Life...It's A Story: November 2011

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Remember Me

Will you remember me

If you don’t hear me laugh; if you don’t hear me cry

Or will you forget my voice as the years go by

Will you remember me

If you can’t see the wrinkles on my face

Or will my image from your memory someday be erased

Will you remember me

If upon your lips you cannot feel my kiss

Or will your heart resolve it’s better off like this

Will you remember me

If I cannot hug you or no longer touch your hand

Or will my memory fly away like the windblown sand

Yes, I will remember you

The joy in your laugh and the sorrows of your cry

I will not forget your voice as the years go by

Yes, I will remember you

I love those wrinkles upon you face

Your image from my memory can never be erased.

Yes, I will remember you

Every single time my lips felt your kiss

I have resolved to remember those sweet times of bliss

Yes, I will remember you

Your warm hugs and the gentle touch of your strong hand

I will pile your memories like a mile high dune of sand

Yes, Love, I will remember you

You are my life and breath

I will hold on to you till I close my eyes in death

Allen Bennett

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Ecclesiastes 9:5

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The Front Porch

Sitting there with sleepy eyes

They wait together for the sun to rise

Tender lovers old woman, old man

In the chill of dawn they are holding hands

They have a small cabin way out in the woods

Here they live because life is good

The front porch faces directly east

Where they observe daily all kinds of beast

But they faced it that way for in their last days

They knew they would rock and watch the sun’s rays

Drinking their coffee they look across their land

And gently they take each other’s hand

“I love you,” he says, “I know that you do…”

She says, “Do you know I love you too?”

Sweetly they smile old woman, old man

After all these years still holding hands

By: Allen Bennett

Sunday, November 6, 2011

This poem is a view of my own death in the future. It is not meant to be morbid or dark. As a matter of fact, I think of it as being rather positive. These events take place many years from now. It is not in the near future. I hope "The Secret" challenges each reader to carefully evaluate what he/she will leave behind once they depart this world. Finally, "The Secret" is written in the voice of my daughter Ary Anna.

My daddy died just the other day

Family came from miles away

To see him bow upon his stage

To turn his final page

Before he passed we all gathered ‘round

Each one stood up, no one set down

All were eager, yearning to hear

Some words of wisdom he’d learned through the years

We children pressed in to breathe of his breath

Before he closed his eyes in death

Hoping some part of him would remain

And as we breathed in we felt his pain

He opened his eyes and looked at our faces

Smiling to see us all in our places

Oldest to youngest, girls and guys

Softly I wiped the tears from his eyes

Over on the opposite side of the bed

My sweet, tender mother stroked his cool head

We were all there—every last one

Loving wife, beautiful daughters, handsome sons

Through the years my dear, sweet mother stood by his side

When there was no hope—no light in his eyes

She was his life. She was his breath

Now in sweet peace he could face death

My oldest brother—he is so bright

God gave him the gift to write

Years ago into the night sky daddy did stare

Seth is the answer to my daddy’s prayer

My next two brothers—not quite as old

Grew to be wise—grew to be bold

To practice medicine they both did strive

Now they have saved countless a life

My fourth brother went off to war

To help his uncle settle a score

“To the enemy,” daddy said, “you must not yield”

My daddy's son came home carrying his shield

My younger sister is Abby Jo

Bravely she treads where others won’t go

Just like my daddy—she’s almost fearless

But unlike my daddy—she’s almost tearless

My youngest brother—William Wallace by name

Didn’t seek fortune, didn’t seek fame

He dared to step beyond the church steeple

He gave his life to save a nation of people

Like my mother I’ve stayed by daddy’s side

When he laughed I laughed, when he cried I cried

I gave him wisdom, he gave me life

And now I’ve become a godly mother and wife

We all stood there as we recounted

The stories of our lives and the love that abounded

Then daddy quietly whispered, “Do you all see?”

“The secret to life… leave a legacy.”

With those words he breathed his last breath

His heart stopped beating inside his chest

But in each of us he still breathes

For we are his legacy

My daddy was first—he was a pilgrim

He and mom raised up godly children

So we’ll pass his breath to future generations

And daddy will touch so many nations

Daddy was right—it is up to us, you see

We each must leave our own legacy

Allen Bennett

Life... It's A Story

My blog is a collection of stories from my life. These are the stories that shaped me into who I am today. They are the threads that make up the fabric of my life.

I welcome your comments. Especially if these stories help you or encourage you. Feel free to pass them along to others. If you don't like what you see...feel free to move along to a blog site that will better fit your taste.

Life...It's A Story is not a site for debating theology or politics. Harsh, rude, or hyper-critical remarks will be removed. Let's use this site to build people up not tear them down.

I am not interested in critical comments about grammar or punctuation. I have an editor that will be taking care of all that for me.

My Back Story

Reading about someone else’s life on a blog can be a little confusing; especially if you do not know them well enough to know some of the basic timeline of their life. So I want to share some basic information about my family that will help put my past and future stories in perspective.

I was born in December of 1957 to Julian and Merle Bennett. I had three siblings at that time, Alton (12), Vickie (10), and Tony (3). I lived in Wichita Falls, Texas.

My dad hauled and sold produce and also was a “greaser” (a person who picks up grease from behind restaurants and sells it to rendering plants to be made into soap, perfume, etc.) He was one of five brothers. His father’s name was Thomas. Dad’s mother died when dad was about six or seven.

My mother was a stay at home mom who only made it to the third grade in school. She like, my dad, had a mother who died when she was only seven. Mom had a twin brother named Earl and one older sister. After her mother died her father, Jesse Fair, remarried. His new wife was not kind to mom and mom moved out of the Fair house when she was eleven.

My dad died when I was only eight. He left us with an Oldsmobile 88 that was paid for but no money in the bank. As a self-employed individual he had no insurance and few death benefits. Mom had to go to work to raise me and my brother Tony. Alton and Vickie were already out of the home. Alton was serving our country in Vietnam (he made a career of the Army) and Vickie was on her second marriage already.

Mom had a rough time making it with no husband and few friends. She began to go to bars with her twin brother’s ex wife, Ruth, and started to have some challenges with alcohol. We moved to Fort Worth, Texas. After a couple of years she met a man in one of those bars and married him. His name was James Downs.

Big Jim, as people called him (he became “dad” to me), took good care my mom, my brother, and me. But he moved us on an average of two times every year so we never put roots down anywhere and it was difficult making friends. When I was 14 Jim and my mom had a baby girl. Her name was Stephanie.

Later that year we moved to a little piece of land outside Wichita Falls. We lived there for three years as we built it into a farm. A little bit of stability. I attended a country school with about 100 students in high school.

At the age of 16 I made a commitment to Christ and started attending church. I started working with the youth six months later and went to Southern Bible College after graduating from high school.

I met and married my wife Lisa during my senior year at SBC. We now have seven children. I have served in ministry for 36 years until I recently retired. Now I am homeschooling my children and writing.