WORDS OF LOVE

I helped Grandma to the podium…where she smiled and stood with pride

as she opened up a weathered old note…and read the words inside:

I want to bring you light when you’re wrapped in darkness

comfort when you’re feeling pain

I want to be your shade when life gets too hot…

your umbrella in the rain.

I want to shield you from the harsh winds...

be your warmth in the winter snow...

I want to stand next to you when you’re feeling tall...

and pick you up when you’re feeling low.

I want your life to be filled with poetry

I’d like to be your rhyme...

I simply want to love you...

until the end of time.

She lingered there a moment

before whispering,”I love you.”

then thanking Grandpa for making sure

all the words he wrote came true.

I helped Grandma from the podium

and as we walked away

she paused for a moment and gently kissed

the casket where Grandpa lay.

LETTING GO

I watched my daughter watch her son graduate yesterday…

watched her smile…watched them embrace…

and I remembered back to when she graduated…

and I had that same look on my face…

As a parent…from the moment our children are born 

we love them more than they can know.

We hold them close against our heart...

We never want to let them go.

Then slowly they begin to walk and talk…

Suddenly they’re on the go

and we’re delighted we get to ride along…

we feel fortunate to watch them grow.

Then too quickly comes the day they leave.

We still love them more than they can know…

And we smile, knowing, in spite of all our tears...

it’s time to let them go.

And so I watched my daughter do yesterday…

what I did many years ago…

I watched her smile in spite of all her tears…

I watched her…let him go.

ICINGON THE CAKE

Three children, young girls, sitting around a campfire…

watching the flames and eating s’mores…

telling stories, and wondering about their futures…

watching their imaginations soar…

I want to be a dancer…no a doctor…and cure people of their aches…

I want to be a chef, a baker…and put icing on the cakes…

And it made me think back to when I was a boy

sitting around a campfire…eating s’mores…

telling stories, wondering about my future…

What was I wishing for?

Of course that was a long time ago…my memories are a blur…

and when I think about my wishes then…I can’t remember what the were.

If old me was to go back in time…to young me he would profess…

Wish to be a kind and gentle person…wish for happiness. 

Wish for a family who loves you…wish for a life without too much turmoil…

wish for friends who make you smile…wish for grandchildren you can spoil.

Wish to be the best person you can be…every moment you’re awake

Wish for someone to grow old with…

after all…the rest…

is just icing on the cake.

THE PICNIC

We have a tradition in the mountains…one we never have forgot.

We always take a picnic lunch…to our favorite picnic spot.

Yesterday the tradition continued…It seemed like a beautiful day

but when we laid our picnic out…the wind blew it all away.

Not to be deterred…(as yet we were still unfed)…

we decided to take our picnic…onto our porch instead.

So back we drove and on our porch we set out our display…

but the wind was still antagonistic and it blew it all away.

Once again we were not to be deterred…(remember…still unfed)…

so we decided to take our picnic…and eat inside our house instead.

And it made me think how lucky we are…when those unkind breezes blow

to have a place that’s safe and sound…a home where we can go.

And it made me stop and wonder…about our traditional picnic myth…

Perhaps it’s not where you picnic that’s important…

it’s who you picnic with.

I LOVE TO WATCH THE MORNING

I love to watch the morning…to sit out in the breeze…

and watch the clouds caress the mountains

and leaves billow on the trees.

The bats, who only the night before

were trying hungrily to be fed,

see the light and now with bellies full

are heading off to bed.

The crickets, who in the darkness

were the loudest sounds that could be heard,

are ready to relinquish their melody

to the singing of the birds.

And the birds, who soundly slept the night away,

now slowly open their eyes

and, realizing it’s morning,

stretch their wings and fly.

The morning fills her canvas beautifully…

painting trees and mountains and glens…

then, not satisfied with her first attemp,

paints them all again.

In fact she never seems too happy

with her painting at first sight

as she’s constantly changing brush strokes…

Moving shadows…shifting light.

Yes I could sit our here all morning

watching the morning adjust her hue…

listening to the ever changing sounds around me…

in fact…

I think that’s just what I will do.

THE RAIN

“Aw…It’s raining outside”, the young boy said. “I wanted to play on my swing…”

“The rain is stupid…I hate it…It ruins everything”.

“Don’t cry about the rain.” Mom said. “Don’t be angry..I beseech you!”

“For if you stop a moment…The rain has much to teach you”.

“Rain teaches us about humility…for no matter how we complain

there are some things in life we don’t control…

sometime you’ve got to let it rain.”

“Rain teaches us about courage…not to be afraid to take that first step to the top…

because every downpour of rain…begins with a single drop.”

“Rain reminds us there are two sides to every story.

Though you are angry at the rain for falling down non-stop.

That same rain that stops you from swinging…is nourishing the crops.”

“We eat those crops to grow big and strong.

So when you think the rain has nothing it can give…

remember the farmer and his crops…and how we need the rain to live.”

“Do not let the rain stop you.” she said

“Rain is something to adore.”

Then she smiled at her young son

and opened up the door.

And out they ran into the rain

and as he played upon his swing

he learned a lesson about his mother 

as he watched her dance…and sing.

NEVERLAND

We ran across an old movie yesterday…one we hadn’t seen in years

And like all our favorite movies…it offered joy, laughter and tears.

It’s about how life’s an awfully great adventure…It’s about reaching for the sky.

It’s about never growing up..and about a young boy who can fly.

It’s a movie about believing…in what you say and do…

because if you believe hard enough…your wishes will come true.

But in real life we know…wishing doesn't make every dream come true

there’s cancer, Alzheimer's and ALS…just to name a few.

I’ve lost friends and family to all of them…and though I hoped for them to stay…

No matter how I wished and prayed and dreamed…they all died anyway,

But the movie reminds us to never stop believing…in whatever we say and do

Because we never know the moment…when some dream will come true.

There’s a bounty of dreams out there…that we can take under our wing…

For even if we cannot learn to fly…we can still learn how to sing.

That some wishes do come true and some do not…is often difficult to understand…

perhaps the meeting of the two…can be found…in Neverland