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Leone Burns spent her married life at home, tending to her family. In a solitary moment here and there she wrote poetry. She was a quiet woman who seldom verbalized her feelings, but through her verse I came to understand the depth of her love for her family, her faith and the beauty she saw in the world around her.
Below are some of the poems she wrote. There are others, and they will be added as time permits. I hope you enjoy them.
A Little Faith, A Little Light - 1960
Billy - 1957
Charlotte -1957
Fear Not - 1963
Gentle One Sleep - 1958
Jeannie - 1957
On Common Bondage - April 3, 1961
Sylvia - 1957
That Lost Yesterday - May, `1961
Virginia - 1957
When We Pray - 1960
Where - 1960
A LITTLE FAITH, A LITTLE LIGHT
A little faith in God,
Can help when all seems dark,
‘twill light a little candle,
Within your heart,
And ease the way,
Over rock and thorn,
When your heart is sore
And your soul is torn.
My son Billy is happy when
He’s out of doors at play.
Or even when there’s work to do
He’s laughing all the day.
He can’t whistle very well
Doesn’t pucker his lips up right
But I get the sweetest kiss
When he goes to bed at night
Billy is fond of singing
He’d sing the livelong day
He really enjoys music
Laughter, work and play.
Dancing Charlotte, active child,
As pretty as can be,
Who carries herself so proudly,
For every one to see.
Fear not for night ever returns to day,
And that which might happen never may.
For dark as it may seem to be,
Somewhere a light ever shines, you see.
And out in the distant future you’ll find,
That fears and dreams are fantasy kind
And often on the dawn of day,
They are supposed to happen, they fade away
So if you are to have that peace of mind
Keep you thoughts busy with another kind
Of constructive thoughts that build for the day
When the cobwebs of fear are all swept away.
Sleep gentle one, sleep on,
For here in the quiet, peace reigns, As the winds softly sway
The trees and grasses,
And at night stars shine to light the way Of all who passes.
Little one, to his great love Lord’s taken,
And forever dried your tears.
Jeanne, the oldest,
Sweet and charming girl,
Chubby and rosy,
Hair in ringlet curl.
Jeanne so sweet to see
A smile for all, a kiss for me,
Daddy’s girl and Mother’s love,
An earth angel from above.
Long ago I had a dream,
Of love that was so sweet.
The church bells rang,
And the birds sang,
Roses were in bloom.
But now my heart is very sad,
And I have grown old.
My dreams have faded, long ago,
And I feel so alone.
Not long ago my heaven smiled,
My life was filled with golden happiness.
I reach with mind,
But suddenly find,
My thoughts brought back to reality
By the voice of a child
"Mother mine".
In solitude I sit and think
Far a quiet hour I ponder
And let my innermost feelings
Make a query, the question longing
I languish, I’m alone
Sometimes I reach out, call out,
But no one sees my hand, hears my call
All for naught
And yet I see a light
I reason
And find new rest and freedom
From loneliness
For I’ve found a kindred heart
Also searching
And in common bondage our hearts touch
we speak.
And all is not lost.
Sylvia is a dainty thing
A lovely little girl
With dark and laughing eyes
And a ponytail in curl.
Tomorrow’s always coming;
There’s always a new today;
But yesterday is gone forever,
Away, away, away.
So plan for tomorrow,
And work hard for today;
But regret not what you did,
On that lost yesterday.
Look forward, never back,
Live and love in each today.
Do not dwell on what is over,
For that’s a lost yesterday.
These, my children,
Are headed for their destiny.
I cannot stop them
Nor would I if I could.
Life’s ways must be met
In each one’s own good time,
Or in a heart beat be lost forever.
Each one must learn
by his own transgressions;
And so must live
As his heart dictates
Or lose hope forever.
So they go on their way
Alone, with my blessing.
Virginia is a little girl,
As sweet as sweet can be;
And every day she goes to school,
And waves goodbye to me.
In school studies hard to learn
To read, to spell and write.
And then comes home to me again,
To say her prayers at night.
Then she cuddles down in bed,
And shuts her sleepy eyes,
And I think how very fast,
Each precious hour flies.
Sunday comes, she’s off to church,
To learn the Golden Rule,
To learn of God’s great love for us,
In class, in Sunday School.
A wish for God speed
Along the way
Might help the traveler
Spend a happier day
Now let us bend
And kneel in prayer
And lift this lord
Of toil and care
And ask him to forgive
While we pray
The lack of humility
Of the bygone day.
Twelve hours pass,
Then a day,
Then two,
Still no word from you.
The hours pass by,
So slowly that I,
Can count each moment,
On a star.
Long in time and space,
But short in life,
Loneliness cuts as does a knife.
And each fleeting hour
That we’re apart
Cuts away a piece of my heart.
So as each day passes by,
And lonely and questioning,
I wait and wonder why,
You keep apart.