I Saw Love Today
Not in a card adorned
With glitter and hearts
Not in a church hosting
A woman in white
And a man in a tux
Not even at a table
Lit by candles.
I saw love
In a hospital
In the voice of a woman
Speaking for her husband
Advocating through grief-filled tears
For his final wishes
For a merciful, peaceful release
I saw love
In a young woman
Sitting beside her dying father
Holding his hand
Telling him stories
Expressing her love
Sitting, being present
Love embodied
I saw love
In a daughter
Pulling strength
From deep within
Speaking truth
Selflessly supporting
Her dad’s wishes
Bravely explaining
All he has endured
To be her dad,
Their dad
And out of that love
Expressing gratitude
For what has been
And releasing now
From suffering
Acknowledging the truth
Of what cannot be.
I saw love today
In these three women
Walking together
Holding each other up
Crying, sharing, laughing
Only they
Truly knowing
How great a loss
They are experiencing
I saw love today
In a beautiful
Hand-made quilt
Cloaking a man
So gentle and kind
A man so full of love
For these women
It filled the room.
I saw love in nurses
Whose eyes radiated compassion
Whose hands worked
With a tender touch
Whose knowledge
Offered strength
And decrease of suffering.
I saw love
In medical providers
Accepting their limitations
Acknowledging the inevitable
Despite heroic attempts
To change that path
Medical providers speaking truth
With humility and compassion.
I saw love
In old friends
Being present
Where few dare to be
Setting aside all else
And standing sentry
Carrying a magic bag
Of sustenance
Giving a ride
When tears block vision
I saw love
In a pastor
Speaking truth
Offering prayer
And compassion
With no demands
Supporting this family
Who so embody love.
I saw love today
And what an honor it is
To know and be present with
This family
This woman who has dedicated her life
To serving
And being love incarnate.
This and That and So Much More!
Hello to all! I thought it was time to pause, say hello and let you know what is going on here!
My dear friend and now co-author, Marjorie Burke, and I have completed our book! The title is Spirit in Creation: Two Women, One Vision: Finding Peace and Truth in Creation. The book is at the editor now!! Our goal was to complete the manuscript before Tom and I leave on the trip which I shall tell you about!
Tom and I leave in less than a week for Tanzania. We will be volunteering at The Small Things which is a children’s village begun over 10 years ago by the daughter of a dear, late friend – Dr. David Ross Russell. He is the person who my book, Navigating Life’s Final Journey: Conversations, Choices, Resources is dedicated to. I worked with him for over 25 years. His daughter, Bekka, began the village after perceiving the need while on a trip to Tanzania during her studies at London School of Economics. It is staffed by all Tanzanian people excepting Bekka. We look forward to helping out in any ways needed. Tom is going to give some classes on aerodynamics to the children and I will be helping with a writing group.
We expect this to be a transformative experience. We are also going to have opportunity to go on a safari with one of the staff members of the children village – a trip which will go to supporting the village and fulfilling a life dream!
I have a sneaking suspicion that my next book will be borne out of this trip to Tanzania! I have cameras ready and travel journals stocked. More to come!
I would love to hear from all of you! I am not artificial intelligence, I believe in human contact – we all can learn so much from each other!
Thank you so much for being loyal readers!
Love,
Pat
Let There Be Snow
Let the white flakes of beauty
Dance through the air
And land on the glass
In patterns of delight
Complex patterns
Artistically unique
Let them land on my eyelashes
Reminding me of sledding
Down the hills of childhood
Laughing with delight
Oblivious to the cold
Let me catch them on my tongue
Tasting joy
Nurturing life
Let them coat the winter landscape
Of greys and browns
Painting an image
Of pure and new
Reminding me
That we can all begin anew
Let there be snow
That I may give thanks
For the woodstove
The heat and comfort of home
The privilege
Of no longer commuting
The teamwork of marriage
Let there be snow
That I may breathe deeply
Inhaling the beauty
All around me
And take comfort in knowing
Spring will follow winter.
Trust
Not merely in your own strength
Not hardly
It has served you
Sometimes well
But it also has blinded you
Your own power, knowledge, fortitude
May have caused you
To miss the
Power of the Flowers
Emerging from seeds
Some likened in size
to a grain of sand.
They break through earth
The texture of clay
Or rich, pliant loam
Finding a way through
Sprouting, surviving
Growing leaves of green
Buds appear
All closed up cocooned
Waiting
For their time
To shine
At last, blossoming
Facing the sun
Unabashedly
Rejoicing in life
Giving testimony to beauty
There is power in a flower
It is not blinded by its own strength.
But empowered by trust.
Trust takes great courage
Imagine
Residing beneath the soil
No light, no air
Trusting
Your time will come
The seeds which would become
delicate petals of flower
Once dwelled
Buried in the earth
But with trust
They eventually
Sprang to life
Watered with rain
Fed with nutrients
From the soil
Warmed by the light of the sun
The power of the flower
Is in trusting
And knowing
Nature provides.
To the Mountains
I come to the mountains
From whence cometh
My peace
My wholeness
My soul’s nourishment
As the car crests the hill
A vista opens
Revealing
Forest
Fields and
Mountains near and far
From Kearsage
To the Whites
The vista embraces all
Birds soar
Riding wind currents
In the valley below
The trees
Now mostly barren
Stand nevertheless
Unabashed
In their greys of winter
The zinnias
Persevere
In contributing color
To the field
Amarinths
Stretch skyward
Their cranberry colored
Feathery blooms
Enrich the landscape
One tree
The tallest
On orchard’s edge
Still beautifies
With its cloak of
Sunset orange
Its color
Vibrant
With the frame of grey
Created by
Woodland comrades
The scene plays out
Beneath a deepening
Drape of blue
As the sun’s rays
Lower in the
Evening sky.
Are You Scared?
Broken Branch
Precariously perched
Upon your rocky
Home
A dry island within
Chilly October waters
What is your story?
You carry scars
Your bark
Has been
Stripped away
You have been
Cleaved
From your tree
Of life
Beavers have feasted
Upon you
Your pointed tip
Their signature
Now points heavenward
Are you lonely
As you
Languish upon
The solid slab of rock
Grounded in river’s bed?
Are you cold?
Scared?
Or, maybe delighted
To have a perch
To rest upon
A fitting vantage point
To watch
The Tooky River
Flow all around you
To smell the sweetness
Of wet earth
To hear the gentle
Murmuring sounds
Of water
Smoothing rocks,
Coursing along
On its journey
While you sit
And await
Wind’s next gust
Or water’s next
Rising
Knowing
It will be then your time
To join the watery parade
Once again
Are you scared
Or is there delight
In knowing
You are on
Your own path
Fulfilling
Your own destiny?
10/29/2024
Rare Red Rainbow
Driving home
At dusk
Light rain behind me
A red rainbow appears
In the southern sky
It reaches from
The heavens
To earth
Like sky to ground
Lightening
Taking my breath away
Only a few degrees
Of the arc
Are visible
As it emerges
Out of a cloud of grey
It looks like a
Rippled
Red curtain
Hanging at highway’s end
As wide as
Four lanes
It drapes in the sky
Disappearing into
A grey mist on the horizon
A monochrome rainbow
With varying intensities of red
Filling the bands
The celestial image
Stands tall
Beckoning
Promising
Reassuring
And
Filling my heart
With gladness
Awe
And gratitude
As I journey
Home
From the bedside
Of a dear friend
Living in liminal space
Between health
And illness
I see promise
In the red of wisdom
The rainbow of hope
The mystery of
This rare gift.
The Crone
More than
A century ago
As a youngster
She watched
The horse-drawn carriages
Struggle up the hillside
Over the travel-worn path
And dreamt
Of the day
When she could
Stretch out her arms
And give shade to
The weary people
And tired horses
She grew
Beside that path
Witnessing
The world
From her home
At the edge of the woods
Growing
Taller
Her arms reaching
Ever broader
She gave home
To many
Woodpeckers
Cardinals
Catbirds
And so much more
Insects
Have feasted upon her
Animals
Have found rest
Safe within
Her branches
Now
She stands
Old and broken
Beside the path
Now a dirt road
She resides in her home
Exposed
And vulnerable
A shadow of her
Former self
And yet,
She continues
To give
Home for woodland
Creatures
Food for the
Earth
And loving embrace
As she gathers
Dying leaves
Onto her lap
Holding them
Gently
As they pass to
Earth
A dying gift
From the once
Mighty Oak.
Daily writing prompt
When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?
I Believe
“I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13
In this imperfect world of
Violence, greed, hate
Deception, exploitation,
Political upheaval,
Natural disasters,
Illness
My vision
Can be blurred
Images are smeared
Hazy, clouded
Like seeing through
A window draped
And dirtied
By smog.
But behind that curtain
Deep within
The hidden recesses
Of my soul,
My spirit
Endures
Sometimes a mere ember
A matchstick
Struggling for air
It is there
I believe
That I shall see
The good things
Of the Lord
In the land
Of the living.
A friendly voice
Answering a phone
A driver pausing
Motioning
For me to go
A smile
Given freely
On the sidewalk
A warm muffin
Laughter’s song
A card
From a grandchild
I believe that
I shall see
The good things
Of the Lord
In the land
Of the living.
I step upon
Wood’s threshold
Gazing deep
Into the forest
Amongst the
Pillared trees
The floor carpeted
With fallen leaves
The cool air
Wafts from the shadows
And swirls around me
I drink deeply
Of this goodness
Of the Lord
And the ember
Flares.
I meander
Through an apple orchard
My flannel shirt
Embracing me
Warming my body
Cooled by
Brisk autumn air
I reach out
And select
A firm, red fruit
Hanging in offering
The first crunch
Fills my mouth
With delight
And hope
The ember flares brighter
I stand at field’s edge
A balloon of joy
Swells
Within me
Trees adorned
With autumn reds,
Oranges, yellows
And enduring greens
Distant mountains
Create a backdrop
Of strength
An invitation
To journey
Further
Climb higher
I believe
That I have seen
The good things
Of the Lord
In the land
Of the living.
God’s Grace
Sitting oceanside
Absorbing the
Precious rays
Of
Lingering summer
I ask
The salty waters
What they want
Me to see
To hear
To know
From my perch
upon this rock,
I feel
enveloped
by a
Watery embrace
as I inhale
the scents
of the sea.
I am entranced
As I observe
The waves
Rolling in
And in
And in
With certitude
And reliability
They cascade
In a never ending
Cycle
Toward
The rocky shore.
Some come
With a heralding
Splash
Water reaching
Up to
The heavens
Then falling down
In droplets
Upon the foamy sea
Some creep to shore
Like children sneaking their fingers
Into a cookie jar
They arrive
Stealth, unannounced
Reaching deep within
The craggy rocks of the
Coastline
Some churn
And spin
As they arrive
Creating foam
Like the suds
Of a wringer
Washer
Others crash
Full force
Upon the ledges
of igneous rock
Sending a roar
Not unlike thunder
Booming across
The water
I sit by the sea
Mesmerized
By the distinctive
arrival
Of each wave.
Powerful,
Passionate,
Swelling,
Rippling
I ask again
“What are you
Saying to me?”
In my heart
I hear the words
God’s Grace
God’s Grace
Still, I ask
The ocean
“What do you want me to
See
Hear
Know?”
The waves
Living water
Salt of the earth
Ever present
Returning
Again
And again
Cleansing
Energizing
Nurturing
Knocking down
Lifting up
God’s Grace
God’s
Grace.
Crumbs for the Journey 