Poetry of Leland Gamson
Photo of Leland Gamson at Literature Show
An Introduction
I am a Messianic Jew who accepted Jesus as my Messiah at age 18. I retired from the United States Army and worked as a VA social worker and therapist. I have written children's books, devotionals, poetry and wrote children's Sunday School curriculum for the Wesleyan Church, My writings have also been published in THE UPPER ROOM and HOPE IS NOW evangelical magazine, and in the PROCEEDINGS ON SCIENCE AND CHRISTIAN FAITH. I am a member of the Academy of American Poets, and a Certified Methodist Lay Minister. I enjoy teaching Sunday School, performing Bible characters and working out at the Y, walking my dogs and traveling.
Visit My Website (click)
Children's Books (click)
Email Leland (click)
Poetry
WAS HE AN ANGEL OR A TRUCK DRIVER?
When driving in a blizzard
With fifty miles to go
I feared I’d never make it
Because of the ice and snow
So, I prayed to our Good Shepard
To safely home, arrive
For it is His perfect will
To Keep His sheep alive
Then a slow-moving truck
Appeared in front of me
Now its lights and shielding
Allowed me to finally see
I followed behind him
Gratefully wondering why
The piece of road I drove on
Was never slick, but dry
We drove to my exit
Where the roads were dry and clear
Then he honked when I left him
And he did disappear
Was the truck driven by an angel
God put for me, onboard
Or was the driver, a trucker
In service of our Lord?
Leland P. Gamson
Copyrighted 2020
‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRIST’S BIRTH
‘Twas the night before Christ’s birth and nearing the town
Rode three wise men all wearing a crown
They each bore a gift chosen with care
For Mary’s baby when they arrived there
They followed a star when they heard the good news
Of the One to be born to be King of the Jews
Gaspar, traveled from where we know as Iran
With a gift of gold for the Son of Man
Melchior came from much farther east
Bearing incense for the new born High Priest
Balthasar brought myrrh for God’s Passover Lamb
He knew he better not bring bacon or ham
Christ would die for us all as an atonement for sin
Meanwhile, Mary and Joseph found no room at the inn
For the innkeeper told Joseph his inn was all full
The only place for his family had cows, lambs, and a bull
The manger was not quiet, all was not still
In fact, it was noisy, but this was God’s will
The room had no windows because it was a cave
But God’s Holy Spirit had all creatures behave
Joseph’s tired donkey, on which Mary road
Found a place in the stable, a livestock abode
Outside, the shepherds guarded their flock
From any predator hiding behind crevice or rock
The next day they heard singing from on high
A celestial choir sang from up in the sky
“Glory to God in the highest, peace, good will to men”
And the shepherds repeated “Halleluiah, Amen”
When they peaked in the stable, what did they see
Mary with child, Joseph bowed down on one knee
For the Savior was born, to show us His Way
To the world He was sent, for our sins He would pay
He would not lead an army to free Jacob from Rome
But came as a Shepard to lead His sheep to His home
He came not to conquer, He came not to kill
But He came to spread love, kindness, goodwill
He would die on a cross as our Passover Lamb
For God came down to earth, the Holy I AM
Now 2000 years later when Christmas Eve comes
We can still have our trees and our sugar plums
But let’s remember Christ’s birth in old Bethlehem
And angels singing, “Glory to God, peace, good will to all men”
Written by Leland P. Gamson
@2020
POEM TO MY FALLEN SON’S DOG
Jake, what does an old dog dream about?
Do you dream about when you and Nate
Would play soldier in the nearby woods,
Him wearing parts of my old Nam uniform
Telling me you two were in the K-9 Corps
And when he became 18 you would both
Join up for real?
I could not explain to him that when he turned 18
You would be too old for the K-9 Corps
Just like I could not explain to a six year old
What war is really like.
When his guard unit was called up
I think he knew what to expect
When he gave you to me for safe keeping
But that didn’t stop him from being as eager
To go kick butt
As I was when going off to Nam.
Jake, you still get up when you think you hear Nate’s truck
Returning him from the Iraq War
While in the closet, his dress uniform, not aging like you
Stands ready for him to put on again.
Just like you’re ready to go trot off with him again into the woods.
Maybe if enough of Nate’s body remained
After the IED blew up his hummer
We could have had an open casket funeral
And you would have been able to sniff his remains
And in your dog way of understanding
Know that he was as dead as the squirrels
That fell from your chase.
Jake, do you know that you are old
And you are only going to grow older
And it is only going to get harder for you
To get up, and harder for you to smell
What is left of Nate’s odor on his uniforms?
Do you know that you are going to die?
And that I am going to die soon too
Because the Agent Orange is aging me fast
So we are the same age now?
Heaven is easy to describe to a dog.
It is a land where you and Nate can run
And explore together deep in lush woods
Swim and climb and leap without pain.
Heaven is a place where you don’t need a collar
Or a leash and young men and women don’t need dog tags,
Because nothing is going to run you over or hurt you.
In Heaven no one gets separated from their unit.
Dogs don’t lose their masters
And parents don’t lose their children.
LTC Leland Gamson (USAR Ret., IGR)
NATURALISM
Here is the universe explained
Without our Lord and King,
Nothing times nothing
Equals everything.
Concepts of right and wrong
Can be explained this way,
All life is but a struggle
Between predator and prey.
A real conscious self
In science has no room.
Spirit’s but an illusion
Just don’t ask to whom.
By Leland P. Gamson
I AM SURROUNDED BY SAINTS
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the Saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Ephesians 1:1 (NIV)
To all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as Saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 1:7 (NASB)
I ask God to Speak to me
As He did to Moses and Abraham
I ask God, for me to be visited by an angel
Like the Centurion, Cornelius was in Caesura.
So far, neither has happened.
What has happened is that
I am always running into Christ’s Saints.
Saints in Walmart working as checkers
Greeting each customer, as Christ’s ambassador
With love whether they be kind or grumpy.
Saints visiting those in prison
As Christ commanded us.
Saints incarcerated in prison
Striving to stay on the straight and narrow
Living with hardened fellow inmates,
While trying to show them a better way.
Saints extending their hands in love
To drug addicts, now under the Saints’ care.
Saints driving cars lined up
In front of middle schools
To pick up the grandchildren
While their children work.
Nursing assistant Saints
Gently changing the attends
Of the frail, elderly who are hardly aware of their caregiver.
Saints staffing Christians missions
Who take Jesus at His word
To feed the hungry
And give water to the thirsty.
Saints driving ambulances
And without judgment
Reviving those who O.D.
Saints in church, the Body of Christ
Singing, praying, sharing each other’s burdens
Studying His word
Inviting others to join
Their fellowship of Saints.
By Leland P. Gamson
@ 2020
GUARDIAN BEAR
I, guardian bear, sit by the grave
Of a child whose stay here was brief
His day of birth, was not one of joy
Instead, it brought sorrow and grief
But were I, more than a stuffed bear
I ’de show you the Kingdom above
You’d see that our child is under God’s care
Embraced by His angels and love.
By Leland P. Gamson
@2020
GIVE HIM YOUR HAND
Sung to the tune of “I Can’t Help Falling in Love”
Wise men came to a lonely inn
To see the One who was free of sin
For all who knock
Are let in
For Jesus has shed His blood for you
Give Him your hand
Give Him your whole life too
For Jesus has shed His blood for you
REFRAME:
If it was just you
In this world today
He’d still shed His blood
On Good Friday
He loves the poor, He loves the meek
He loves the strong, He loves the weak
For Jesus has shed His blood for you
Give Him your hand
Give Him your whole life too
For Jesus has shed His blood for you
By Leland P. Gamson
The four line reframe can be inserted between any of the verses.
As in the original, the whole lyrics can be repeated.
A GIFT TO A GENTILE LADY
“Don’t bury your dog Liddy’s remains in the back yard.”
Ruth was warned by her mother,
“Because if you do, whenever you see her grave, you will feel sad.”
But Ruth did bury Liddy in their back yard
Not wanting her pals remains cremated then forgotten.
And Ruth buried other treasurers
Where she would keep running into them.
On her library shelf
She buried her high school yearbook
With photos of boys
Who didn’t requite her crushes.
In her closet
She buried her ballet slippers
She can still fit into.
She buried in her trunk
Rejection letters from two
Seven Sister colleges
With letters from her boyfriend
Who wouldn’t marry her
After she became pregnant.
And she buried on the shelf
A book of possible names
For their baby
She aborted.
Now thirty years later
She listens to the King of the Jews saying,
“My precious child take ballet lessons again.
Attend your high school reunion and meet
A redeemed brother I have prepared
To be your Boaz.
And if you can see through the glass darkly
You will see
In my Father’s Kingdom
Your now named child
Plays with Liddy.”
Leland P. Gamson
607 W. Spencer Ave.
Marion, IN 46952
EMANUEL
(To the tune of “the Lion Sleeps Tonight”)
(Inspired from the words in Joel 3:16-18)
Emanuel, Emanuel, Emanuel, Emanuel
Emanuel, Emanuel, our Lord and Savior.
In a manger, a lonely manger
The Savior ‘s born tonight.
In a manger, a lonely manger
The Savior’s born tonight.
Emanuel, Emanuel, Emanuel, Emanuel
Emanuel, Emanuel, our Lord and Savior.
From the tribe, from the tribe of Judah
The Savior’s born tonight
From the tribe, from the tribe of Judah
Our Savior’s born tonight.
Emanuel, Emanuel, Emanuel, Emanuel
Emanuel, Emanuel our Lord and Savior
On the mount, on the Mt. of Zion
Our Savior will alight
On the mount, on the Mt. of Zion
Our Savior will alight.
Emanuel, Emanuel, Emanuel, Emanuel
Emanuel, Emanuel, our Lord and Savior
By Leland P. Gamson
COME SEE GOD’S SON SHINE
(sung to the tune of “You Are My Sun Shine”)
Last night as I was praying
I heard the Holy Spirit say,
“Come see the Son shine
Come see the Son shine
For then you ‘ll know dear
How much He loves us
He washed our sins away.
Come see God’s Son shine
Come see God’s Son shine
He makes us joyful when skies are grey
He’s made it known dear how much He loves us
He has washed our sins away.”
Some day when we are dying
And on this earth, we cannot stay
We’ll see God’s Son shine
And reign in Heaven
He has washed our sins away.
Come see God’s Son shine
Come see God’s Son shine
He makes us joyful
When skies are grey
He’s made it known dear
How much He loves us
He has washed our sins away.
One day He’ll return in glory
And come back here to stay.
He’ll bring with Him
The Saints in Heaven.
He has washed all our sins away.
Come see God’s Son shine
Come see God’s Son shine
He makes us joyful
When skies are grey
He’s made it known dear
How much He loves us
He has washed our sins away.
By Leland P. Gamson
Invictus In Christ
(with original Invictus poem)
INVICTUS (Latin for undefeated) Original version 1875 By atheist, William E. Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from Pole to Pole
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud
Under the bludgeoning’s of chance
My head is bloody but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade.
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how straight the gate
How charged with punishment the scroll.
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul.
Here is my Christian version of the poem.
INVICTUS IN CHRIST
Out of the womb that sheltered me
Following God’s light from Pole to Pole
I thank the One who created me
A child of His, an immortal soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have winced and cried out loud
Under the bludgeoning’s of chance
My bloodied head to Christ is bowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms the comfort of His glade
So, yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid
It matters not how narrow’s the gate
My name is written on God’s scroll
For He is the Master of my fate
Christ is the Captain of my soul.
Leland P Gamson
@2020
Christian Children's Books By Leland Gamson
Visit My Website (click)
Email Leland