Same Journey, Different Approach

How does one survive
a predicament bereft
of clear solutions?

It shows true valor
to keep moving on despite
unrelenting loss.

We all demonstrate
through smiles or at times with tears
uncommon courage.

Some prove determined
to find cheer despite harsh odds.
Some just feel sadness.

Yet at times courage
may signify admitting
enough is enough.

Answers may elude
easy evaluation
of what might work well.

Admission of fear
may turn out to be
survival's best tool.

Can we just agree
that this rigorous challenge
is formidable?

I Ponder…

Is this really me
hobbling about and lurching,
rushing to bathrooms?

What happened to skills
at managing complex tasks,
a once fine mind asks.

How do I value
the me who remains despite
being diminished?

I Want to Believe

Friends, I am going away for a while. In my absence, I leave you with this poem, the first in my book Peace on the Journey. For, despite unremitting life challenges, I still want to believe ...

Life is a blessing.
Joy reigns as a birthright gift.
Gentleness is mine.

Discord and sorrow
oppressive and enduring
can be overcome.

Love will seek a way
to salve even the deepest
open wounds of loss.

Kicked Out in the Cold

Oh, the safety net
beneath the infirm, the poor,
leaves some in the cold.

When those most in need
find protection deficient,
we all become poor.

Kicked out on the street,
the promise of liberty
falls short of ideal.


"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
- Emma Lazarus

for Diane and Karen Lee

Nature's Portent

Calm breezes pass through.
Leaves drift down from tall branches.
A lazy descent.

This cozy moment
fools one into believing
one can rest at ease.

Heavy rain clouds loom.
Darkness on the horizon
augurs force unleashed?

It Happened at the Mall

A clerk ran to get
the busy floor manager
so I could stay put.

A customer said,
my wife has bad knees as well.
Let me help you please.

Another mentioned
his many back surgeries
yet opened my door.

The smiling bagger
foretold one day I'd walk free.
He was sure of it.

They opened my heart
as I accepted kindness
I had not asked for.

None knew what ailed me,
only that I needed help
they gave joyfully.

Successful Crossing?

A smile ferries me
across storms, rocks, and eddies
which might capsize me.

Will I reach the shore?
A jagged course line impedes
my being certain.

Caught in the pretense
my life will turn out okay,
I smile at the world.

Questions

I can never know
how my life would have turned out
if not for MS.

Life has many ifs.
Family, era, and luck
all impress their mark.

All things work for good?
I wonder if that is true.
But I can pretend.

Who Is Exceptional?

Who really becomes
the exceptional person?
One who always wins?

S/he who though broken
speaks of yearning for wholeness,
is that true healing?

Could our best come from
acknowledging our losses
to those who grieve too?

Post Traumatic Growth

Some people bounce back
when trauma upends their lives.
Struggle inspires growth.

Finding the new good
facilitates growth despite
distress remaining.

In how one reacts,
existing character traits

may be the real key.

Inspired by  "Surviving the Jolt"

Stumped

It was Wednesday eve.
I had no poem to post
to share with readers.

So here I am now
telling you I have nothing
on offer today.

I will just say, hi!
Thank you for sticking around
and reading my stuff.

The Great Pretender

The Great Pretender
Marc portrays powerfully
describes you and me.

Acknowledging loss,
the occasional envy,
Marc honors raw truths.

His unbowed spirit
even in peril affirms
life still has value.

Even I Don't Know

I both laugh and cry,
embracing life's full spectrum.
I learn as I go.

How can I select
a single ordinary
defining moment?

This work in progress
life in its full unfolding
defies clarity.

A Different Perspective

So I venture out.
Lo, the air is breathable.
The sun shines brightly.

Reminders abound,
if I will open myself,
that good stuff exists.

For yet one more day,
I cajole myself forward
expecting blessings.

Silent Burden

I have to wonder
how many suffer mutely
their aching burden.

Reluctant to speak,
deterred by fear of reproach,
they keep to themselves.

Sometimes it is I
hushed from expressing freely
just how bad things are.

Testing Fortitude

Life can turn into
Olympic trials to test
fortitude and will.

To give in or not,
to insist on finding joy,
life will test all that.

Am I foolish for
being cussedly stubborn
in not giving up?

Renewal

Lightly gliding through
the dancing quivering leaves,
a breeze whispers hope.

Gentle and graceful
verdant boughs sway easily,
permitting passage.

These tidings of hope
affirmed through spring's renewal
lighten my spirits.

A Bare Truth

The social landscape
increasingly thinned and pruned
risks looking barren.

Physical hardship
overwhelms our intentions
to remain social.

Loneliness creeps in
stealthy and unforgiving.
Sadness may join in.

Why I Still Smile

Instead of life's joy,
I could speak of loneliness.
It weighs heavily.

There will come a time
to acknowledge the burden
of isolation.

Today I still smile.
Elusive though it may be,
joy as a goal helps.

MS and Childbearing

Families create
the foundational structure
of our existence.

Research demonstrates
MS affects decisions
about childbearing.

MS once again
thwarts life's normal unfolding
unforgivably.

Expressing Gratitude

I have been lucky.
Others smoothed the thorny trail
of my MS path.

I could have floundered
more than I already was.
They steadied my course.

I am quite grateful
help came when I needed it
at key points in life.

A Whole Lot of *#@!!

*#@!! *#@!! *#@!! *#@!! *#@!!

It has been that kind of week.
Peace proved elusive.

In a stranglehold,
computer and health issues
vexed and frustrated.

The aggravation
seeped into all parts of life,
compounding the stress.

MS and Aging

MS meets aging,
double teaming to worsen
incapacity.

Inexorably,
age and MS both proceed.
Neither has a cure.

It does get scary
when these unrelenting foes
challenge coping tools.

Blogging Friends

Blessed with blogger friends,
my doors open to the world.
Limits seem remote.

Virtual connections
leap across the synapses
homebound life threatens.

Loneliness tempered,
the social network becomes
transformational.

They Inspire Me

This is bravery:
Mitch and Nicole's honesty
about their ordeals.

This is true courage:
forbidding adversity
to slay character.

Desspite their hardships,
courage and bravery reign.
I feel so humbled.

I have started a list of recent posts by individuals who also inspire me with their honesty about their life with MS:

Robert

Trusting

Trusting the process,
I face the difficulties
while loving myself.

Not suppressing fear,
I benefit from it through
learning and growing.

My inner self grants
the guidance, knowledge, and strength
to empower me.

Inspired by wisdom from Dr. Joan Barice.

Can This Happen Faster?

Visualizing
the brain repairing itself
is not so farfetched.

Hope is rekindled.
Current research promises
regeneration.

Sooner than we think,
the body’s healing prowess
may grant restored nerves.

The Healing Journey of a Broken Vessel

Whence does my hope come?
Why does faith in renewal
remain undaunted?

A broken vessel
containing my life stories
lies shattered and strewn.

New life may emerge
from the shards of brokenness.
Will I be patient?

I Prefer Smiling but ...

Inexorably,
the losses accumulate.
I feel overwhelmed.

Which to lament first?
My body’s steady decline?
Or my caregiver's?

The love of my life
battles old age and illness.
MS consumes mine.

I Marvel

I stumble onward
through a dense fog of fatigue,
managing my chores.

Ever mindful of
pain my steady companion,
I muster true grit.

It is a marvel
how much I do accomplish
despite shortcomings.

Icy Wind

An icy wind blows
in frigid bone-cracking cold,
showing no mercy.

Fleeing the harsh winds,
all living beings scurry,
searching for shelter.

Lower daylight hours
thrust waiting into darkness
even in refuge.

Kindle Edition Available

The Kindle version of my book is now available.  Peace on the Journey is enrolled in Amazon’s Matchbook program. This means that if you already purchased the print edition in the past (or purchase one now), the Kindle price is reduced by 50%.

It has been a remarkable experience for me to read my own book in this new edition. It feels as if I had published it for the first time. Also, in my Kindle library (organized by Amazon), my book “sits” alongside Thomas Jefferson and John Keats. What a thrill!

 

Future Promise

Morning hoarfrost forms
fresh dew frozen on parched grass
before sunlight comes.

A slumbering world
poised to shed its dormancy
awaits light’s coming.

What life may exist
beneath apparent stillness
holds future promise.

In This New Year

May You ... 

Have light shine away
the darkness of your valley
so you can reach home.

Meet along the way
strangers who treat you kindly
 and with a full smile.

Feel deep in your heart
the warmth of those beside you
who also love you.