In the End
dead in a box
burned to ash
turned to dust
lost at sea
frozen on a mountain
top
turned into soil
mulch
decay
what a way
yeah, no …
none of it
sounds any good
to me
much rather be
a l i v e
and well
sipping tea
with a good book
in my hand
the sound of the rain
falling down
the smell of vegetable soup
on the stove
your pets warm and dry
by your side
daisies in a vase
and everybody you know
and love
still alive
still coming home
not alone
TL
September
sad as
i ever was
sad as the leaves
that fall from the trees
in September
sad as the ground
that takes the box and lowers it down
leaving a widow in the world
an orphan, too
sad as the man who had to sell
all his land – all 250 acres of it
sad as his wife, too
who had to sell away her home
where she raised her baby up and had to let her go …
sad as Rearden alone in the woods
with no way out
sad as your beloved dog dying
your cat
the baby bird that fell outta its nest
the baby squirrel, too
the wedding day that ended in divorce
the reporter that died in a helicopter crash
covering a fatal vehicular crash
the college student that graduated three years ago
and still can’t find work
the homeless that never intended to be
homeless
but the rent was too high and the pay was too low
how losing a job has become the norm like having three has,
too
how the Pandemic turned the world upside-down and inside-out and round-and-round
and left it lost and lonely
how you can’t help those
who refuse to help themselves
how the weak won’t survive … especially in a nursing home
how if people all around the world
truly loved themselves
and cared about themselves
and wanted the best for themselves
and never gave up on themselves
or tried to escape themselves
or make excuses for themselves
…
the world would be
so much better –
each person tending their own garden
with care and consideration
like the late great Whitney Houston once sang
“Learning to love yourself …
it is the greatest Love
of all”
TL
“We Reap What We Sow”
when the dust
settled
the innocence
of a nation
was gone …
and fear
set in
and it’s never quite
gone away
the fear of this
happening again
is always there
in the back
of a collective mind
nothing feels
safe and secure
as it once did
and we think of the children
coming up
whether we have children
or not
there are generations to consider
what we leave behind
what they leave behind
it affects us all
and ripples out
unto the world
actions have reactions
each individual
plays a part
in the outcome
of us all
for each day
we are given
a choice
no matter what kind
of circumstance
we find ourselves in
you are given
a choice
and the perspective
on that choice
is never just one thing
one way
we all have our reasons
for what we do
or what we don’t do
some of it is tied
to our past
some of it to our present
and some of it to our future
time is a continuum
through the ages
much of it
we don’t understand
or have words for
we are but seekers
on earth
for a short time
or a long time
or somewhere
in-between
each moment then
matters
more than
we know
in the smallest thing
like a seed
in the soil
that requires
light and air
and rain
to survive
and a blessing
from above
to grow
and transform
TL
Pause
in a movie
you can jest
fast forward
through
the terrible parts
that kill ‘ya
to the core
…
‘ya don’t
have to face
none of it
if you don’t
want to
TL
(Beaches 1988)