Langston Hughs' "Mother to Son"

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Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor,
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now,
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

Calling All Angels

Jane Siberry's "Calling All Angels"

A man is placed upon the steps, a baby cries, 
And high above the church bells start to ring, 
And as the heaviness the body, oh the heaviness settles in, 
Somewhere you can hear a mother sing 

Then it's one foot, then the other, as you step out onto the road, 
How much weight? how much weight? 
Then it's how long? and how far? 
And how many times before it's too late? 

Calling all angels, 
Calling all angels, 
Walk me through this one, 
Don't leave me alone, 
Calling all angels, 
Calling all angels, 
We're cryin' and we're hurtin', 
And we're not sure why.

And every day you gaze upon the sunset,
With such love and intensity, 
It's almost, it's almost as if,
If you could only crack the code, 
Then you'd finally understand what this all means. 

But if you could, do you think you would 
Trade in all the pain and suffering? 
Ah, but then you'd miss 
The beauty of the light upon this earth 
and the sweetness of the leaving 

Calling all angels, 
Calling all angels, 
Walk me through this one. 
Don't leave me alone. 
Callin' all angels, 
Callin' all angels, 
We're tryin', 
We're hopin', 
We're hurtin', 
We're lovin' ,
We're cryin',
We're callin',
'Cause we're not sure how this goes.

The Apostle Paul Speaks About Life

For I am persuaded that 
Neither death,

Nor life,

Nor angels,

Nor principalities,

Nor powers,

Nor things present,

Nor thing to come,

Nor height,

Nor depth,

Nor any other creature,

Shall be able to separate us from 

The love of God

Which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

                       ~Paul to the Church in Rome
                                    (Romans 8:38 & 39)