GOODBYE

Cancer is an ugly disease…not only for the life it takes

But for all the sorrow and sadness…left floating in its wake….

Although I did not know her personally I’ve kept abreast of cases she has tried

which is why I was saddened yesterday when I heard that she had died.

But what finally caused my tears to flow…what opened my floodgate

was, amidst the many tributes to her, were the messages of hate.

The more I read the sadder I felt until soon I was feeling numb

as my heart filled up with sorrow at the country we’ve become.

Cancer comes in many forms causing families sadness, sorrow and strife

progressing slowly through the body until it finally takes a life.

Hate is a form of cancer…I wish people would understand

How it’s metastasizing quickly…as it spreads across the land.

Two forms of cancer make me sad today…

The first that took this woman I am thinking of…

and the second that is slowly killing

this country that I love.

STILL

 “You’ll never have to worry.” he whispered.

“Anytime…day or night

if you are feeling sad or lonely…I will hold you tight.”

“And when holding you tight is not enough to comfort you.

when sorrow surrounds your heart.

when your eyes, with tears, are filled,

you’ll never have to worry”, he whispered

“For in those moments…I will hold you tighter still”.

FIRE AND RAIN

 When I look back on this year, 2020, a year that has been insane

I’ll remember all the heartache…I’ll remember all the pain.

I’ll remember a country that, if not careful, is sealing its own fate

divided by its anger…its bigotry, its suspicions, lies and hate.

I’ll remember the wildfires in the west that scorched many a forest…and plain.

I’ll remember hurricanes in the east and south that flooded us with rain.

I’ll remember praying the rain from those hurricanes…

that eventually ran out of names

would miraculously move to the west coast and help extinguish all the flames.

I’ll remember praying that the tears we shed from the sorrow and sadness we create

would be enough to extinguish...the fires of our hate.

Of course we can’t control the weather…wildfires and hurricanes will always be our fate

but we can control the way we treat each other…we can control our hate.

When a wildfire or hurricane wreak havoc on our land…

immediately we begin repairs…

but when hatred destroys another’s life all we do is add our tears to theirs.

But 2020 is not over yet and in the world I’l like to see us create

when casting my ballot this November…I will not vote for hate!

I will not vote for fire…for prejudice…for duplicity and lies

I will not vote for dishonesty wearing righteousness as a disguise.

I don’t know what side of this division you are on…

but I’m tired of these wildfires of hate causing so much destruction…so much pain.

so when it comes to this election…I’ll be voting for the rain.

So when I look back on this year 2020…

I can say it was the year of our transcending.

a year I was saddened at the way it began…

but am happy with the ending.

TWO FRIENDS

 

They met on the beach as children…too young to comprehend

the difference in their colors…and they soon became two friends.

Two lives they happily shared…two lives easily aligned

They would remain two friends forever…their two hearts intertwined.

They came together often…they laughed and cried and played

So many moments they’ve lost count…so many memories they made.

When they graduated high school they began to drift apart

both knowing, despite the distance, they remained within their hearts.

They would meet periodically through the years…and through the miles.

remembering their youth together…sharing joys and tears and smiles.

On quiet moments when apart…innocently and unplanned

they would think about that day on the beach…when their camaraderie began.

They met one last time on that same beach under a clear cerulean sky.

This meeting not as joyous…they met to say goodbye.

One friend cried as the other’s ashes were spread across the dune

thinking he will miss his friend who was taken much too soon.

One friend remained on the beach alone…and whispered his other friends name

Thinking about the ashes we leave behind…and how all their colors are the same.

And remembering back to the moment they met…

and longing for the moment when…

two old friends, now separated,

will be two friends united again.

UNDERNEATH THE IMAGINATION TREE

 A father loved to take his children and sit under what he called their imagination tree.

There he would ask: if you could imagine yourself as something else what would that something else be?

Once their dreaming was ignited and their imaginations were set free…

their father loved to listen to what his children were imagining…underneath their imagination tree.

I imagine I’m a cricket in the night…with no music to accompany me...I’d sing a-cappella

and anytime it starts to rain….I’ll use a mushroom as my umbrella.

I would love to climb a rainbow,…as you can see I am quite small.

I’d love to know what it feels like…to go down the biggest slide of all.

I want to ride upon a cloud…across the world I’d sweep…

and anytime when I got tired…I’d have a comfortable place to sleep.

I want to be a leaf on a tree…if I could be anything at all

I want to sway with my leaf friends on a windy day…and change my colors in the Fall.

I’d love to ride on the back of a pelican…I can imagine how much fun that would be…

I’d drag my hands along the water as we glide across the sea.

The father always smiled as he listened…as his children’s imaginations flew

for wherever their imaginings took them…they would take him too.

One day the children asked the father…as they sat underneath the tree…

“Father, if you could imagine yourself as something else what would that something else be?”

The father looked at his children…and smiled

as they sat together under their tree…

“You may find this hard to believe," he said,

“but I imagine I am happiest being who I am.

in a place I never imagined I would be”.

MY SHOULDERS

 When I was young I didn’t quite understand my shoulders,

“Shoulders!” I would scoff. 

“Why they’re just here to help hold up my head

and to keep my shirts from falling off”.

It wasn’t until I became a parent…until I became a Dad

that I finally came to realize the importance my shoulders had.

Soon after that blessed day…it really didn’t take long

to realize why my shoulders were there…

and why they needed to be strong.

When my children were so very young

when their life still so brand new

my shoulders were there for them to ride on

and see life from a different point of view.

And when they grew a little older…as their life unfurled

my shoulders were there for them to stand on…

as they stepped into the world.

Along the way I learned a funny thing about my shoulders 

for…near as I can tell

not only do they have to be strong…

but they need to be soft as well.

Strong so my children can lean on them 

when their life is filled with dread

And soft, when they need comfort, 

for a place to lay their head.

Yes, everyday when I look in the mirror 

I have a million reasons to be elated

not the least of which is knowing 

why my shoulders were created.

A VISIT WITH MY GOD

 I took a moment visit my God today…

I don’t usually do this…but I got down on my knees to pray.

I wanted to ask him…or her…

(I use both, I believe, correctly

because in all my visits with my God…

he or she has never answered me directly).

At any rate, I had things I wanted…things I’d like to see..

wishes I thought important…

I hoped my God would grant for me.

As I was about to open my mouth…

about to give my God my speech

my mind was filled with memories 

of the students I used to teach.

There before me...swimming in my mind, 

my students were everywhere..

Autistic students, blind ones, ones with seizures…

and students in wheel chairs.

And swimming right behind my students…

this was really quite a feat

were children and people I did not know…

who had no homes, or food to eat.

I saw many people in pain, crying,

I know not the reasons why

but they seem to have more troubles than me 

as I watched them floating by.

Suddenly my mind went blank 

and I forgot what I had started praying for

as the troubles that I thought I had…

didn’t seem as troublesome anymore.

And so still on my knees with my head bowed 

as I visited my God today

it was for all these other people 

that I began to pray.

And I hope my God is happy 

as my prayers up to her or him soar…

smiling and proudly nodding his or her approval…

knowing that’s what prayers are for?