By Barbara Welsh, illustrated by Donna Yankus
The Person in the Mirror
If you lack confidence and are feeling low
Look in the mirror to see what your reflections show.
Mirrors reveal what we look like not who we are
Sparkling on the outside like a celestial star.
Don’t be crippled by your own self doubt
Believe in yourself and your confidence will shine out.
The person in the mirror is often your harshest critic
Don’t be so hard on yourself, be proud, not so psychoanalytic.
The person in the mirror determines their own happiness.
Stay in control, don’t blame someone else when experiencing sadness.
Life is like a mirror, it may not always be what you hoped it would be
It is a gage of what we allow others to see.
An image of dissatisfaction may show up once in awhile
Then the next day it may turn back into a beautiful smile.
The way you reflect the world around you
Is the direct expression of the world within you.
In the mirror, we see a reflection of our outside appearance
But in our heart we discover our soul’s emittance.
Proverbs 27:19 says that a mirror’s image is only one part
“As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.”
By Barbara Welsh
April 6, 2021
Acts of Kindness
More than a friend you are to me
Giving strength that only I can see
Blessing my life more than you’ll ever know
A deeper love that becomes hard to show
Kindness and concern is so often revealed
Like a shadow serving as a protective shield
Little things you may say or do
Never wavering, always true
When I see your bright smile
My cares evaporate for awhile
A giving nature and humble heart
Reveals a warmth that only you impart.
By Barbara Welsh
December 28, 2020
Barbara C. Welsh is a poet, editor, and retired teacher—among many other accomplishments. She started writing poetry during the COVID-19 pandemic. While learning a new dance online she wrote her first poem, “Hoping, Praying, and Dancing.”
Since then, she has written over 230 poems, many of which have been published in The Villages Daily Sun, Poet’s Corner, and in the Village Neighbors magazine.
Barbara loves to dance, especially line dancing, Zumba and, more recently, cardio drumming. She was in the Gemstone Dancers, a performing dance group, and is a volunteer counselor at the Pregnancy and Family Care Center in Leesburg, FL.
Barbara lives in The Villages, Florida with her husband, Michael Yankus. She has three children, four stepchildren, and seventeen grandchildren.
Manhattan-born award-winning illustrator Donna Yankus grew up in a carnival setting and was an honor student at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, earning a degree in Fine Arts, Illustration/Cartooning, and later on, Art History. She is also a special needs teacher. She currently volunteers for local non-for-profit organizations, including the Islip Arts Council, is Firefighter/Fire Police/Fire Chaplain at her local fire department in Islip Terrace.
Donna has worked with Disney, Jim Henson, Hallmark, and Reuters. She has also designed and illustrated multiple murals for countless amusement park rides. Her other passions include surfing, running, playing the ukulele, video game design, and going on adventures with her family.
Donna lives in Islip Terrace, New York, with her husband and two sons.
One Bright Day was published by Hallard Press in both print and ebook formats and is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble in The Villages, Florida.
Have enjoyed Barbara’s poems in the Villages Daily Sun. Glad they are in a collection now.
A talented family.
Thank you for your kind words
Touched my heart. Thanks