Photo by Pixabay
The heat hung in the air like wet cotton today.
The Texas dance of August has begun.
The manicured lawns will all soon be patched brown.
Even the humming of cicadas has gone still.
Venus burns ever so brightly racing me to dawn.
The majestic Oaks stand still as Centurion guards.
At my core the keen edge of Joy bids me come.
I reach for the poetry that fills my heart.
Photo by Wallace Chuck
I think I missed my cue
in the seismic gap between us.
The drama is widening it all the while.
There is a rawness in your eyes
burning ashes fill the sky.
The midnight train is passing by
is this my cue to cry?
A night so long and you move on
and I never say goodbye.
Photo by Pixabay
Dreamlike orbs of light float by. I feel removed from afar. I compartmentalize the uncertainty of these times. It lessens the sharp edge of the unknown, of false information, and loss around every corner. This must be similar to wartime trauma, although in many ways no where near it. Yet still there is communal suffering in my world and there is idle time that cannot be healthy. Texas summer heat is unleashed. The sun beats down in all of it’s glory, unrelenting. Dozens of small wisps of clouds seem motionless in the watery blue of the summer sky.
Yet, in this stillness and overwhelming simplicity I know the Presence of God washes over me. Steady and strong, I know I am meant to live in this time. Right now I am alive. The sharp edge of the unknown lessens because of the Power of the name of Jesus. Yes, I am one of those who cling to the Power of the blood shed on His cross and the indescribable power of His Resurrection! Jesus alone!
I am able to live in the present most of the time as it is the gift He gives me. I am comforted by Him. The Alpha and Omega…The One whose name is Faithful and True. Today is what I have.
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.” Revelation 1 9:11
Photo by Johan Bos
Early on we are taught
Time is all we’ve got
and then we learn it’s not…
Grief comes to call
at some point
for us all, it’s true…
In the bubble of our backyard
we grow not knowing fear, it’s true
Dad is a super hero, Mom is always near…
Now we know those still waters
let us grow, it’s true
no one can take that love from you.
Now we are old
and we know Time is brief
like melting snow and falling leaves…
In the meaning of it all
we learn Time means nothing at all
It is love that is never small, it’s true
Photo by Ünsal Demirbaş
Her Daddy was a Sheriff and his Deputy was her son.
She was more afraid of church folks than she was afraid of guns.
Her husband ran off for his moonshine and she was left alone and shunned.
Until one night on a full moon her mind became undone.
She awoke from a dream and in her bed was her Daddy and her son.
They laughed at her clown face where her makeup had all run.
So she grabbed the Sheriff’s shotgun
and fired and killed her son.
The Deputy died in the arms of his Father’s by his very own gun.
The next day she saddled her horse and rode away in the peace of the rising sun
Photo by Artem Saranin
I heard the devil is hanging round down on Caraway Street
He’s looking so good and singing so sweet.
The ladies how they love him, the men like his treats
Oh yea there’s hell to pay down on Caraway Street.
Lord, they say the devil is dancing on Caraway Street
Drinking tastey wine and he’s so quick on his feet.
The ladies stand in line because they can’t wait to meet
The men who love the devil on Caraway Street
Photo by sebastiaan stam
Like a column of marching Nazi jackboots.
The Merchant of Death has goose-stepped his way in.
There is no more denial in this hideous illness.
Streets are deserted and creation weeps in stillness.
The politico has become the other greater enemy.
Hatred is ravaging the souls of men.
Oh God deliver us from evil, deliver us from this dark night.
Thank you for your everlasting faithfulness and light!
Photo by cottonbro
There is nothing folded or any pockets left to hide anything. There are no possessions, no promise to keep, and no clever things to say. There are no lies to tell, no more pressure of failure or success. There is no need to pursue happiness and accolades. There are no more bills to pay or money to spend. There is nothing clever to be said.
This man and I are alone in his hospital room. We are humans here together. I am the last person he saw. I am the last one to hold this hand that is already losing its warmth. This hand that held his sweetheart, his children, and grandchildren. This hand that worked diligently at a job and perhaps lost touch on his journey.
In this moment I feel his joys and sorrows as one human to another. I have the privilege to hold for just a brief moment the connection of the mystery that we both have lived, and dreamed in both the laughing and the weeping.
I am the one who will gently wash away the smell of sickness. I will tenderly prepare this human body for final rest as if he were my loved one because the Truth is we are brother and sister in the family of “us.” All of us who are called humans. I will make sure he looks his best for his loved ones who are on their way here in mourning, and just for ” the blink of an eye” I will hold this other human’s unknown secrets, dreams, and love for the cherished treasures they are. I will be a better person having done so.
I whisper a prayer to The One who gives life and who defeated death and give thanks that two complete strangers can be so completely united for a single moment.
This is what being a Nurse means…
Jill Autrey Dorman 