As Harper’s eighth book of poems, Transitions in Life and to Death addresses numerous transitions or changes in life that often present challenges as well as opportunities. Also, the book deals with the ultimate transition from Earthly life of the flesh to death or the spirit world beyond. Examples of titles from Transitions in Life and to Death include “Transitions,” “A Mother’s Hand,” “Move On,” “And God Spoke Without a Cell Phone,” “When John F. Kennedy Died,” “Greetings at My Funeral,” “Getting God’s Gift Out of You,” “Coal Miners’ Challenge,” “911 (Fire Fighters and Helpers),” “Divorce,” “End of a Journey Continued,” “It’s Okay to Be Who You Are,” “Man’s Law,” “Transition from Romance,” “In Search of Oneself,” and “The Art of Suffering.”

TRANSITIONS

Constant in life—

As change with challenge;

Constant in life—

Challenges in life as

Transitions in life and to death;

Transitions:

From time to time,

From moment to moment,

From mood to mood,

From emotion to emotion,

From happiness to sadness to happiness,

From sleep to wakefulness to sleep;

From problem to problem,

From one culture to another,

From job to job,

From job to retirement,

From person to person to aloneness,

From marriage to divorce to marriage;

From developmental stage to next,

From biological life to death of the flesh,

From living flesh to birth of

The spirit as whole and celestial;

Changes, transitions—

In life and to life’s death

And the spiritual beyond.

TRANSITION TO A NEW DAY

I am blessed to awake

And transition each day

To a new day—

With God in my heart;

With God’s thoughts

In my mind; and

With God’s good work

In my waking intention.

MOVE ON

(Transition from the past to the future)

If abused and unappreciated,

You may feel suffering with

Pain, anger, sadness, and fear;

If you can’t work it out, move on;

You have a choice—the freedom

To act is yours;

Resolve the unhappiness within your mind

And with your other, or within your world;

Or simply find the will and strength to

Move on.

IT’S OKAY TO BE WHO YOU ARE

(Identity and Self-Acceptance)

Dr. Frederick Douglas Harper has been called one of the most gifted poets of our times. His poetry has been likened to that of the great poets Khalil Gibran and Rumi. Harper is author of eight poem books and more than 700 poems. As psychospiritual poetry, his work is aimed at educating, healing, empowering, and spiritually inspiring the reader. The author sees himself as a missionary poet for good.