THIS LIFE

On the last day of February

I went walking

With a cane in my hand

A camera hanging from my side

And expectation in my heart

Thusly i explore an old cemetery

As often as i can

To enjoy the flora

And the fauna

To commune

Exercise

And walk

Mainly

But…for a period

I didn’t

So now i labor along

Endeavoring to persevere

You see

In this elder age

I’ve found a need

To recover

I’m not going to just sit

And wither

You know

In due time

I’ll be as if twenty (fifty?)

Again

And my body will be

Nearly as strong as my will

Some might think that strange

But do you know what’s strange?

On the last day of February

I went walking

In a cemetery

To enjoy the peace of the dead

But instead of death

I found life

On the last day of February

Daffodils had already bloomed

As had the forsythia

And various trees

And little flowers

On the last day of February

Huge old trees

Were leafing out

In bright green foliage

Now

That’s strange

– r

I miss the old days

When we lived at the old place

Out in the country

In a grove of locust trees

Where wild black cherry

( And I )

Fed the birds

And a few big maples

Hosted leafy homes

For the squirrels

And dugout nests

For families of woodpeckers

And a sapsucker or two

I miss the old porch

On the back of the old house

Where I sat

Observing life and listening

To the birds

The bugs

And the cattle next door

My habit was to sit for hours

Watching the knee-high grasses

Bending in the breeze

Creating waves across the fields

The sounds of their rustling

Harmonizing in the wind

Often I sat so long

And kept so still

Birds would land on me

On this place or that

Often perching on a shoulder

Twisting

To curiously inspect their friend

No heavier than air were they

Their weight barely felt

As they relaxed

Safe from the hawks

Sometimes I sat through the day

And long after sunset

Gazing into the fields

Behind our little abode

Where lived a wide circle of trees

Their elderly branches towering

Into the night sky

The sea of grasses around them

Reflecting starlight

Against their twisting boughs

And if I sat long enough

Fireflies would appear

Uncountable legions

Floating

Dancing

Glimmering

Twinkling

In the darkness

Circling the old trees

Punctuating the night

With their magical glow

As if they were fairies

Expressing their boundless joy

I miss the comfort of the old place, where I lived in the grace of GOD’s creation as it once had been.

– r

My Love left this world.

She left her suffering…

And her pain…

In the world

Where it belongs

But when she left

She gave her body to…

Medical Science.

She thought they might use it

To cure disease

Or discover how she fought it

Fought it toe to toe

For so many decades.

I could have told her

It had nothing to do with

Medical Science.

She must have known that

But she didn’t know

What it would do to me

To know her body was still

Being assaulted by

Medical Science.

Medical Science which failed her

Again and again

Until I grew too old and too tired

To adequately defend her

And they slowly and finally

Killed her

Killed

Her will to fight

And survive.

And when the pain was completely

Unbearable

They decided she should die.

But, thankfully

Jesus blessed her

Rescued her

From the horrors

Of this world.

And now she lives eternally

In the light and love

Of her Savior.

Lord, bless her always.

– r

Played by Bill Evans

Find a quiet place to be.

Love hurts, they say

But I’ve never felt it

To be that way

Loss of love

That hurts

When love is your milieu

When you eat, drink, sleep love

When you inhale love

Exhale love

When your spirit consists of

Love

Radiates

Love

Is

Love

There could be no Life

Without it

And if you’ve found it

Savor it

Enjoy it

Be it

Even if you neglect all else

Love and love and love

Because

All love is from GOD

Through Jesus

HIS love is constant

HE is your salvation

Whether SHE is with you

Or whether she is not

GOD’s love is what you’ve got

– r

How long will it take

Until the burden is gone

For the leaden shroud to be lifted

And my heart to beat happily again

How long until I’m weightless

And living in Light

How long?

– r

Valentine’s Day

An unforeseen challenge

Without my Missus

Who gets the flowers

The candy

The cards

And…the kisses?

– r

“Mongo only pawn in game of life.” -Mongo

The same applies to all of us.

The point of the game is to wear us down with pain and sorrow, pulling us deeper into the world – into the web of evil, and farther from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

To win the game we must grasp and follow the teachings of Jesus and escape this horrible world with our faith intact.

Live as HE taught us to live.

Forgive as HE forgives us.

Love as HE loves us.

And trust in Jesus.

And at the end of your imprisonment your suffering will end and your reward be earned.

Silver hair shone

Beneath the sun

A radiant wreath of light

Illuminating her beautiful face

– r