When I was young, the world was open
for me to conquer, to get my place.
In doing so I learned a lesson
which now stands written in my face.

There are not many ways to live
and to be happy all the time,
what I then learned, quite simply is
that all what counts, was always mine.

                   * * * 

The Way to the Stars...

Show me the way to the stars, my friend,
Where Heaven is near, and vast is the sky,
Where people are friendly, joyful and happy,
And no one wants what is mine.

Show me the way to the stars, my friend,
Where being, not having, is the rule of life,
Where no one suffers, and all are content,
And burdens not heavy, but ever so light.

Show me the way to the stars, my friend,
That I may dream of a better life,
Where freedom is King, and Love his companion,
And all of us are alike.

The stars are far, and useless the dream,
Happiness lies hidden in us,
To learn what we have to, to live and to grow,
Is all we are here for, and all that we must.

                              * * *

Theater…..

Why do we never realize
That having more and more is not enough;
That life is not a market place,
But is a theater, instead, where we should laugh?

It matters not which role we act,
All characters are needed for the play;
It matters though how good we are,
And whether we can hold the stage.

Because, one day, the curtain falls,
When life and play come to an end,
And mostly then, too late, we learn,
What our life on earth was meant.

                     * * *

Return to Eden...

The moment we step through the curtain of matter
Into life, as we wished for, to live and to grow,
We forget where we came from, and where we are headed,
We do not remember, was it above? Was it below?

The ruse of the snake got us caught one day
To believe that we too could make things run,
Now surely we have to, always and ever,
To earn our living, and get things done.

Innocence and faith is what we have lost
In gaining the knowledge of Good and Evil;
The way back to Eden is perilous and long,
It sure isn't easy to give up the devil.

But somehow, I know, we all do remember
The times we were happy, being all in one,
And what we must learn now, is how to surrender,
Regain our innocence, and then it's done

                             * * *

My Wife...

If you could look into my heart, and be it for a second only,
To see the glowing love there is for you,
And realized your needless urge for being lonely,
Then you would come to me, and stay there all the time.

If you could learn to blindly trust me,
Still being careful, but not afraid
To melt with me in tender moments,
When love commands, and passion fills our plate.

If you could hold me, sometimes,
Instead of searching for the things that may be wrong,
Then our love would grow, however slowly,
And life would dance with us, in softly singing our song.

If you could understand my forceful manhood,
And showed your own responsive femaleness to me,
We both would meet the unimaginable beauty,
God made for us, and wanted us to see.

If you could share the fortunes of my life,
With no regret, and never changing mind,
As I will yours, and gently help you,
To be the best you can, the better of your kind.

If you could do all this and still live in reality,
And showed your shining soul I long to see,
Then we would be for us and all humanity,
What each and every one of us should be.

I wait and hope, while you get ready,
Throw off the burdens in your life,
Love is all there is, and only matters,
For... I came living here for you, my wife.

                         * * *

What's wrong with us ?

When twenty million people die,
For lack of food, lack of supply,
When helpless hands and tearful eyes,
Move us a little, but do not make us cry...
                                  There's something wrong with us!

When unborn babies have no rights,
And being born is left to chance,
When mothers worry, fathers mourn,
How to survive and get kids grown....
                                  There's something wrong with us!

When our leaders can be bought,
And scandals flourish of greed and lies,
When law and order are being thought
To control our minds and our lives...
                                   There's something wrong with us!

When all our values come down to money,
For an endless dance around the golden calf,
When prison camps are overflowing,
And teenage children are made criminals...
                                 There's something wrong with us!

When most of our money goes
To defend a life which is hardly worth living,
When Nations are asked to back down and comply
With our needs, instead of us giving......
                                  There's something wrong with us!

When we live on our children's assets,
Carelessly destroying their future world,
When rivers and oceans, and even the heavens
Die of pollution, never to restore..
                                    There's something wrong with us!

When those who have warned us, are marked unworthy,
And those who want change are silenced by force.
When records are false to keep us in blindness,
It's highly time that we all should know...
                                        There's something wrong with us!

Don't tell me I'm wrong, or that nothing can be done,
Remember those leaders of the past?
Those men and women who worked for us,
For our future, and our times to last.

Responsibility is what I want to see,
And belief in our human kind,
Sacrifice and heart is what we need,
Not making money by the mind

So I give a darn if corporations make money,
Or Wall Street files for bankruptcy,
I want a chance for our children, and us
To live as well as it possibly can be.

Of the people, By the people, For the people,
Our Founder Fathers admiringly said.
Where is this Spirit? Where is this Aim?
It's just reversed…... in favor of the State.

                         *   *   * 

To be or not to be...

To be or not to be, that is the question,
Once someone said, but not in our time.
To have or not to have, that is the answer,
To every situation which is mine.

How come that mankind got so far away
From human life as it was meant to be?
What made it worthwhile, so attractive
That we applaud, and do not want to see?

Love is all there is, some say,
But we all know that money rules the world,
So we prefer to sell ourselves
For a moment of power, or a handful of gold.

The end is near, there is no doubt
That life will send the bill.
We cannot change and see what's right,
Nor can I see the will.

I only hope I will not live those days
When fear and pain will be our daily bread,
Maybe, for once, the guilty pays,
But we resigned, so we will all instead.

The grace of God is all what's left
And which at last may help,
To reason man, to show him the way,
To give up this nonsense, and get out of hell.

                             *   *   *

What are a man or a woman alone without sharing love,
but two halves which have failed to complete.

                            * * *

Show love...

Why do you never say "I love you",
Is it so difficult to do?
Why shine your eyes so beautiful,
Each time I say, "I do love you".

Why do you never hold me tight,
Are you afraid I take you for a fool,
Why do you feel so wonderful,.
Each time I come and do hold you

There is not much that can replace
The profound love we have for us,
So why not show it, hug, embrace,
And show each other that we love

Life's passing fast, you know,
We do not know what comes behind..
I love you and I care for you,
Is what is always on my mind.

                    * * *

Hurry, wife, get the children ready,
We will again be late for church,
I should be first. I read the word.
It’s Sunday morning......... It’s the day of the Lord.

The car is running, the latest model,
Impeccably shining from yesterday’s wash,
The house is neat, the lawn manicured,
One last look around......... It’s the day of the Lord.

The church is full and everyone's happy,
How are you doing? The kids look great.
The latest news are given in whispers,
The preacher comes in...... It's the day of the Lord.

"We all are sinners," the preacher says,
"Our Lord bears heavy on our faults".
He died on the cross for our sins,
Let's pray my brothers," ......It's the day of the Lord.

The basket goes round, the money rolls in,
Here, Lord, I give you plenty,
I'll give you more when more comes in,
Please help me, Jesus ….. It's the day of the Lord.

I must talk to John after church,
He has to help me with my bid,
I need this business, God knows how,
He cannot refuse ....... It's the day of the Lord.

The righteous sing and listen to the word,
The preacher preaches, there is no discord,
Heavenly father, we didn't mean to,
We are so sorry ............... It's the day of the Lord.

A man on a bench in front of his house,
Caresses his child, his heart full of love.
Heavenly Father, thanks for your blessings,
And this beautiful day .......... The day of the Lord.

                                  * * *

Little Daughter...

Never will I forget this moment,
When, after hours of struggle for life,
You first set eyes on me and smiled,
My sweet little daughter

Never will I forget those eyes,
And the stunning wisdom you held in them,
Brought as a precious gift for me,
From where you came, a place of mystery.

Never will I forget your rose and helpless body,
Too small to contain your shining soul,
Never will I forget your tiny little fingers,
Reaching out for my hand to hold

There's not a single day I do not think of you
Since life has cut us apart,
I know, one day, you'll have to learn,
The world of grownups is always hard

Till then, little daughter, enjoy your newly life,
I care and help you as I can,
Will never forget, will never betray,
The trust you showed me, as a man

                        * * *

Abused by a friend...

And herewith I bind your mind and your soul for judgment,
When you sit in church on Christmas Day,
For without causing further destruction,
I cannot find a more suitable way.

You may find this strange, or out of common touch,
But it will never be forgotten, stars may fall,
And whatever you'll do will never be as much,
As when a friend for friendship answered your call.

If only you knew of the power this has,
You would hurry to get things done,
I'm free from the vow I have made for you,
I have paid the bill, and owe you none.

Forgiving is easy, and so will I do.
I thank you for all I have learned.
I hope that I’ll be forgiven too,
For whatever fate I have earned.

That's it, my friend, I wish you well,
Christmas Day is the day Christ was born.
He is the way, the source and the dwell,
The answer as such, to all those who mourn.

* * *

Oh God, my God, why did you let me fall
Into this pit, I dug out for myself.
Why are your ways so difficult
To understand and to obey.

You made me to your perfect image,
An image I have lost for sure,
I cannot find it, though I tried,
Have given all, and now am poor.

This world I'm in, I do not like,
Feel strange and stranger every day,
Have nothing left, am bottom deep,
And cannot see the way.

There's only you where I can turn
For help and understanding,
Please hear my prayer, give me light,
Then I will do the handling

* * *

Route...

The way is long, there is no doubt,
And full of frightening dangers,
If only we would know the route,
Or tried to understand the strangers
Who also go the way with us
Towards our common destination,
Who strive and stumble just like us,
And who might give us information,
About the crossroads to be taken,
The spooky monsters here and there,
The common errors we are making,
And being lost in everywhere.

We fail so many times in life
That we might get discouraged,
If we not had this unknown strive,
To try again, and finally manage.

* * *

Emptiness...

Some say my ambition is broken,
And so do I, and believe it too.
Some say that life has taken it's token,
And sure it did, it left me a grave.

This emptiness I feel and cannot fill
Is waiting for it's fate,
I cannot meet it with my will,
Nor can I close the gate.

You are so right, I've given up.
I realized that struggling leads me nowhere,
So, should I die to close the gap,
Or wait for someone, somewhere?

No emptiness stays always empty,
It's basic universal law,
one day it will fill up swiftly
In answer to my desperate call.

* * *

About the Author

Rudolf Niehaus was born in Germany in 1937.
His college education included Music by Alloys Heidudzeck,
Fine Art by Taddeus Kopp, and English Literature by Walbert Weber.

During his business years, he traveled extensively in Europe,
the USA, the Middle East and West Africa, always trying to understand
the different customs and ways of life of the cultures he encountered..

At the age of 47, he left the hectic mainstream of the
international business world to discover fresh dimensions and alternative ways of life..

Besides writing, he is successful in driftwood art and sculptures.
He has been awarded several golden and silver national poetry awards,
and has written booklets entitled "News from the Kingdom of Heaven",
and "The New Man".
At this moment, he lives in Costa Rica not knowing where the winds of life will blow him next.