A time to say goodby

Death. It may be the end of life but for those who believe, it is also the beginning. A passage to a new life, with friends and family waiting on the other side.

My mom passed away on Sunday, Feb. 27. My sister will have been gone a year tomorrow. Somehow, they both managed to let me know that they are ok. At the Christmas Eve service, we lit candles to celebrate the birth of Christ. When I tried to blow it out, it relit not once, but twice. I think my Aunt Pat was there too. When we had the luncheon after Mom's burial on Thursday, we had brought 2 vases of flowers from the service. I went back many hours later to pick them up and realized they were nearly dead because no one thought to replace the water in the vases. I brought them home and cut off the ends and placed them in water. They were a sad bunch of flowers. I got up this morning and they had all recovered, even the daisies. My personal reassurance that Mom arrived safely.

I wrote this at the wake on Tuesday

Dear Mom

You're home again, in Daddy's arms,

Dancing as you used to.

Your eyes aglow with love for him,

His smiling back at you.

Standing nearby is Aunt Pat and Sis

Waiting to take their turn

To welcome you to that special place

That God's prepared for you.

We who wait on earth below

Will miss you but we know

You're out of pain and flying free

Watching over us here below.

Say hello to all who are waiting there.

Sometime in the future we'll be

Joining all of you up there,

Flying high with spirit free.

Till we meet again, Mom.

I love you.

Betty

Stretching for acceptance Revelations

Stretching the truth can be a bad thing, even when done so as to not hurt someone. It is often better to strip away the cover, revealing what's underneath.

Revelations. A book in the Bible full of promise and frightening possibilities. When you reveal something, you are giving something life, admitting that it has an existence. When you reveal something about yourself to another person, you must trust that they can appreciate it's importance to you, accepting that it is part of who you are whether or not it's something you plan to, or need to , change.

Revelations

Reluctant to bring it into the light.
Taking a chance with both love and life.
Will he know what I'm trying to say
Or would my revelations chase him away.

I have so many layers and masks that I wear.
Trying to fit in without laying bare
All that I am and want to be.
Trying to be what he wants me to be
Won't work for long, my soul starts to ache.
My spirit is cramped, wants to fly into space.

To give him a glimpse of the woman I am.
I don't need a prince,I need a man
Who will encourage my dreams, free me to fly.
But give me safe haven when day's end draws nigh.

Have to take that chance, a crack, just to start.
Giving a glimpse of what goes on in my heart.
The reveal will happen, a layer at a time.
Until my inner self starts to shine.

If he's blinded by the light
Or if my truth causes him fright,
Then I will know it's not meant to be.
After all, I must be true to me.

In The palm of His Hand.

Palms. Everyone has two of them. You can hold something gently because it is delicate or frightened. You can use them to grip tightly to keep something from dropping or getting away. You can put them together to applaud a person,a performance or to express happiness. But the best palms of all belong to God. I usually stay away from truly sad poems but this one wants to be written.

In The Palms Of His Hands

Where are the lost
Who fell between the cracks?
Children of the streets,
With none to watch their backs.

They hang around the bars
Hoping at least to find
Someone who will take them home that night
For whatever they have in mind.

Bodies and minds aging faster
Than they were ever meant to be.
Huddling in doorways or empty boxes
Trying to find some peace in sleep.

But the cold steals through their ragged clothes
And rats run across their feet.
The terrors that their parents sowed
Are the tragedy they reap.

Sometimes at night the angels come
To take them to a place
Where they can be a child again
Far from this ugly space.

Please don't turn away when you see
These children of the street.
You could be their savior,
Their voice when they can't speak.

A Long Time Past

Sometimes I'm so tired I could just scream. There have been so many changes in my life and I was letting them pull me down. This weeks theme is a great chance to pull my thoughts together and reach for the light.

Star Shining

I let the darkness take me.
It was hard to care
Enough to continue.
So many losses
Tears flowing faster
Than I could
Wipe them away.
A whisper in my ear,
My grandchildren playing,
Heard as if
They were far,far away.
The music of the earth
Muffled by my sorrow.
The wind of chance
Taking so many away.

I hid in my computer
Not wanting to face
That those I loved
Were truly gone.
As God healed my heart,
A glimmer of light shone
And slowly grew brighter.
They are not gone.
My sister is out of pain
Dancing with my Dad
And aunt in Heaven.
The others, while not related
Are waiting for me too.

I'm once again joining
The music all around me.
God's light surrounds me
Bringing comfort
To my soul.
The stars above are brighter
Than they've ever been before.
And I look forward to finding
The person God has
Put aside to make me whole.

Lollipop, Lollipop

Candy is often a gift of the heart (Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Christmas, anniversaries,Easter, etc.) It comes in so many delightful forms, limited only by the expertise of the artist. Bars, bricks,flowers, drops, flat, ribboned and even spun. What would a carnival or circus be without cotton candy, not the bagged stuff, but the one you watch be spun and twisted into an airy confection that disappears on your tongue. Candy is the dieters devil, luring you off that chocolate wagon to swim in a pool of dark velvety softness.

CONFECTIONS

A nougat bar is a delight
A truffle melts like a dream
Solid bars of dark chocolate lines
The road to OZ for me .
Jawbreakers truly live up to their name.
The candy, round and hard,
Layers upon layers of sweetness
"Oh, where's that dentist's card?"

A young boy stands shyly with
A heart-shaped box in his hand.
Ready to give to his very first crush.
Isn't first love grand?

His first date made him nervous.
Flowers and chocolates held tight.
With trembling hands he gives them to her.
She was a beautiful sight.

"The flowers are lovely,
Please pin them on me.
But I hope you understand
That while I dearly love candy
I'm on a diet
And candy is contraband."
So he turned with a bow
To the mom standing there
And says "These are for you, my lady
A small gift from me to you
For allowing this date with your baby.

So I raise a cup of hot chocolate high
In salute to family and friends.
But don't get between me and my chocolate
If you value your life, my friend.

White

Poetry in Motion

White clouds drifting by
Over the winter’s snow.
A white wolf stands howling
To his pack far below.
A snowshoe hare running
Over a crisp, sparkling snow.
A snowy owl flies silently,
Looking for prey below.
The winter moon moves slowly
Across the clear night sky.
Silence and peace fill my soul.
How I wish that I could fly.

White,wrinkled, pets

I've been absent for awhile with computer problems and other things, so I thought I try to combine the last three TT's.

What would mankind be without pets? They can become your best friend, a sounding board, a way to meet other people. They have been proved to lower blood pressure, bring a way for some people to reach out beyond their emotional shell, give a purpose to life by caring for them.

Wrinkles. They can cause a lot of people anxiety about their looks but they can also be a badge of honor. Wrinkles can also be something that needs to be smoothed out, in clothing, in plans, in life.

White. A surface to be written on, a blank canvas waiting for that first stroke of a brush. White is often considered the color of purity and innocence, both in fables and in ceremonies. A white stallion, a white unicorn, or a white hat, symbolizing strength and purity of purpose.

So here I go again.

A Blessing in Disguise

Once my life seemed simple,
A wide road well traveled and straight
But you came along and twisted the page
Leaving me in the hands of fate.
I tried to smooth out the wrinkles,
The valleys and hills,
So I could once again find my way.
But all of my efforts did little
To change my direction,
My life remained dreary and grey.

I went for a walk to clear my mind,
To the forest, dark and deep.
Followed a trail that led to a glen
Where I laid down to sleep.
A warm breath caressed my face and I
Opened my eyes to find
A figure of most dazzling white,
A warm smile and eyes so kind.

She held in her hand a bundle of fur,
Or so it seemed to me.
"I bring you this gift to soothe your soul.
What will be, will be.

His name is Nomad and he will be
Loyal, strong and brave.
A wanderer as you've come to be,
To guide you on your way."
Then she vanished and I looked to find
A puppy in my grasp.
A smile that stretched from ear to ear,
A tail wagging quite fast.

I took him home and raised him up.
He was everything she sad he would be.
And in the end, it was him
Who led you here to me.
You saw us in a park one day
And came over to say hi.
Love hit us like a bolt
Of lightning from the sky.
So I thank my guardian angel
For the gift she gave that day.
A teasured friend and companion
And a love that never fades.