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?
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.
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 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.
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
Tears flow freely Unbidden tears Unstoppable tears Tears of joy Tears of the Spirit
The tears I shed Have been released By the words of Michele Obama Barack Obama Tim Walz And Kamala Harris Amongst others.
Tears built up Over years of Barely surviving As a country of freedom As a democracy As a kind, loving nation
Evil tried to take hold Greed burgeoned Hate unleashed Freedom was at risk Our health suffered Thousands died Thousands still live With infirmity The pandemic Created strife Division Fear, distrust Our uncertainty was fed And became fodder For lies, separation We could not trust While we could not touch
Families, communities torn apart By violence Illness Difference Of political ideology
We were Pulled back from the brink But have been merely Treading water The voices of compassion, Love and hope Were stifled Out of fear, Sadness And disillusionment
Atrocities became the norm Worldwide Humans killing humans Countries invading neighbors
Voices of hope were Ridiculed Bullied Demeaned Nearly silenced
Tears were dammed Held back By protective armor Drowning Nearly drowning Hope, love And the belief that Our nation Would once again Fly a flag of unity Of leadership Of hope For all peoples Acceptance Of all peoples Safety Of all peoples
Hope has returned. Permission to hope And love And dream And believe In equality, kindness Permission to reach out Reach out Embrace And step forward In the faith That the stars and stripes Of democracy Will wave proudly Once again. Permission and invitation Now permeate the air Of our great nation. May we move forward As one with hearts full of Hope.
There you lay A mirror Of priceless value Nesting within earth’s surface Reflecting each leaf Of the bordering mighty oak Each needle of The pine trees Standing like a loving family Circling the wagons.
Circles of acclaim And ripples of thanks Appear As you receive each drop of rain An ethereal mist Floats across your surface And hovers within the trees
The sky above Nearly filled now With steel grey clouds Gives your surface a deep slate color The clouds release their treasure Your sheen morphs As ripples interlock And reach out Creating a spirograph drawing
You accept each new drop Into your liquid embrace And rain becomes lake
Lake becomes Playground As you host athletes Of all abilities You come alive As the delight The love The joy Of each person Brings life to your shore To your waters.
An energy And excitement Like that of newfound love Fills the air Shouts of greeting Cheers of appreciation Erupt As the athletes arrive And are assisted into their kayaks Embarrassed laughter Joins the cacophony As moms board their boats With the grace Of fledglings Leaving their nest For the first time
There is a unifying, unspoken love In this space Twenty boats are launched Some turning in circles Some stalled at water’s edge As each person, Captain of their own kayak, Learns to navigate the water The lake receives them all Welcomes them And their presence brings life To these waters
Joy ripples out As the orange, blue, red and yellow Watercraft Move across the water I stand at the shore And whisper a prayer Of gratitude For this day This space These people.
I am excited to be working with Dartmouth Health to present this program in August. All are welcome to register!! Would love to see you all there!
Aging Resource Center Summer and Fall In-Person & Virtual Program July – December 2024 Navigating Life's Final Journey: Conversations, Choices, Resources Held at the Aging Resource Center Colburn Hill (Dartmouth Hitchcock) Thursday, August 15, 10-11:30 am Patricia O'Connor, MSN, APRN, Author People are often lost in a medical maze when serious illness enters their lives. Pat O’Connor sheds light on the dark pathways of that maze by sharing her knowledge gained through education and years of experience working as a nurse practitioner caring for people who are seriously- and terminally-ill. This program will explore how people may have more control of their lives and those of their loved ones all the way through to the end of life. Pat speaks from a place of hope and belief that all of life can be meaningful and lived ’Your way!’
All programs are free. Registration is required for all the programs. Please call 603.653.3460, email agingcenter@hitchcock.org or visit dhaging.org.
Crumbs for the Journey 