I Didn’t Know

I liked you, even loved you, from afar

I felt I had known you before

In my mind, that cabin in the woods

A cruel, ridiculing father

Brown eyes filled with tears

A boy too sensitive and kind to kill a deer

Was I the disapproving one

Or the other too weak to speak?

Equally a sin against a gentle child of God

Haunted by the memory of your pain-filled cries

Unaware I’d have a chance one day

To heal, and be healed, from the sorrow I caused

Now to hug you dearly as a lost child

And hear you whisper, “I’m hugging you back”

To have you ask for an embrace I couldn’t give then

And feel your love radiate back to me

To say, “I love you” and hear you answer softly, “I understand”

I didn’t know

Photo Credit:  Copyright: mizinatanya / 123RF Stock Photo

The Human Heart

I was recently going through some old boxes and came across a few poems that I wrote over thirty years ago. This is my favorite; I hope you like it, too.

The heart hears loudly, voices softly spoken.

It cries the tears of today’s tragedy;

It smiles with tomorrow’s hidden hopes.

The heart sees clearly, visions scarcely conceived.

It fears the hurt that strikes its core;

It loves what it dares to embrace.

The heart speaks strongly, words hardly heard.

It argues against logic’s best reasoning;

It trusts in no wisdom but its own.

October, 1984

Photo Credit: Copyright: katjagerasimova / 123RF Stock Photo

Your Story Does Matter

I discovered the above metal plaque browsing through a shop in Punta Gorda, Florida back in April. It spoke to me so deeply that I knew I had to buy it and place it where I could see it often. It’s a reminder to me that what I have to say with my writing is worthwhile. It matters to someone and most importantly it matters that I share bits and pieces of me in my writing.

I believe it’s important for all of us to be aware that who we are and how we arrived at this point in life are crucial. Our stories and perspectives are unique because we are all as different as our fingerprints. This is the richness of our lives that deserves to be shared as we learn from and teach each other.

What is your story? Much of it is about the things that matter most in your life and why. They largely define who you are. Perhaps it’s an undeniable talent or a calling that directs you to a specific career or hobby. Whatever it is that characterizes you as your unique piece of the whole of humanity truly needs to be expressed and shared.

Why are you here?  Write it, sing it, create it, talk about it and most of all, love it. Your true essence matters to us all!