My People and My Path

One of the hardest things a parent can do is not to impose our own dreams
On what our children choose to pursue, no matter how futile it seems.
As long as they have a plan that doesn't necessitate our giving,
We must let them define their own ways of making peace with living.

This doesn't mean that we must celebrate every step upon their paths,
But it probably means we shouldn't give our advice unless asked.
I, many times, have had to limit my time and my exposure
When the actions of others brought up issues in which I have no closure.

I have many people in my life; old relationships are most important,
Because they seem to be part of the mission for which I was sent.
Those who have recently come to know me, can't follow the pattern;
They have no way of incorporating the many lessons I have learned.

As a nephew once told me, it is wrong to judge where we are,
Without also knowing the trials we have overcome, so far.
Everything and person that has touched my life is part of who I am;
It is not for me or others to know how we fit into the eternal plan.

Suffering and Salvation

There seems to be basic disagreement on what constitutes salvation.
Is the proof of faith the way we act or simply spiritual contemplation?
Is feeling guilty for harming others enough to cleanse one's soul,
Or do we have an obligation to attempt to make relationships whole?

I believe it is a misunderstanding of suffering as cleansing;
It is only through celebration that we help the earth's mending.
This means sharing other's joys as well as sometimes their pain,
But only sharing in the hurts that will lead to fruitful  gains.

Suffering may look like sacrifice to the casual observer,
But many use it to their own manipulative agendas further.
Parents complain about their progeny like the children chose life,
Acting as if parental actions didn't cause their parental strife.

Some people embrace their weaknesses with obvious elation,
Expecting that their suffering deserves others ministrations.
Sharing the good in life seems a greater responsibility;
Taking on the weaknesses of others won't make them pain free.

A Friend From My Youth

A friend from my youth was set up for sin
Before her life on earth could even begin.
Her parents had already grown to scorn;
Their children were recipients of this harm.

They set all manner of horrid example;
Their parenting wasn't nearly ample.
They were consumed with punishing the other;
It finally completely crushed her mother.

My friend then received her father's rage,
As was accepted in that day in age.
She became a pseudo mother and martyr,
As was the place of the oldest daughter.

I do not know how she has become
The person to whom her parents can run.
And she, with love, carries their load
Along her parent's last earthly road.

With good humor and determination
She sets to right her parents' creation.
She has no religion, but has such Spirit;
Surely all earth and heaven can hear it.

Spiritual Similes

The humidity is so thick, we'd have trouble sucking it through a straw;
Not like a too-cold milkshake,  like cream pie our breath tries to draw.
Clouds are accumulated and ominous; is this why they're called cumulus clouds?
Thunder rolls like a freight train, coming from a far-away, too-full shroud.
Ah, the wonders of nature that science and religions seek to explain;
I am most comfortable knowing that mystery is meant to ever remain.

Seagulls are the only birds not running for shelter from the storm gods,
And scientists who live by statistics, into the storms continue to trod.
There are those who accept their positions as the gods' chosen ones,
Who do not feel the need, from the great powers of nature, to run.
I am most comfortable observing from my safe upstairs window,
Confident that the sound, sights, and fury are only meant for show.

This is probably why we lost our home in the power of a hurricane;
As long as the power was only for show, I felt we could remain.
My scientist husband talked for a year about the dangers of global warming,
But he failed to mention it was time to move away from the storming.
I was more comfortable living in my safe, happy world of denial,
Than I was attempting to run away from the pain of the next trials.

It is better, by far, for us to face the realities with our best friends,
Than to run away alone to wherever our safety seems to depend.
I would rather die laughing at the capriciousness of the gods and fate,
Than to live solely in the world of statistics, which scientists overrate.
Because something isn't statistically significant to the scientific mind
Only means that, to the truths in serendipity, that scientist is blind.

I don't think anyone has seen the face or heard the voice of the one, true god;
I accept that many have imagined a face and voice on what they could not.
Our humanity we project on nature and the gods from whom we want favor,
But I reject that any person can fully explain the mysteries of all of nature.
Our similes and metaphors are part of our feeble attempts to relate
To the powers of the universe that rule our lives and our children's fates.

Purpose and Pride

I finally understand why people who are involved live longer;
I think it is the energy that we absorb from our surroundings.
Even those who live on negativity seem more content in groups;
I have found this realization to be immeasurably astounding.

The workplace gives many what they had in family or school,
A group who gets comfortable with who and what we are.
I am loving being part of a positive team of equal players,
Where no one person seems to want to be the shining star.

As a manager in the old patriarchal workplace,
I was expected to hold myself above employees.
This way caused me many problematic moments;
By my egalitarian nature, my employers were displeased.

I was so afraid all my life of working in a bureaucracy,
Afraid that I'd bristle at the many layers of authority.
But I find that clearly defined divisions of leadership
Can also relieve some burdens of responsibility.

Of course, as a contractor instead of employee,
The lines of my job are contractually limited.
I suspect that if I became permanent and full time,
The continued honeymoon feeling may be inhibited.

I know I will miss the sense of purpose and pride
When this contract reaches its natural finale,
But it has enabled me time to reclaim the essence
Of what always makes me feel like the best me.

Life's Lessons

Watching "my" little family as they play and soak up the sun;
Is this the inter-generational dynamic since time was begun?
I so miss the wonderful years when the grandchildren were mine,
Children learning on their own, as we adults killed so much time.

There is always the mindless urge to continue to procreate,
Continuing to live in the innocence that is a child's state.
But innocence is an illusion that takes much adult energy
To guard the young children, and keep them predator free.

Today there is a young mother and three children
Two children are hers; the other cousin or friend.
There are two older women; are they grandmothers?
I know the young mother claims only two as hers.

The truth of big families is that the older of the children
Are the youngsters' parents, not their sisters/brothers/friends.
I wish we would admit that there is only so much
Time, energy, patience, and nurturing arms to touch.

We then could extend the years when children are free
To learn what they need and learn who they are to be.
Now that we know we have such a  complex universe,
Growing up takes more years of putting our children first.

Hopefully, then, when we finally set them free as adults,
Children who are more ready to lead will be the result.
I don't know how those without their family's support and help
Hold on and protect for long enough for their children to develop.

Good, God, and Girl Scouts

I sit at my window at the end of every day, looking out upon the water;
Today there's a sunset Coast Guard rescue happening in the harbor.
The sun and my thoughts become most brilliant before they slip away into dark;
What energy have I put into the world that I leave to my son and daughter?

I remember, as a Girl Scout, feeling weepy when we sang at taps,
Not because the day was going, but because of the intensity
Of  the unbelievable emotion that threatened to overwhelm me,
And at the glory of being allowed to experience such great majesty.

What beautiful lessons we learned by living in the arms of nature;
We celebrated the sunrise with reveille, a bugle call to embrace life,
And we raised the flag to celebrate our birth into a land of freedom.
We learned of responsibility; that I am the next generation's midwife.

"On my honor, I will try, to do my duty to God and to my country,
To help other people, at all times, and to obey the Girl Scout laws."
We were also taught to leave everywhere better than when we came;
These are lessons that, I'm happy to say, still give me pause.

What if we each took these old Girl Scout lessons to heart?
What if we each believed that we are to give more than we take?
What if we paused at sunrise and at sunset for wonder and gratitude?
Would we then be willing to, our intense hurry and our greed, forsake?