Pause to Ponder

When Tears Came

When tears came on Whidbey Island where I had moved to start my life over after my first wife of nearly forty years had died suddenly, I breathed deeply, rested a lot, and wrote my book of poetry Peach, Limestone, and Green.
I walked on a hallowed island where many have gone before, but I was not alone, crazy, or having a nervous breakdown. . . . My heart was at work, my soul awake and very much alive, and they helped me hear and bring to expression a song of love, hope and everlasting joy.

Look at the View!

Strolling above the beach on a summer day off
a colleague told of a chance encounter
with a person who looked out on the ocean and said:

“Look at the view! Just look at the view!”
Words of wisdom from a complete stranger,
or was it an angel in disguise?

On my day off today I’m going to take some time
to really see what’s right in front of me.
And I hear Wisdom say, “You won’t be disappointed.”

Singing

There’s something about singing—
Be it a birthday jingle for a grandchild
or an anthem for some grand celebration,
by singing I enter the love song that flows like a river

God’s Grandeur

Reading Gerard Manley Hopkin’s sonnet
God’s Grandeur
I take heart in the eternal freshness of nature

I have watched God’s grandeur rise from my own
feeling crushed
have trod and trod, yet my soul never spent

Now in my later years I have experienced
a ”dearest freshness of deep down things”
and to my delight— bright new wings!

Spiritual Practice:
Consider joining me in a learning circle for later life wellness. Contact me if you or someone you know might be interested.