WHITHER GRACE?  

WAITING

I am told there is a gift out there

They say, “grace”

Gift-like, free

Unique to me

Must I wait? 

Stop, look and listen

Dare I say, pray?

Or am I missing the point?

Can the extraordinary find me?

Sort through my baggage?

Learn the code

To hack its way past

My mental technology?

Gifts!

It would be nice to take a peek

Shake it a bit

Get a hint of what’s inside

It could be hard to open

Require assembly

Have difficult operating instructions

Something I would actually use?

I will try to be thankful

What if?

What if!?

A delivery has been tried

And I somehow scuttled it?

A challenge conveniently misinterpreted?

Or maybe it has been here all the time

Not carefully attended

Would it be something to grow with me?

Other people?

Truth be told

I have not exactly been seeking the extraordinary

Attending the elsewhere with some intensity

Where do my best efforts end?

And where does grace begin?

WONDERING

Would I know if it were working?

A tension may be necessary

Between the ordinary and the extra-

As in, no future

Without pruning the past

I have no horse to be knocked from

No angel has appeared

To structure my career

Should it prod dialogs with God

That would be new!

For many gifts what counts is the thought.

Might grace and I find a useful fit?

Discover what it means

To live gracefully?

Fantasizing

All my past missteps

And I’m still here

There but for the grace of God go I

Fantasizing again,

Maybe new eyes through which to see,

New energy

If it goes back to the resurrection

Or beyond

We’re all affected

But my guess, grace is personal

And hard to fathom in the general

SO . . .

What urged the many seekers preceding me?

What fueled their centuries of curiosity?

Their creativity?

Even these few words

Grace prodding questions about grace?

I may sort through my gifts again

And take a closer look

DRK

Feb. 18, 2019

REVELATIONS

The last book of the Christian Bible

“Revelation”

Is spelled with no “s”

But I offer nothing so singular here

Rather, a series of everyday revelations

Somewhat apocalyptic

And somewhat last-bookish

Age-old revelations about old age

 . . . Seemed new to me

Under Florida’s sun, circa February one

And, at some time, probably do to everyone

Apocalyptic?

A jab in the ribs, really

About creeping age

End-of-book-ish?

I do read the later chapters of my life

With more intent

But, experiencing age at Disneyworld?

That place for the young?

It and the airports leading to this “Rome”

Are huge

And now problematic  

Not for the young

Who traverse space easily

Striding daily, quick apace

Pain free

Fatigued?

Not obviously

Revelation one

We travel at different speeds

I, once a passer

Now the passee

Permanently

Revelation two

Physical pain is bad to prod the psyche

In my looking glass self * I now see differently

How people respond to me

The argument is over

Growing up has its downsides

And upsides

And this is why these events matter

The people who had been pulling me

Time and again

From my easy chair

Toward their future

Now took turns pushing me

My new “wheelchair legacy”

For the first time,

Viewing the world from the waist up

Revealed new interdependencies

Revelation three

Returns on investments getting real

Proud parents, look at what you’ve made

Blake’s new focus, pushing me

With his strong eight-year-old hockey legs

And thoughtfully parking me in the shade

DRK

2/9/19

PS:  to see where we went and what we did

Check out the amazing album of pictures

Created by Senja’s and Blake’s dad

*Charles Horton Cooley

Human Nature and the Social Order, 1902

CONSIDER THANKFULNESS

Try this

Your judge is your advocate

In power since day one

Hopes you will join the firm

Your wishes
Can't help but come true

Not to be thrown away

A gift
A calling

Grace, really 

Tailored to your ability

Work
The usual hassle 

Do-able?

Who else could do it as well?

It’s your call, girl

The benefits

Out of this world

But about that wishing
How good are you?

DRK

6/3/16

Interpreting “Guerric of Igny (1070 – 1157), Sermon 37”

Give Us This Day: Daily Prayer for Today’s Catholic

May, 2016, pp. 133-134

Liturgical Press

Collegeville, MN 
 

FLOWER POWER

9/6/18 – 9/14/18

Guests and luggage, DTW

In Carole’s van to Chelsea’s Common Grill

Then, East Lansing

Evening drinks on the deck

Lamb chops on the Keefe’s private grill

And a welcome from

Carole’s flowers in the yard   

“We’ve been waiting for you all year

Enjoy our view and your too-short stay.” 

Friday’s task: drive “up north”  

Ladies seemed happy enough

With our luggage in the van

And the guys in the Jag

Lunch break at Grayling’s Broken Bear Brewery

An Aaron recommendation

With local beer

And good food accommodations

The bridge in sight

Mackinaw City

Shepler’s Ferry to the right

Luggage, disposed,

Would meet us again in our rooms

At Mackinaw Island’s Grand Hotel

First impressions

From our horse-drawn taxi

Horses everywhere

For the season, several thousand

Made horse scents to me

Streets clip-clopped and horse-plopped

The hotel, truly Grand

Great weather

Sunny warm

From the straits, a cool wind

Limited Esther Williams’ pool

To photo ops

Indoors

Drinks at the Cupola Bar

And dining de rigueur

Coats, ties

Dressed up ladies

Finery for sure

Bob, our sommelier

Called up French wines

From the hotel’s cellar

Breakfast at the buffet

More than ample

Or dawdle and do

The Geranium Bar, late, continental

Football Saturday

Georgia on TV and OU streamed

Lots to cheer

MSU late night from Arizona

Spartans crying in their beer

Grocery list itemized at a ladies’ tea

Anticipating our cabin stay

Downtown

Down the hill

Walk the shops

Taxi back

Nineteenth century style

Sunday, out and about

In our two-horse carriage

We, easily persuaded, felt special

Larger tour groups required three-horses

One huge house after another

Each, pristine and colorful

One for sale

Millions multiplied

Manicured gardens everywhere

At their outdoor best

Communicating

“Summer’s peak is summer’s end

Join us in the moment

Zen

Attend to us and enjoy

We were meant for oohs and aahs.”

Halfway through the tour

The horses paused for rest and water

             

            S.O.P. for our kin

            Think about that for a min.

Sunday

Back to Grayling

And lunch at Spike’s Keg O’Nails

Not contemporary cool

But old-fashioned friendliness

And attention to detail

Over-shop for supplies

            There was “the list”

            But on vacation

We extemporized

Finally

To the cabin!

God bless our GPS

Cozy crowded

Antler kitsch

In a cabin that sleeps ten

But bathes or showers 

One at a time

Opportunities

For Bob’s vacation cigars

Plenty of fresh air

Aaron and Liz arrived

Trailering kayaks and boats

Our goal, a Pure Michigan trout river float

But first, dinner for eight at Gates’ Lodge

Good food, rustic atmosphere

And, for those who need it

Fishing gear

Back at the cabin

Surprise!

A day-old bouquet

With a message to share

A new marriage

Enthusiastically embraced

No tears spared

Liz and Aaron were wed on the sly

Yesterday

In the woods

Just a minister

A few witnesses

Three of their kids

And a bouquet

They did it their way

For the third time around

Who better to make that choice?

That’s 9/9/18 for your calendar

Monday morning fireplace greeting

Compliments of Aaron

            He who makes life in the wilderness do-able

Then the river float

From Stephan landing

To our cabin at Townline landing  

Beginning with a challenge

Spotting two trailered boats

These logistics, a piece of cake

For seasoned river fishing enthusiasts

One couple, each boat

Carole and Billy took one for the team

And opted for the kayaks

Delightful trip

Beautiful views

Until the Au Sable

Gobbled our kayaks

Luring us in with trees and weeds

Then reeling in a wedding ring

Two hats

And Billy’s glasses

Fruitful fishing day, indeed

Search and rescue

Liz in the water first

Aaron searching the bottom

3/8 of us stayed dry

Wasn’t it Steinbeck who said

Those who think they can challenge

Trout in a fast-moving stream

And fail

Deserve it . . .

Or something like that?

On Tuesday we opted for an early departure

Needing a day to recover

(and wash the river clothes)

For an appropriate Wednesday finale

We toured MSU’s horticultural gardens

One last chance to hear

What the flowers had to say

“September now, but what a summer

What will the six of you do next year?”

An American Airlines adjusted schedule

Sent Roxy and Bob on a mid-night scramble

And Uber ride to DTW

But not until Bob displayed an athletic

Broken handrail tumble

Billy and Jo made their way home

In Friday’s fog

On schedule

We hope for a return visit someday

To let these guests test

The new Bob Roland Memorial handrail

We will alert

The flowers nearby

                            

DRK

10/27/18

THE OLDEST MEMBER 

I first encountered him
And you may have too
On a visit to Bertie Wooster's gentleman's club
Where a certain esteem is assigned
To being

"The Oldest Member"

Wodehouse's words, of course, were fiction
Even Jeeves, Bertie's  valet
But, to me, the stories were real

My mother, our grand matriarch
Held court with her grandchildren 
And great grandchildren
For the last thirty of her 97 years

Her brother, ten years her junior
Outlived his generation
And was celebrated until he passed at 95

We loved it when they joined our events
Irreplaceable sources of family lore

 Regrettably, the inevitable generational loss
So much mine-able ore
Left untapped

 A few gems I keep
Deep where my psyche tweaks 
Me and what I do

Discussions of "getting old" were taboo
Walking and aerobics were pursued
As was mom's curiosity about our lives as teens
Keeping us at the dinner table
Long after dad had headed to the living room

Her brother read the New York Times
Saw the latest Broadway shows
And loved hosting our visits
To The Big Apple

They may have acquired their persistent youth 
From their mother
Who, it was said, loved a good party
And died in her sleep
After a long day of celebrating
 My Master of Science graduation

With her boots on, so to speak

Nor can I forget the teasing

     Our advanced degrees
     Did they really provide us with daily life expertise?

On my father's side it was "family"
When it mattered the most
We could depend on their presence

How sad to lose those uncles and aunts
The ones who would play catch with me as a kid
Or nudge me at Thanksgiving  
     "More bird?"

They communicated, at least  to me

A good humored approach to life

With a certain elan

Now I sense from the members of my clan

Unaccustomed civility and patience

     "Take your time"

     "Here, let me help with that"

     "How you doing, young man?
 

I wonder what I convey

Possibly it will show up

When I read my obituary

In the meantime
To our young
Aging out and due to step up

Excuse me
If I show some concern
About ceding this position

To take my place

     "The oldest member"

You'll have to wait your turn

DRK
8/10/18