A Collection of Me

By Steven Richmond

The title A Collection of Me is a collection of poems that are about my life experiences, my thoughts, my hopes, and my prayers. There are some poems that deal with my alcoholism, my family losses, and my emotions about those times in my life when I felt no hope. Others are of times when I was grateful for people who were there for me in my time of need without my even expecting them to show. There are poems about dear friends that struggled with the same affliction as myself and how hopeless I felt to help them. They are my prayers spoken to my God about how I felt at different times of my life. These are the sights, sounds, and smells of my world and how they affected my outlook for that particular day. I put into words my feelings, and I put to paper thoughts that I cannot speak to others.
Words are the extension of the feelings I have for myself and the world I live in. They give me a sense of peace, a calming embrace, and an overall feeling of well-being. When I’m angry or afraid, confused or overwhelmed, tired or wound up tight, I pick up my pen and start to write. The words flow so quickly, and before I know it, another poem gives me the answer to my problem, whatever it may be. It’s as though God himself was talking to me through my own words and giving me the solution. I find that writing is the outlet and the inspiration I need to live my life to the fullest with humility and gratitude. Gratitude for God helping me to be the best at what he wants me to be. Humility to serve others with love and genuine concern for their emotional and mental well-being.
My hope is that you find this collection beneficial in your own struggles in life and that you can use these as steps toward healing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798888325247

Book preview

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A Collection of Me

Steven Richmond

ISBN 979-8-88832-523-0 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88832-524-7 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Steven Richmond

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Married Folks

Thoughts of Scars

Happiness

The Whiskey Life

Lonely Souls

The Beaten Path

Your Happiness

The Path of Pain

Music

My Loyal Friend

The Sinner

Inspirations

Aging Process

Your Heart

Traits Needed in Recovery

Addiction/Recovery

The Long Walk

Life Shared

Commotion

I Am There

Farewell, Loved One

Attacked?

Millisecond

Roads Less Traveled

Attitude Change

Daily Pain

Fall's Beauty

Words I Write

My Fellowship

Life's Storm

Grateful for Time

No Animosity

Monotony

Elbow Curse

Expensive Life Experiences

Faith Reborn

Shared Thoughts

Breath of Life

Beliefs

Campfire

Stinking Thinking

Summer's End

Anger's Loss

Freedom from Bondage

Lessons in Life

Denial

Hot and Hazy

Opportunities

Wisdom Unheard

Violence

Truth

Strife

Traits

The Family Pet

The Pond

Precious Time

Our World, Our Life

Paradise

Pilgrims

My Choice

His Message

The Train Whistle

The Rain

The Sky of Blue

Childhood Lessons

Tranquil Evening

Life Is Good

This Day

Amends

This Thing I Do

My Daily Gift

Mental Block

Seduction of a Man

Cancer

The Whisper

The Night

Unity of Mankind

Yourself Is Enough

My Mind

Seeing Is Believing

My Life

The Future

My Wife

Mother

My Troubles in Life

The Estate

An Angel

Aging

My Attitude

My Treasure

Finances

Your Freedom

Mistakes I Own

The Fawn

My Lawn

Battles Overcome

Perilous Journey

Broken Lives

Piece of Your Heart

About the Author

Married Folks

To all the married folks out there

young, middle-aged, old, and gray

I hope you see this because

I have something important to say

When sharing with each other

take heed in what you say

You may come to find that

it may all play out one day

My wife and I had many talks

especially the last couple of years

Some discussions made us laugh

others brought us both to tears

We talked about our last years

and what we might like to do

Where we might go and then

we talked of more serious things too

We talked about the what-ifs

I don't mean about our wealth

We talked of what could be

if one of us lost our health

We both made a promise

that no matter what the case

We would both help each other

with any issue we might face

Now we each really meant

every word that was spoken

When this came to pass

my promise has not been broken

All the plans we made

to enjoy our last days on earth

were changed very suddenly

A new way to live was given birth

My wife had a stroke and

all those plans were lost

Now I take care of her

no matter what the cost

I'm not complaining, you see

we still have much life to live

It's just quite different than

the one we had planned to live

So again I say to all

heed the words you say

They just might end up being

how you live and love one day

Thoughts of Scars

I awoke very early this day

and I have been deep in thought

about many years of scars

from battles I have fought

They started early in my life

before I had the power of choice

They gained steam as I grew

because I never used my voice

I drank to drown away

the pain I lived every day

No freedom from the guilt

and shame I formed along the way

A long hard life I have lived

alone within my broken self

I've hurt many because I was hurt

and couldn't put the bottle on the shelf

It's been some years since I did

and still at times I relive

Now and then the demon comes

but to him my life I will never give

Happiness

Happiness is not my laughter

it's not