was more of a friend and still is, but I had a crush on her back in the day. Our relationship drew a fine line between being friends and something more.

An Ideal Friend

Friendship should last

Through thick and thin

It’s something special

That should never end

A friend is someone to call on

In need of help

Someone to hang around with

When you don’t want to be by yourself

A friendship is something

That I want to last

Someone to talk to

And remember the past

That friend is someone

Who has a heart that’s true

From what I have seen

That friend is you

Written: 12-4-92

If

If I said I love you

Would you take it too far?

If I said my love is true

Would you leave my heart painfully scared?

If my heart bleeds and aches

Would you comfort it like a friend?

If my heart starts to break

Would you piece it back together again?

If my eyes starts to tear

Would you wipe them before they fall?

If my eyes starts to show fear

Would you help me through it all?

If my body begins to shiver

Would you hold me so firm and so tight?

If I begin to get the quivers

Could you hold me all day and all night?

If I said I love you

In your mind would you feel deceived?

If I said my love is true

In your heart would you believe?

Written: 7-31-96

In July of 1996 I was out of school and working at a Ponderosa Steakhouse in Weirton, WV. I was twenty that summer and dating a girl who was a cousin of a friend of mine. I wasn’t in love with the girl, but I did like her. She was very beautiful and had a lot of dreams. One of her dreams was becoming a model and she definitely had the looks for it. Our relationship didn’t last too long; even though we didn’t officially break up, we more or less went our own way. She had her problems and I had mine, and we followed dreams that led us down different paths.

Without You

My love isn’t the same

If it’s without you

In constant pain

Even with someone new

This heart isn’t the same

If you are not in it

The breath of your name

Is a fetal hit

This mind isn’t the same

If you are just a memory

It’s driven insane

By the insanity

These arms aren’t the same

Without you to hold

Shrinking of the veins

Turns the blood so cold

I’m not the same

When feeling so blue

Can’t stop the pain

If I’m without you

Written: 12-27-96

I honestly don’t know why I wrote this one. I don’t believe I was dating anyone at the time.

Cupid’s Advise

Last night I had a talk with Cupid

He told me what was all true

He said no one could call one stupid

For having this crush on you

He went on talking, “Listen my friend,

I will tell you all my loving ways

How to charm the girl’s heart you want to win

And all the right words to say.”

I listened to the munchkin with the heart shaped arrows

As he went on with time to spare

He said, “Love is like a little sparrow,