Jan 14, 2013

Wildflowers


I walked away while their tears streamed down, my little one shaking her head, trying to scare the nightmare away. A brother is meant to stay home, not leave for a cause never worth fighting for. I didn’t, couldn’t look back.
                 

        I looked down on my little Susanna, asleep in the room we once shared. She still had her blue aster flower under her pillow; the one she said held my voice in her dreams and my eyes watching over her. Her little stomach heaved with the effort of breathing in the heat of summer under her asthma. I always told her it wasn’t a weakness; it was an obstacle that she could always fly over. I concentrated on her flower, and suddenly, I was there.

       Aster was my best brother. He helped me instead of teasing me like Jonah. Why did he have to go fight bad men, leaving me? He taught me how to talk proper and how to help momma around the house so that when he left we wouldn’t fall apart like a mud pie left in the icebox. He always said I was his little one and to keep his flower under my pillow so that he was always with me. Now he’s gone and this drooping blossom is all I have left of my beloved brother.  

        Momma made porridge again, yuck! Aster always cooked, he was good at it. I cried myself to sleep, again. I dreamed of flying guns and wildflowers.

      
         Aster opened his eyes timidly. He stood in a field, just like the one behind his old log cabin that he used to call home. He sat down in the tall grass and soaked in the summer breeze tickling his nose. Suddenly, a little girl around four appeared out of the fluffy clouds and ran towards him. “Aster!” She cried. Aster caught her slight frame in his tired arms and swung her in the air until she giggled with delight. “We miss you Aster. Momma doesn’t want us kids to notice, but she cries at night and when she makes supper. But we notice and try to comfort her, and, Aster, she doesn’t listen when we say that you’re watching!” Susanna’s little legs shook and she sat down with her brother. He looked out at the waving grass and chuckled. “I am always here, little one, even when that flower is wilted and gone, me and my love will be right here.” He pointed to her heart and smiled. “I never leave your dreams, baby girl. You tell Momma that.” Susanna’s blue eyes lit up to match Aster’s sky blue ones. They say together in the summer waves, soaking up the freedom of the wildflowers.

         

 

Apr 10, 2012

April 10, 2012

how do the clouds
just float by
on silver wings
through the clear
blue sky
while we
are stuck
down here
with this
knot that
is LIFE
we have to walk
and run
and worry
while they float
in the wide
spance that
is what we
wish
our world
could be

May 9, 2011

May 9, 2011

The key to new beginnings
opens up a world of happiness
but the shiny side
always holds secrets

Apr 18, 2011

April 18, 2011

I remember putting the stickers
in that little metal box
and making up a story
to go along with each one
Then, I'd take off her coat,
and hat
and shoes
but leave her socks on
so that her feet didn't get cold
then I'd put a blanket
in the bottom of the box
and set her inside
I'd pull the blanket
up to her chin a
nd kiss her on the head
I'd shut the box
and whisper
"good night Madeline."

Feb 6, 2011

February 6, 2011

This is a little poem/bible excerpt from Secretariat:

Do you give the horse his strength
or cloth his neck with a flowing mane
Do you make him leap like a locust
striking terror with his proud snorting
He paws fiercely
rejoicing in his strength
and charges into the fray
he laughs at fear
afraid of nothing
he does not shy away from the sword
the quiver rattles against his side
along with the flashing spear and lance
in frenzied excitement
he eats up the ground
he cannot stand still
when the trumpet sounds.

Dec 20, 2010

December 20, 2010

Walking home frome school
your insides are in a knot
its your birthday
and you're 12
you're SOOOO excited
'cause its your birthday
you walk in your door
and its quiet
you remember your mother saying
we'll be home after school
but
they're not
you hear a rustling and giggling
you turn
nothing
you turn back around
and.........
SURPRISE!!!!!!
they jusmp out
like lions on an antalope
yelling
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
in your ear
suprise indeed

December 20, 2010

You can never think
of the future
until you get there
if you think about
the sun rising tomorrow
don't
wait until tomorrow
then think about it
go outside
and enjoy the now