The Most Important Things In Life

by | Oct 29, 2025 | Gratitude Poems, Life Poems, Love Poems, Poems, Poetry, Spiritual Poems

The Most Important Things in Life

The most important things in life
Are not ‘things,’ most know
It’s the people in our lives
Who make our Hearts grow

Our family of Loved ones
Are the most important of all
They fill our lives with memories
Especially those who are small

The little simple moments
A smile, a hug, or glance
Whether in a photo, or our minds
Makes our Hearts sing and dance

Some friends are like family
They bloom perfectly in our Heart
Whether grown over the years
Or there right from the very start

Love, our greatest possession
It’s who we truly are
Giving and receiving Unconditionally
In life, we will go far

Good health is often taken for granted
Until something in the body goes wrong
Focusing on anything positive
Can bring relief along

Feeling appreciation
Speaking of our gratitude
Being thankful for all things
Is a Blessed attitude

Keeping an open mind
To learning all our days
Growth continues and expands
In hundreds of delightful ways

Shining our Inner-Light
Helping others along their way
Respecting the differences
Letting all have their own say

Tranquillity and Peace
A rested and calm mind
Practising meditation
Our own way, we can find

Faith, an individual thing
Not just for those religious
Simple hope, or a belief
That life is truly glorious

Inspiration lifts our Spirit
Helps us reach our goal
Whether given or received
It delights our eternal Soul

People are important
And the memories we build
Good health for a vital life
Inspiration, to be fulfilled

Appreciating and respecting
All of life, everywhere
Having faith in the Peace
And happiness to share

These are life’s treasures
And money has no part
But the greatest of them all
Is the Love in everyone’s Heart!

Thank God it’s Friday

by | November 14, 2025 | Friday Poems, Life Poems, Poems, Poetry | 0 Comments

Monday, such a blah day, we're all in a mood.Tuesday, things are better, but really, not that good.Wednesday, so called hump day, we are getting there.Thursday, “little Friday”, there's a party in the air! Thank God it's Friday! What took so long?Time to get crazy! A...
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Friendship by Henry David Thoreau

by | November 6, 2025 | Friendship Poems, Love Poems, Male Poets, Poems, Poetry, Poets | 0 Comments

I think awhile of Love, and while I think,Love is to me a world,Sole meat and sweetest drink,And close connecting linkTween heaven and earth. I only know it is, not how or why,My greatest happiness;However hard I try,Not if I were to die,Can I explain. I fain would...
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Alone by Maya Angelou

by | November 6, 2025 | Female Poets, Friendship Poems, Life Poems, Maya Angelou, Poems, Poetry, Poets, Wisdom Poems | 0 Comments

Lying, thinkingLast nightHow to find my soul a homeWhere water is not thirstyAnd bread loaf is not stoneI came up with one thingAnd I don’t believe I’m wrongThat nobody,But nobodyCan make it out here alone. Alone, all aloneNobody, but nobodyCan make it out here alone....
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Love and Friendship by Emily Bronte

by | November 6, 2025 | Female Poets, Friendship Poems, Love Poems, Poems, Poetry, Poets | 0 Comments

Love is like the wild rose-briar, Friendship like the holly-tree— The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms But which will bloom most constantly? The wild rose-briar is sweet in spring, Its summer blossoms scent the air; Yet wait till winter comes again And who...
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A November Night by Sara Teasdale

by | November 3, 2025 | Female Poets, Life Poems, November Poems, Poems, Poets | 0 Comments

A November Night There!  See the line of lights,A chain of stars down either side the street —Why can't you lift the chain and give it to me,A necklace for my throat?  I'd twist it roundAnd you could play with it.  You smile at meAs though I were a little dreamy...
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November By Emily Dickinson

by | November 3, 2025 | Emily Dickinson, Female Poets, Life Poems, Nature Poems, November Poems, Poems, Poets | 0 Comments

Besides the autumn poets sing,A few prosaic daysA little this side of the snowAnd that side of the haze.   A few incisive mornings,A few ascetic eyes, —Gone Mr. Bryant's golden-rod,And Mr. Thomson's sheaves.   Still is the bustle in the brook,Sealed are the...
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She Walks in Beauty

by | October 31, 2025 | Love Poems, Male Poets, Poems, Poetry, Romantic Poems | 0 Comments

She Walks in Beauty By Lord Byron (George Gordon) She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day...
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I am Thankful for by Nancy J Carmody

by | October 29, 2025 | Gratitude Poems, Life Poems, Poems, Poetry | 0 Comments

I Am Thankful For by Nancy J Carmody I am thankful for …..the mess to clean up after a partybecause it means I have been surrounded by friends. ​…..the taxes that I paybecause it means that I’m employed. …..the clothes that fit a little too snugbecause it means I have...
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Gratitude by Edgar Albert Guest

by | October 29, 2025 | Gratitude Poems, Poems, Poetry, Poets | 0 Comments

Gratitude by Edgar Albert Guest Be grateful for the kindly friends that walk along your way,Be grateful for the skies of blue that smile from day to day,Be grateful for the health you own, the work you find to do,For round about you there are men less fortunate than...
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A Poem of Gratitude by Traveling Mitch

by | October 29, 2025 | Gratitude Poems, Life Poems, Poems, Poetry | 0 Comments

I’m grateful for change, the ups and the downs, Both happiness and sadness, the smiles and the frowns.I’m grateful to writing for giving me pause, To examine the world, for its beauty and flaws. To cheese, I thank you for obvious reasons, And I too must show love to...
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Let Peace Prevail In This World

Let Peace Prevail In This World

by | Oct 25, 2025 | Peace Poems, Poems, Poetry

Let Peace Prevail In This World by Ravi Sathasivam

When you look for peace
then the peace lies within you
When you search for peace
then it is not hard to find
When you want to keep peace alive
then you allow white doves to fly over you
When you make peace with others
then the whole world live in your heart
When you let peace be in the world
then you live in wonderful world
When you allow peace flow around the world
then your hateness will go and love will flow
When you open the door for peace
then peace welcome to your lives.
Let the peace prevail in our wonderful world

Poetic Flows Podcast emeraldbookclub.org
Stories of Peace

Stories of Peace

by | Oct 25, 2025 | Community Events, Coventry, Emerald Book Club, Events, Stories

 🌿 Stories of Peace: A Community Storytelling Walk in the Park 🌿

 Part of the Coventry Peace Festival 2025

 

🕊️ A Walk for Peace and Connection

What if stories could bring people closer, heal divisions, and inspire hope?
This November, Emerald Book Club invites you to experience just that at Red House Park, Coventry, as part of the Coventry Peace Festival 2025.

 

 

Red house park emeraldbookclub.org

Stories of Peace: A Community Storytelling Walk in the Park will offer residents a calm, creative, and inclusive space to connect, reflect, and celebrate Coventry’s identity as a City of Peace and Reconciliation.

The event encourages people from diverse backgrounds to come together outdoors, share personal stories, listen to others, and build mutual understanding. Through storytelling and poetry, participants will explore themes of peace, forgiveness, and unity in a way that strengthens empathy and social cohesion.

This activity promotes mental wellbeing by combining gentle movement, nature, and creative expression. It will also help reduce isolation by creating opportunities for conversation, friendship, and intergenerational connection in a relaxed, welcoming setting.

By fostering dialogue and respect through the shared power of words, Stories of Peace will strengthen community spirit and highlight the importance of peace and reconciliation in everyday life.

📖 Discover the Power of Shared Stories

Our event, Stories of Peace, is more than just a walk — it’s a journey through words, voices, and shared experiences.

As we stroll through the park’s peaceful paths, local storytellers and poets will share powerful tales and poems about peace, forgiveness, and unity.
Each stop along the walk will open a window into how storytelling connects us all — across generations, cultures, and communities.

💚 Be Part of Something Meaningful

Imagine spending an afternoon surrounded by nature, listening to stories that warm the heart and spark reflection.

Whether you want to listen, share, or simply be part of a peaceful moment, Stories of Peace is for you.
Together, we’ll celebrate Coventry’s proud legacy as a City of Peace and Reconciliation — and remind ourselves of the beauty found in every voice.

 

🌍 Join Us!

📅 Date: Saturday 8 November 2025
🕐 Time: 1–3 PM
📍 Location: Red House Park, Coventry
💫 Free Event | All Welcome | No Booking Required

Come walk with us.
Listen. Share. Connect.
Let’s tell stories that bring peace to our city — one step and one word at a time.

🔖 About the Coventry Peace Festival

The Coventry Peace Festival celebrates the city’s ongoing role as a City of Peace and Reconciliation, offering creative and community-led events that promote unity, understanding, and hope.

Emerald Book Club is proud to be part of this year’s programme with support from Coventry City Council.

Coventry Peace Festival 2025

Poems About Peace

Making Peace by Denise Levertov

A voice from the dark called out,
             ‘The poets must give us
imagination of peace, to oust the intense, familiar
imagination of disaster. Peace, not only
the absence of war.’
                                   But peace, like a poem,
is not there ahead of itself,
can’t be imagined before it is made,
can’t be known except
in the words of its making,
grammar of justice,
syntax of mutual aid.
                                       A feeling towards it,
dimly sensing a rhythm, is all we have
until we begin to utter its metaphors,
learning them as we speak.
                                              A line of peace might appear
if we restructured the sentence our lives are making,
revoked its reaffirmation of profit and power,
questioned our needs, allowed
long pauses . . .
                        A cadence of peace might balance its weight
on that different fulcrum; peace, a presence,
an energy field more intense than war,
might pulse then,
stanza by stanza into the world,
each act of living
one of its words, each word
a vibration of light—facets
of the forming crystal.

Peace Walk by William Stafford

We wondered what our walk should mean,
taking that un-march quietly;
the sun stared at our signs— “Thou shalt not kill.”
Men by a tavern said, “Those foreigners . . .”
to a woman with a fur, who turned away—
like an elevator going down, their look at us.
Along a curb, their signs lined across,
a picket line stopped and stared
the whole width of the street, at ours: “Unfair.”
Above our heads the sound truck blared—
by the park, under the autumn trees—
it said that love could fill the atmosphere:
Occur, slow the other fallout, unseen,
on islands everywhere—fallout, falling
unheard. We held our poster up to shade our eyes.
At the end we just walked away;
no one was there to tell us where to leave the signs.

Peace by George Herbert

Sweet Peace, where dost thou dwell? I humbly crave,
Let me once know.
I sought thee in a secret cave,
And ask’d, if Peace were there,
A hollow wind did seem to answer, No:
Go seek elsewhere.

I did; and going did a rainbow note:
Surely, thought I,
This is the lace of Peace’s coat:
I will search out the matter.
But while I looked the clouds immediately
Did break and scatter.

Then went I to a garden and did spy
A gallant flower,
The crown-imperial: Sure, said I,
Peace at the root must dwell.
But when I digged, I saw a worm devour
What showed so well.

At length I met a rev’rend good old man;
Whom when for Peace

I did demand, he thus began:
There was a Prince of old
At Salem dwelt, who lived with good increase
Of flock and fold.

He sweetly lived; yet sweetness did not save
His life from foes.
But after death out of his grave
There sprang twelve stalks of wheat;
Which many wond’ring at, got some of those
To plant and set.

It prospered strangely, and did soon disperse
Through all the earth:
For they that taste it do rehearse
That virtue lies therein;
A secret virtue, bringing peace and mirth
By flight of sin.

Take of this grain, which in my garden grows,
And grows for you;
Make bread of it: and that repose
And peace, which ev’ry where
With so much earnestness you do pursue,
Is only there.

Peace Poem by Alan Robertson

 

The Poem for Peace

 

Lay down the poppies let the white doves fly,

We all pray for peace is the new battle cry.

 

Heavy gun fire comes down overhead,

This never should happen as this shall be said.

 

Those guns and bullets that take all our young,

We all cry for peace let this song be sung.

 

Let’s lay down the guns, let’s lay down all arms,

So these noble young men can return to their cities and farms.

 

Peace now and forever is the new battle cry,

Repeating these words until the day I shall die.

 

A . W . Funston – Robertson

16-10-2024

 

Let Peace Prevail In This World by Ravi Sathasivam

When you look for peace
then the peace lies within you
When you search for peace
then it is not hard to find
When you want to keep peace alive
then you allow white doves to fly over you
When you make peace with others
then the whole world live in your heart
When you let peace be in the world
then you live in wonderful world
When you allow peace flow around the world
then your hateness will go and love will flow
When you open the door for peace
then peace welcome to your lives.
Let the peace prevail in our wonderful world

Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem

by | Oct 21, 2025 | Ancient Texts, Emerald Book Club, Poetry, Roman, Wisdom

Meaning

“Carpe diem” is a Latin phrase meaning “seize the day” or “pluck the day”. It encourages people to make the most of the present moment without dwelling on the future. The expression originates from the Roman poet Horace, who used it in his Odes as part of a longer injunction about enjoying life now because the future is uncertain

In Horace, the phrase is part of the longer carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero, which is often translated as “Seize the day, put very little trust in tomorrow (the future)”. The ode says that the future is unforeseen and that one should not leave to chance future happenings, but rather one should do all one can today to make one’s own future better. This phrase is usually understood against Horace’s Epicurean background

Origin and History

The phrase comes from the Roman poet Horace’s Odes, published in 23 BCE. The original saying is “carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero,” which translates to “pluck the day, trusting as little as possible in the next one”

Ask not (’tis forbidden knowledge), what our destined term of years,
Mine and yours; nor scan the tables of your Babylonish seers.
Better far to bear the future, my Leuconoe, like the past,
Whether Jove has many winters yet to give, or this our last;
This, that makes the Tyrrhene billows spend their strength against the shore.
Strain your wine and prove your wisdom; life is short; should hope be more?
In the moment of our talking, envious time has ebb’d away.
Seize the present; trust tomorrow e’en as little as you may. Wikipedia

✨📚 Vocabulary Tuesdays at Emerald Book Club 📚✨

Every Tuesday, we explore the wonderful world of words, language, and expression! 🌍📝

💡 What’s in store:
🔤 Discover new and exciting vocabulary & phrases
🎲 Play creative word games and brain teasers
⚔️ Compete in friendly vocabulary battles
🌎 Explore words from different languages and cultures

Whether you’re a wordsmith, a language lover, or simply curious to expand your mind, Vocabulary Tuesdays is the place to learn, laugh, and connect—with words and people alike. 💬✨

Join us and make your Tuesdays word-tastic! 💚

Rain by Edward Thomas

Rain by Edward Thomas

by | Oct 21, 2025 | Emerald Book Club, Poems, Poetic Flows Podcast, Poetry, Rain Poems

Rain By Edward Thomas

Rain, midnight rain, nothing but the wild rain

On this bleak hut, and solitude, and me

Remembering again that I shall die

And neither hear the rain nor give it thanks

For washing me cleaner than I have been

Since I was born into this solitude.

Blessed are the dead that the rain rains upon:

But here I pray that none whom once I loved

Is dying tonight or lying still awake

Solitary, listening to the rain,

Either in pain or thus in sympathy

Helpless among the living and the dead,

Like a cold water among broken reeds,

Myriads of broken reeds all still and stiff,

Like me who have no love which this wild rain

Has not dissolved except the love of death,

The Darkling Thrush

The Darkling Thrush

by | Oct 13, 2025 | Emerald Book Club, Poetic Flows Podcast, Poetry, Winter Poems

The Darkling Thrush

By Thomas Hardy

I leant upon a coppice gate

      When Frost was spectre-grey,

And Winter’s dregs made desolate

      The weakening eye of day.

The tangled bine-stems scored the sky

      Like strings of broken lyres,

And all mankind that haunted nigh

      Had sought their household fires.

The land’s sharp features seemed to be

      The Century’s corpse outleant,

His crypt the cloudy canopy,

      The wind his death-lament.

The ancient pulse of germ and birth

      Was shrunken hard and dry,

And every spirit upon earth

      Seemed fervourless as I.

At once a voice arose among

      The bleak twigs overhead

In a full-hearted evensong

      Of joy illimited;

An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,

      In blast-beruffled plume,

Had chosen thus to fling his soul

      Upon the growing gloom.

So little cause for carolings

      Of such ecstatic sound

Was written on terrestrial things

      Afar or nigh around,

That I could think there trembled through

      His happy good-night air

Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew

      And I was unaware.