Oasis 101
Poems to Spark the Imagination
by
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There is a place I often go to get away and escape;
It is pleasant there and you always leave in good shape.
I love the scenary, waterfall, and jasmine flowers;
Sometimes I go there and do nothing, but sit and reflect for hours.
Its a secret place, not known by many and thats good;
For crowds often distrub nature by not doing what they should.
I'll take you there, you are special to me and I know;
You'll treasure it too, for then you'll have a special place to go.
The mind is a great adventurer and has much foresight;
Take a journey with yours sometime, it will be a pleasant flight.
Jasmine Meadows was easy to create and to me it's real;
For I often go there when my mind, body, and soul needs to heal.
To find your own Jasmine Meadows, listen in silence, to your favorite instrumental tune;
Listen to it closely and deeply, you'll be in your own Jasmine Meadows real soon.
An Alford Original
by Vern Alford
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About the Book
This book of poems is intended to lift the spirits of the reader.
Hopefully, these words will put you in a happier place and possibly bring back positive memories of times ago.
Poems tell stories of realistic topics, ideas, and fantasies that guide one towards creative thinking.
These poems are not intended to offend anyone and are written for entertainment and relaxation purposes.
The book of poems contains three sections:
Section One is entitled Inspirational Poems. These poems focus on inspirational/spiritual
messages that help to motivate and shape our character development.
Section Two ( Romantic Poems) contains a series of romantic poems. People spend significant amounts of time
thinking about romance and relationships, these poems focus on various
relationship encounters and expectations.
Section Three ( Recognition, Advice and A Twist) is the final section in this book.The
recognition poems praise various people for their outstanding achievements. The
poems about advice provide some insight about the life process and examples of how
to handle some situations. Then, the poems with a twist provide a little humor while
delivering a specific message. Many of these poems lead the reader to one conclusion,
introduce a twist and then end somewhere else.
OASIS 101 is the author's first book.
About the Author
Vern Alford was born and raised in South Carolina. At a young age his family moved to New Jersey and 2 years later to Pennsylvania where he resides today.
He would attend at least 9 different schools in 3 different states before graduating High School. His family moved often because of his father's church ministry.
Upon graduating High School, he attended Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina and later Columbus College of Art in Columbus, Ohio.
After undergraduate school Vern was employed by The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for 25 years in various juvenile justice positions. Later, he became
Executive Director of a major juvenile treatment facility. While employed by the Commonwealth he obtained his Masters Degree in Human Services from Lincoln University. After retirement from Pennsylvania Government he was employed, as a Warden, by a private prison management company.
Because of his work, Vern has traveled extensively throughout the United States. He has made numerous speaking presentations to various organizations. He also taught graduate courses at a Pennsylvania university. As an extensive traveler, Vern has met many people.
During his life experiences Vern became more aware of people and many of their motivations.
He realized that many people were inspirational, romantic, motivated, pleasure seekers, and often times enjoyed the element of surprise.
Vern, always fascinated by poetry, often read Poe's, Dickinson's, and Hughes' work. His favorite is The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. He began to write poems over
30 years ago. However, during those early years he did not share his poetry with anyone. Recently, he has recited his poems at coffee houses and taverns in surrounding
communities. He has been well received by those audiences. Because of his popularity he decided to publish some of his poems.