Thoughts of Life

by Reiki Master Serena Lumiere

This Collection of Poetry Has Been
Compiled Especially For Those
Special People In My Wonderful
Reiki Community

The Rainbow
                       By Serena Lumiere
Like a rainbow in a summer storm
You brighten up my night
And we were never strangers
Our friendship seems so right.

Our minds are so in harmony
Mere words we didn't need
The silent sharing of our thoughts
The planting of a seed.

A seed that some call caring
And some call being friends
A seed that grows through sharing
And distance it transcends.

And soon it blossoms into love
So strong and safe and warm
The feeling is so rich and full
The rainbow in a storm.
©1980, 2000

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The Loving Wish
                       By Serena Lumiere
You give a lift to those you touch
You always have a glow
That many try hard to attain
But most will never know

Your cheerful disposition
Your always ready smile
You're quick to share a cheerful word
And very slow to rile

You know that life's for living
And pleasures are to share
And love will grow from giving…
Yourself because you care

With love and warmest blessings
This loving wish I send
My live is so much richer
Since I can call you "Friend".
©1980, 2000

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Aurora
                       By Serena Lumiere
When I was reflection, the moonlight of life
The warmth was soon cooled by the fear
The shadow of doubt danced with fear in the night
But truth and awareness were near.

The spark was ignited, then grew to a flame
The light was extremely intense
Perception was focused and I saw the path
And felt the profound influence.

The light now shines from inside to out
Much brighter than outside to in
I now am a source, not reflection
And now I can see where I've been.
©1980, 2000

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The Question
                       By Serena Lumiere
I step into the house at night
And reach out for the switch
The brightness fills the empty room
But tell me, which is which?

I really often wonder
This question's not a lark
Does that bulb radiate the light
Or just suck up the dark?
©1980, 2000

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Communication
                       By Serena Lumiere
You cannot hear the sounds I speak
And yet we understand
Through you I've learned to share my thoughts
And say them with my hand.

You share with me your silent world
A world of sight and touch
Because of you, I've learned to sign
And I have grown so much.

I've learned to see things in my world
I never saw before
I learned to listen with my eyes
And now I hear much more.

I've learned how much a touch can mean
To share a love that's pure
You've opened up a world to me
That's helped me to mature.
©1980, 2000

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A Friend
                       By Serena Lumiere
A friend is someone who will care
And time and company will share
Someone who has the time to hear
But judgment you don't have to fear.

To find a friend is not a task
You don't even have to ask
Just reach out, you know the way
There's nothing else I need to say.
©1980, 2000

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Perception
                       By Serena Lumiere
We seldom see reality
We see just what we want to see
Our lives are forms of fantasy
That border on reality.

We're careful of what we reveal
We think we're justified
Our feelings we try to conceal
There's much we try to hide.

We all see things so differently
And though sometimes our thoughts agree
What's real for you is not for me
The difference shows so readily.
©1980, 2000

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Appraisal
                       By Serena Lumiere
Like seeing pictures in the clouds
Or fortunes in your tea
The me you think that you can see
Is not the total me.

Like diamonds cut and polished
We all have many sides
And some of us, like diamonds rough
Our value we may hide.
©1980, 2000

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Evanescence of Life
                       By Serena Lumiere
I have no mere existence
That drifts from day to day
I see and hear and taste and touch
And feel in every way.

I know the joy of friendship
My friends don't know their worth
I also know my days of life
Are numbered on this earth

I know there's no tomorrow
No matter what you way
Life is just for living now
Reality's today.

Today is all we really have
And all that we can share
So live it to the fullest
Extend yourself and care.
©1980, 2000

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The Sanctuary
                       By Serena Lumiere
Don't think that I am lonely
Because I am alone
The times I've spent in solitude
Are moments I have grown.

The time when I am all alone
Exploring my own mind
I know it is a time for peace
A time I can unwind.

I cast away the tensions
The pressures and the stress
It's no time for distractions
Or for unpleasantness.

When I spend some time with me
I want to get to know
The way I really think and feel
And how I want to grow.

I think about my life and goals
And what it means to me
To revel in the peaceful calm
Of my own company.

So though I spend a lot of time
Just sharing time with me
I'm working hard to know myself
And learning to be free.
©1980, 2000

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Revolutions
                       By Serena Lumiere
Circles and cycles and wheels all spin
Around and around in our lives
Ups and downs and in-betweens
The changes from calm to strife.

Loving and losing and loving again
A cycle of loving and tears
Giving and taking and sharing and then
Trying again with new fears.

There's no real beginning or ending
For life always was and will be
The richness of life is within us
It's learning to love and stay free.
©1980, 2000

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Depression
                       By Serena Lumiere
The space around me seems to fill
With tension and despair
And then I wonder what's the point
And do I really care.

If all there is tomorrow
Is more of my today
Then I don't really want to see
And I don't want to stay.

I feel like I have lost control
I'm in a twilight zone
I'm drifting on the edge of life
I'm fighting all alone.

I'm not sure what I'm fighting for
Or why I even try
I'm tired, lonely and I'm scared
And in my heart I cry.

It seems there should be more to life
Than fighting to survive
If all there is is emptiness
Why want to be alive?
©1980, 2000

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Anger
                       By Serena Lumiere
Anger boils within my mind
Erupting with such force
The fabric of my life has changed
And now it seems so coarse.
©1980, 2000

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Isolation
                       By Serena Lumiere
The mist of isolation
Drifts into my mind
And then I feel so lonely
For someone who'll be kind.

To be with someone who will share
The feelings that I have
And sometimes just to hold me
The wounds and pain to salve.

With one who tries to understand
The loneliness and pain
Who'll share their strength and comfort
So sadness soon will wane.
©1980, 2000

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Loneliness
                       By Serena Lumiere
Hiding from the ones you love
So they won't see you blue
Playing games of "Hide and Seek"
When no one looks for you.

Being in a crowd where no one's
Close enough to touch
Listening to the sounds of life
But not hearing very much.

Having no one who will share
The sound of falling rain
Always crying by yourself
Cause no one shares the pain.

Watching couples share their day
When you have empty hands
Trying to communicate
When no one understands.
©1980, 2000

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Recovery
                       By Serena Lumiere
To find true happiness in love
You first release your pain
You come to terms with stress in life
Become whole once again.

Mistakes are part of living
So put yours in your past
But learn the lessons, learn them well
And don't become downcast.

Begin by looking deep within
Identify your grace
Your beauty, love and happiness
Your soul you must embrace.

Then paint your world with loving care
With strength and trust, not pride
Be flexible and caring
Let peace in you reside.

And when you meet that special soul
Whose goals you really share
Create each other's dreams with love
Such harmony's so rare.
©1980, 2000

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My Friend
                       By Serena Lumiere
We had a time together
A time to share our souls
Of finding strength in friendship
Of finding our new goals.

A time for us to both grow
Most times in different ways
And we both sought contentment
And drifted through a haze.

The haze was slowly lifted
And we began to see
What we wanted in our lives
And who we wished to be.

We found that we developed
Such different goals in life
I wanted independence
You desired a wife.

But though our needs were different
We found we could be friends
For we accept what we can share
And we don't condescend.

We share our deepest feelings
We help each other grow
And we respect the boundaries
We set up long ago.

Someday we'll reach our targets
And set our sights anew
But I think that forever
I will be friends with you.
©1980, 2000

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Kindred Spirit
                       By Serena Lumiere
I look into your eyes and see
A shadow of a part of me
I see such pain and anger there
Those feelings are so hard to share

We share our joy and happiness
But pain and sorrow we repress
Until the pressure builds inside
And then there's no place we can hide.

Although I can't get in your brain
I know that you are feeling pain
I know it's sometimes hard to find
The strength that you have in your mind.

You always give a helping hand
You work so hard to understand
You take responsibility
The pressures you do not foresee.

Your whole life is in front of you
You can do what you want to do
But you must learn to cope with life
And not internalize your strife.

To let your anger go away
And learn to live from day to day
To put yourself back in control
But don't give up your loving soul
©1980, 2000

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The Legacy
                       By Serena Lumiere
You want my life and love to share
But I'm afraid that if I care
I'll lose my sense of dignity
And all the joy of being free --

My life is filled with happiness
I won't choose love with all its stress
My dreams I guard so carefully
But if you really care for me -- say it:

With your words, but not with lies
With your touch and with your eyes
With your smile and with your tears
With your laughter through your fears

With sharing, not possessiveness
With gentle thoughts of tenderness
With sympathy and not deceit
With victory and not defeat

With always making me feel strong
With never making me feel wrong
With loving me as I am now
With never asking why or how

With taking only what I give
With leaving me my life to live
With loving arms and caring heart
With my own freedom when we part

When you have shared all that with me
And I am gone and you are free
You'll see I've left a legacy
And your own freedom is the key.
©1980, 2000

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Growing
                       By Serena Lumiere
As you grow up, you learn to see
The world is full of fallacy
The rules that don't make any sense
The arbitrary consequence.

And as you learn to take control
Before another sets your goal
You then soon learn that you're not free
To function independently.

You think you're right; they say you're wrong
But you must move to your own song
To really have a life that's free
To be the one you want to be.

You think that you must run away
To really live from day to day
Self-discipline's the magic key
To show you how you can be free.

Then run away within your mind
And live with all the dreams you find
For in your mind there are no rules
And you decide who'll be the fools.

The rules are merely to survive
While you enjoy being alive
And when you face reality
You'll know that deep inside, you're free.
©1980, 2000

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Wisdom
                       By Serena Lumiere
The wisdom of the ages
The knowledge of the years
Are captured in the innocence
Of those in tender years.

They speak the truth with purity
And innocence and trust
But then with their maturity
The wisdom turns to dust.

We teach them not to question life
Or try to speak the truth
But rather to deceive themselves
And learn to stay aloof.

We teach them that it's wrong to show
So many things they feel
To hide behind a proper pose
And never to be real.

We say we try to help them grow
And learn from our mistakes
But they must stumble through their lives
And fact their own heartaches.

We say the old are wiser
But we don't recognize
The simple wisdom of our youth
We don't see through their eyes.

Maturity and growing up
I think it's very sad
If we do not recapture
The wisdom we once had.

Children know the truth of life
It is a part of them
When we grow old, we'll get it back
We're children once again.
©1980, 2000

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Success
                       By Serena Lumiere
A child comes into this world
As a flower to the sun
Seeking only happiness
With malice toward no one

And as he grows he learns to keep
Our country's laws and rules
And he is molded into shape
And learns of men and fools

He buys the things that he must have
To give him happiness
A home, a car, and fancy clothes
All signs of his success

He doesn't see the simple things
That god put on the earth
He only thinks of his success
And love and luck and mirth

He goes to war and he destroys
The work of God's own hand
He learns to fear, to hate and kill
And spills man's blood across the land

He thinks that he has shaped the world
And made it full with bloom
He thinks that he can spread his wings
And fly beyond the moon

He prides himself for all he's done
To make the world refined
And then he proudly tells himself
It's all done for mankind

And when he's old he'll realize
With all his worldly things
He's missed the greatest wealth of all
And all the joy it brings

The wealth of life and simple things
Like flowers in the spring
And birth and rain and sunshine
And hearing robins sing

The rich rewards that always come
From strolling down the lane
Or sitting by the seashore
Or walking in the rain

He might have missed the simple things
That bring such happiness
And yet he will sincerely say
That he has found success.
©1980, 2000

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Mom and Dad
                       By Serena Lumiere
How do you thank
     two people who
     have given so very much?

You've given me
     my values, my
     self-image and
     self respect.

Though it took time,
     you've taught me
     to like myself and
     to realize that I'm
     a very special
     person.

You've given me
     a happy childhood.
     I've so many
     memories of family
     outings, picnics,
     trips, shopping
     sprees and warm
     security.

You've always stood
     by me even though
     I've let you down
     many times.

You've taught me
     how to think logically
     and although I don't
     always follow a
     logical pattern, I
     can recognize one.

You've taught me
     how to question
     life and seek
     answers; and how
     to find those answers.

You've taught me
     that life can really
     be beautiful.

More than anything
     else, you have
     given me love –
     unrestricted,
     unlimited,
     unqualified love.

Words are so limiting
     and can't possibly
     express the depth of
     the gratitude I
     feel for having such
     wonderful parents.

I LOVE YOU.
©1980, 2000