tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60615533525218254082024-03-13T17:38:45.729-04:00Peace Be With You**** On Life's JourneyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger151125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-23174453866872274922020-05-29T22:11:00.000-04:002020-05-29T22:34:12.407-04:00 What Still Works and Does Not<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seafan_300.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r9NmgwXmi3I/XtG_9INuQxI/AAAAAAAAIag/_AeWkhGjKRkAC6AyrUhD0eKMErB61VbVgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/800px-Seafan_300.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This
bleak pandemic,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">unsettling
and quite deadly,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">claims
some positives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Power
grids prevail.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So do phones,
internet, mail,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">police and
fire crews.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For
those who can pay,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">food
supplies mostly arrive,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">disruptions
short-lived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With dedication,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">medical
infrastructure<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">holds
up though tested.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Village
in action,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">volunteers
emerge to help<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">those needing
support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Despite
achieving<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">moderate
integrity,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">system
faults persist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Widespread
suffering <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">from
lost jobs, lives, and routines<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">masks
inequities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
plea to expunge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">stubborn
inequalities<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">begs
for attention. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fairness
when absent<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">imperils
group long-term strength,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">thwarting
full promise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-79691244236747062972020-05-14T15:09:00.003-04:002020-05-14T15:11:53.132-04:00The Long Haul Begins<br />
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Rockingham_Wild_Encounters_boats_at_anchor_because_of_the_effects_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic%2C_March_2020.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="497" height="163" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y9FFuFzzaTw/Xr2Wk9rwXWI/AAAAAAAAIaE/Y9ZGc091QTA2JjXs1jiwsce5ZVoaul9PwCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/800px-Rockingham_Wild_Encounters_boats_at_anchor_because_of_the_effects_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic%252C_March_2020.jpg" width="200" /></a><span id="goog_2064641307"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_2064641308"></span></div>
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Pandemic effects</div>
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lingering intractably</div>
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reframe normalcy.</div>
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Once contagion stays,</div>
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resilience frays at last.</div>
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The long haul begins.</div>
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Self-doubt will persist,</div>
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fostered by this epic plague's</div>
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ominous death toll.</div>
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What strength can be mined?</div>
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Will one's foundational truths</div>
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aid forward movement?</div>
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As firm counterweight,</div>
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honest doubt hovers throughout</div>
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existential angst.</div>
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How best to resist?</div>
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Premature surrender tempts</div>
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even the strong-willed.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-51279293592999444372020-05-06T20:28:00.000-04:002020-05-06T20:28:47.373-04:00At a Crossroads?<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KJj1OPuqHGE/XrNVoPWll-I/AAAAAAAAIZ0/YcacTPgDzEElrb0HXcBQOKkQyFy3ci-SwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Empty_shelves_at_supermarkets%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1108" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KJj1OPuqHGE/XrNVoPWll-I/AAAAAAAAIZ0/YcacTPgDzEElrb0HXcBQOKkQyFy3ci-SwCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Empty_shelves_at_supermarkets%2B2.jpg" width="138" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Job and structure loss,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">worsened by vast disruptions</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">frays stability.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Stripped of jobs and means,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">workers crave restoration</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">of earning power.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To survive and grow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">firms strive for financial strength,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">light-touch oversight.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Product shortages</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">disrupt supplies and pricing,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">needing correction.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Essential worker</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">income inequality </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">tests priorities.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Poverty's role in</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">survival disparities</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">challenges fairness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Still stunned consumers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">staggering from brutal loss,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">refrain from spending.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Healthcare providers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">seared by unrelenting stress</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">step back to restore.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The economy,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">missing strong participants,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">fails to reopen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Civic leaders caught</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">by a partisan divide</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">strain at consensus.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Stressed social contract</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">invites appraisal to gain</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">a broad renewal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Unfolding events</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">mired in deep uncertainty,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">straddle fear and hope.</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-86927857842911706632020-04-28T17:36:00.001-04:002020-04-28T17:42:04.003-04:00Respect for the Supply Chain<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logistics#/media/File:RAF_Delivers_Aid_to_Flood_Hit_Pakistan_MOD_45151688.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="933" height="111" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bDCkp64jmYQ/Xqidzfaj2OI/AAAAAAAAIZo/8o8Q9OhclgUQh3UawVRhmHmQBfi9rbbdACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/1024px-RAF_Delivers_Aid_to_Flood_Hit_Pakistan_MOD_45151688%2Bcopy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Few would survive well</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">if links in the supply chain</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">worsened even more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Uncelebrated,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">even in easier times,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the chain sustains us.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Providers include</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">farmers and fabricators</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">using transporters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For optimal reach,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">controlling the flow of goods</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">needs deft management.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Support system strength</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">buoys chain effectiveness,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">its efficiency.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Respect then extends to:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">those giving needed support.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A long list follows.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Health, fuel, housing,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">schooling, employers, news folk,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">customer service.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Charity pantries,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">mail, cashiers, homes of worship,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">clerks, warehouse workers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Likely I have missed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">links in the vast supply chain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is that complex.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">All contribute to</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">providing and consuming,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">hopefully in sync.</span><br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-73611095932584117272020-04-18T09:40:00.000-04:002020-04-18T09:40:25.919-04:00Competing Expectations of Stay-at-Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="705" height="170" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f1ZZszsW9xU/Xpobeu3iZaI/AAAAAAAAIZM/PuucsbsR61YXF44Fzps8AXhovOBauxYxACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/1024px-Woman_sewing_a_face_mask_with_a_Singer_machine_09.jpg" width="200" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We have all this time</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">crying to be productive.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Or we could ease up.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In recovery</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">from a traumatic event,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">downtime may be key.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Covid's lockdown could</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">qualify as a trauma</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">to normal living.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Disrupted routines.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">death tolls, lost jobs, displaced kids</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">call for adjustment.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Feeling unsettled</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">can overwhelm simple tasks</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">into inaction.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Public service plus</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">family obligations</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">may take precedence.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Otherwise let us</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">tone down grand expectations.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We need time to mend.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-39418863486676273532020-04-13T16:00:00.000-04:002020-04-15T14:43:07.634-04:00Together in This Live Experiment<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clasped_hands.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="750" height="160" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XUS8QMNQZFA/XpTDlFzAsFI/AAAAAAAAIZA/e99z9-H5wlUByQnES4JHaymfBLRqs7AXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/750px-Clasped_hands.jpg" width="200" /></a><span id="goog_1406813334"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Unprecedented</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">magnitude of disruption</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">hides cloaked in unknowns.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Uncertainty rules.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Dense fog conceals the guideposts</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">aiding direction.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Trapped unwillingly</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">in this live experiment,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">we adapt to live.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Survival coded</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">into humanity's drive</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">favors the fittest.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A growing number</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">strained by struggles to endure</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">likely still need help.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Wisdom may elude</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">leaders caught in the shock waves</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">of deep upheaval.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We the people though</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">can embrace the best within</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">and rise up in strength.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For the greater good,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">kindness, mercy, and giving</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">could rise to the fore.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-86023165543649386282020-04-09T14:00:00.002-04:002020-04-12T22:02:08.996-04:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:U.S._Government_COVID-19_Response_Plan,_March_13,_2020.pdf"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="450" height="138" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4WEs24deXiw/XpABcZfbl8I/AAAAAAAAIY0/sA_fogKwxIY7eIFuQcjOBKXJi_AgR1rNQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/virus.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Facing My Fears</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As I contemplate</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">this fierce global pandemic, </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">questions need answers.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Will I get Covid?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Or could it slay a loved one?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Vulnerable state.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Though lacking symptoms,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">have I been struck already</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">but do not yet know?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Without full testing,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">with whom can I meet safely?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Am I locked in fear?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Will this ordeal end?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When and at what cost to all</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">life as we knew it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">History suggests</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">we will move on from this scourge,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">but at a steep cost.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-89589591110920802522020-03-26T09:50:00.001-04:002020-04-11T01:28:43.267-04:00Musings While in Isolation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corona_Virus_graffiti_-_save_lives,_stay_at_home.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="800" height="133" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WKE-8c1Vihw/Xnyyr1vmqRI/AAAAAAAAIYk/S5fw73fj6rkLzZI5302LYMflhzmxF-bdwCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/800px-Corona_Virus_graffiti_-_save_lives%252C_stay_at_home.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So what am I doing in coronavirus isolation? I write haiku-influenced poetry. I will keep adding more as thoughts arise. Stay safe, all.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">………</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A World in Lockdown</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Abruptly becalmed</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">routine rushing and striving.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The eerie silence.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Cohabitation</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">thrust upon the unwilling.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">An uneasy fix.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Financial levers</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">clanking in a spin cycle.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Threatened livelihoods.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Stark trajectory</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">alarming even the brave.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Menacing unknowns.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Praising the helpers:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">food, health, mail, money, civic.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Together we rise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">………</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The Unfathomable?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This I fear deeply:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">an unchecked unraveling of</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the social order.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Could the worst happen?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Breakdowns of support systems</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">portend more hardship.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In uncertain times,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">despots and demagogues ply</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">their flawed solutions.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Group collective strength</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">may prevail for good or for bad</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Which do we choose now?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">May current choices</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">aid what’s good for the many</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">and not just a few.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">………</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Front Line Heroes</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Many come forward</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">risking themselves to sustain</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">strangers and loved ones.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Their list now includes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">doctors, nurses, ship captains,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">paramedics too.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Present also are</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">store clerks and mail carriers</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Truckers contribute.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Civic, finance, tech,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">media, spiritual</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">join with researchers.</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Such heroes declare</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">selfless giving still exists.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Goodness can prevail.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">………</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-78312574033479713052019-05-20T10:37:00.001-04:002019-05-22T13:38:08.312-04:00The MS Journey<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q7HlQzNxRPw/XOK5C3O5jqI/AAAAAAAAIWk/HXy9wYJ9vYoGxizIk1jPnyMyBatBQHZ9wCLcBGAs/s1600/1024px-K%25C4%25ABlauea_lava_flow_2017%25282%2529%2B%2Bhawaii%2Blava.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q7HlQzNxRPw/XOK5C3O5jqI/AAAAAAAAIWk/HXy9wYJ9vYoGxizIk1jPnyMyBatBQHZ9wCLcBGAs/s200/1024px-K%25C4%25ABlauea_lava_flow_2017%25282%2529%2B%2Bhawaii%2Blava.jpg" width="173" height="200" data-original-width="372" data-original-height="431" /></a></div><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61637790"></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Slow-burn lava streams<br />
simmer and flow underground,<br />
wanting to erupt.<br />
<br />
Flares surface when freed,<br />
minor to significant,<br />
still devastating.<br />
<br />
Scarring recovery<br />
works slowly or not at all,<br />
with no guarantees.<br />
<br />
Lives build atop threats,<br />
smoldering, latent, hidden,<br />
destabilizing.<br />
<br />
Lurking opponents<br />
testing one’s resilience<br />
exhaust energy.<br />
<br />
Even when accessed,<br />
resistance and defiance<br />
may fail in the end.<br />
<br />
Hope ever lingers,<br />
detecting new crevices<br />
in which to survive.<br />
</div><br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-19322606552911400192018-03-08T11:09:00.000-05:002018-03-08T21:10:17.028-05:00MS Pairs with Aging<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Human_aging#/media/File:Life-stages.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="472" height="139" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DNmt2kkmL3s/WqFZCTfOs6I/AAAAAAAAIUY/EiM9zVCOCGw7oR4FDqCWG-0MEM6TgnX3QCLcBGAs/s200/Life-stages.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Our understanding</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
MS gerontology,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
a pressing issue.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
In parsing between</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
normal aging and MS,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
is it just the plaques?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Can we determine</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
whether each process affects</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
mutual progression?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-30947754436788055122018-01-18T09:41:00.000-05:002018-01-18T10:10:10.238-05:00Help on My Journey<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Helpinghands.svg"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="237" height="146" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dG6uJ1tl-XU/WmCu5BaT_zI/AAAAAAAAITw/My4Xf6YO6HYzQJm33XgYiKIIkVPqwoO8wCLcBGAs/s200/Helpinghands.svg.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
I whisper
for help</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
as lesions
of doom betray</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
my former
life plans.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
Fellow
travelers</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
on my life’s
unforeseen path</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
grant
community.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
The sadness
of loss</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
experienced and
to come</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
becomes
bearable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
Inspired by
Nicole Lemelle’s</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.mynewnormals.com/lesions-of-doom/">Lesions of Doom</a><br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-66143974963290046062018-01-02T21:52:00.000-05:002018-01-18T09:51:59.563-05:00Ode to New Year’s Eves<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0bVGWyQxfxs/WkxEgkkBFzI/AAAAAAAAITg/G7PWH6ZnFTsLR2j5UX3mor53lOXcKj-aQCLcBGAs/s1600/A%25C3%25B1o_nuevo_en_Concepci%25C3%25B3n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0bVGWyQxfxs/WkxEgkkBFzI/AAAAAAAAITg/G7PWH6ZnFTsLR2j5UX3mor53lOXcKj-aQCLcBGAs/s200/A%25C3%25B1o_nuevo_en_Concepci%25C3%25B3n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Others celebrate</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the promise of a blank slate.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I watch from afar.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So am I jealous?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I most definitely am.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I want to party.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
As I yearn to grasp</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
hope’s seductive promises,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
loss appears instead.<br />
<br />
<br />
Inspired by Wheelchair Kamikaze's<br />
<a href="http://www.wheelchairkamikaze.com/2017/12/new-years-eve-through-ms-eyes.html">New Year's Eve Through MS Eyes</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-18208774240987958662016-11-13T12:00:00.001-05:002016-11-18T06:58:43.928-05:00I Break My Silence<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ibirapuera_Inverno_12.jpg"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-et0kCHfJcqg/WCibjuu2yhI/AAAAAAAAISA/aH3viaWnl7k5gSDYqt4CQYDjmtE7AHQKgCLcB/s200/Ibirapuera_Inverno_12%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
I share the following poems with you as I seek a path out of sorrow and despair. The beginning and ending poems are new. The others have appeared previously on this blog and are included in my book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Peace-Journey-Poems-Judith-Mercado/dp/149299829X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1478981073&sr=1-1&keywords=Judith+Mercado+Peace+on+the+Journey">Peace on the Journey</a></i>. Grouped together, they reveal the arc of my current trajectory.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Loss</span><br />
<br />
<br />
I keep working on<br />
finding a reset button<br />
so love can prevail.<br />
<br />
Lasting solutions<br />
continue evading me<br />
as fresh trauma lands.<br />
<br />
How I will emerge<br />
from ruthless remorseless loss<br />
right now is a guess.<br />
<br />
<br />
**<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">I Want to Believe </span><br />
<br />
<br />
Life is a blessing.<br />
Joy reigns as a birthright gift.<br />
Gentleness is mine.<br />
<br />
Discord and sorrow<br />
oppressive and enduring<br />
can be overcome.<br />
<br />
Love will seek a way<br />
to salve even the deepest<br />
open wounds of loss.<br />
<br />
<br />
**<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Love Prevails</span><br />
<br />
<br />
Somewhere kindness lies<br />
waiting to be permitted<br />
to ply its healing.<br />
<br />
A love-emptied world<br />
keens with anguished cry seeking<br />
compassion’s healing.<br />
<br />
I want to believe<br />
love prevails ultimately.<br />
Grant me evidence.<br />
<br />
<br />
**<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">This I Believe</span><br />
<br />
<br />
I do not know how<br />
I will manage to endure,<br />
but I trust I shall.<br />
<br />
I tap into roots<br />
spiritual and grounded<br />
My center will hold.<br />
<br />
Faith in renewal<br />
anchors my spirit in hope<br />
my life will be blessed.<br />
<br />
<br />
**<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">And Yet</span><br />
<br />
<br />
Loss retains its sting.<br />
Heartbreak may resist efforts<br />
to rely on hope.<br />
<br />
I stumble about,<br />
steeped in despairing sorrow.<br />
Solutions elude.<br />
<br />
No easy answers<br />
no uplifting messages<br />
now present themselves.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-88907719179308276842015-08-11T22:47:00.002-04:002015-08-11T22:47:58.369-04:00Leaving for a While<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flower,_Baloon_flower_-_Flickr_-_nekonomania.jpg"><img alt="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flower,_Baloon_flower_-_Flickr_-_nekonomania.jpg" border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jvC9i_mGdE0/VcqzV0vH6iI/AAAAAAAAIQA/y3zzkOG58gg/s200/600px-Flower%252C_Baloon_flower_-_Flickr_-_nekonomania.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
My very dear friends,<br />
I take a leave of absence<br />
so I can renew.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-56574368583697001302015-08-05T00:01:00.002-04:002015-08-05T09:02:40.312-04:00What a Difference a Friend Makes<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:El_cuentito.jpg"><img alt="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:El_cuentito.jpg" border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pj_pEgq9rOI/VcAhEmK6TUI/AAAAAAAAIPA/M9ogze1XTyo/s200/El_cuentito.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">A dear friend stopped by.<br />
Healing laughter, tears, and joy<br />
flowed mutually.<br />
<br />
We should all be blessed<br />
to have at least one person<br />
who opens one's heart.<br />
<br />
The act of sharing<br />
nurses what wounds might linger.<br />
It lifts our spirits.<br />
<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-8490281214516336712015-07-29T00:01:00.000-04:002015-07-29T00:02:45.301-04:00Survival and Renewal<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crowthorne_Forest_%285740071221%29.jpg"><img alt=" https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crowthorne_Forest_%285740071221%29.jpg" border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pNWKxMa3IJs/VbZnMv2FnMI/AAAAAAAAIOc/_EXj3j2CZ_Q/s200/1200px-Crowthorne_Forest_%25285740071221%2529.jpg" width="170" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">After scorching fire,<br />
green tendrils emerge from ash,<br />
a new growth cycle.<br />
<br />
Fire does not stop life.<br />
What endures may be stronger.<br />
First, it must survive.<br />
<br />
After survival,<br />
easing the path to thriving <br />
becomes then the goal.<br />
<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-20372135742008421392015-07-22T00:01:00.000-04:002015-07-22T00:02:07.672-04:00Open Letter to My Body -- When It and Hope Fail Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QzArvWi__mA/VavUKsaH-EI/AAAAAAAAIOE/2CiMITW-qDs/s1600/2000px-Internet-mail.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QzArvWi__mA/VavUKsaH-EI/AAAAAAAAIOE/2CiMITW-qDs/s200/2000px-Internet-mail.svg.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You have betrayed me.<br />
I regret feeling this way.<br />
It is a fact though.<br />
<br />
I lament knowing<br />
I cannot depend on you<br />
to ease me through life. <br />
<br />
I grieve at being placed<br />
in a Me versus You stance.<br />
Divided we fall.<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-17417580135280338222015-07-15T00:01:00.000-04:002015-07-15T00:01:00.447-04:00This I Believe*</br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Sunrise#/media/File:Sunrise_over_the_sea.jpg"><img alt="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Sunrise#/media/File:Sunrise_over_the_sea.jpg" border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XH7pHA-jbcE/VaKBwh2oAsI/AAAAAAAAINw/yKZILPefDoo/s200/Sunrise_over_the_sea.jpg" width="186" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I do not know how<br />
I will manage to endure,<br />
but I trust I shall.<br />
<br />
I tap into roots<br />
spiritual and grounded.<br />
My center will hold.<br />
<br />
Faith in renewal<br />
anchors my spirit in hope<br />
my life will be blessed.<br />
<br />
<b>*encore</b></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-76727231637436706222015-07-08T00:01:00.000-04:002015-07-08T00:01:00.146-04:00Why<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Redon_mystery.jpg"><img alt="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Redon_mystery.jpg" border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m96qiQefTJQ/VZyZQrZ51fI/AAAAAAAAINY/y8yFJV7aP4A/s200/Redon_mystery.jpg" width="147" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Did you ever ask,<br />
why did it happen to me?<br />
Why oh why oh why?<br />
<br />
Did you find answers?<br />
Or none at all though you tried<br />
lifting every stone?<br />
<br />
Did you stop asking?<br />
Acknowledging there may be<br />
no answers at all.<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-26669061085540700652015-07-01T00:01:00.001-04:002015-07-08T18:00:50.430-04:00Amazing Grace<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="169" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IN05jVNBs64?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0" width="300"></iframe><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In tragedy's wake,<br />
grace visited us again, <br />
sharing love's mercy.<br />
<br />
Through the embrace of<br />
compassion and forgiveness,<br />
grace found expression.<br />
<br />
What infinite love <br />
can bestow on humankind<br />
occasions wonder.<br />
<br /></div>
<br />
Adding prose to my weekly poem is a departure for me. However, after the families of those slaughtered in a Charleston church said they forgave the killer, I have reflected a great deal about what forgiveness means. And, it turns out that the issue of forgiveness has a great deal to do with coming to terms with MS.<br />
<br />
First, let me address the Charleston event. For the South Carolina victim families, the heavy lifting required just to voice, "I forgive you," surely must have been overwhelmingly hard. Yet, that's what many did, leaving the rest of the world in awe of their graciousness; thereby, encouraging us to examine the nature of forgiveness and grace in our lives.<br />
<br />
Inspired by the remarkable example of the families, I was led to ask myself, where have I failed to exercise forgiveness? The answer landed me squarely on MS' lap. We MSers struggle in varying ways while coming to terms with how MS has altered our lives. One's body seems to turn on itself destructively, which can feel like a vicious, random, and senseless attack. The impact may alter so comprehensively the person one used to be, some might say that person died.<br />
<br />
But, who or what can we blame for that? Understandably, we turn MS into a villain toward which we direct our anger, resentment, and fear. Yet, as <a href="http://giftsofms.blogspot.com/2015/05/hard-enough-for-anyone.html">Robert Parker</a> reminds us, MS does not exist as an entity.<br />
<br />
The irony is we end up becoming both victim and victimizer. Certainly, one loses and likely grieves for the person one used to be. However, MS could be viewed, too, as the killer who also might need forgiveness. Because how do I separate MS from who I am physically? Am I making my emotional and perhaps physical healing more difficult by viewing MS with anger and loathing? Do I then end up hating and loathing my body? If MS can assume a separate existence at all, shouldn't it be integrated affirmatively into whatever characterization I hold of my physical body? Is it necessarily a matter of It versus Me? Is there an act of forgiveness I can embrace that will limit self-destructive behavior?<br />
<br />
In saying, "We have no room for hate. We have to forgive," what can the South Carolina families teach me? If they were able to respond so magnanimously to an act of such horror, how can I embrace their forgiving nature with respect to my MS?<br />
<br />
I say that, thinking that following their example surely seems laudable. Yet, in a practical sense, what difference does it make for me to forgive the "entity" which destroyed my life as I knew it? What real impact does forgiving MS or the process of MS or simply my body's physical breakdown have on my life? This is especially challenging since MS will likely cause a never-ending cascade of losses and grieving. How can I forgive and move on if the process of loss seems endless?<br />
<br />
Or is the act of forgiveness encapsulated in the following haiku, which I removed from the above poem because I wasn't sure I wholly accepted its meaning?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Remaining open <br />
to grace's bountiful gifts<br />
ensures renewal.</div>
<br />
I would like to rise to such a noble sentiment. Yet, in a practical sense, I am not sure what it means. I want to avoid the hazards of what some have called "cheap grace." I am assuming those commentators were alluding to the need to keep forgiveness from being an empty act, and that forgiveness can, and perhaps should, require emotional, spiritual, and psychological hard work.<br />
<br />
Yet, again, I am led back to the question, what does that mean for me in a practical sense?<br />
<br />
I'm hoping you will illuminate me.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
*****</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I sought your counsel, and you did not disappoint. Your <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6061553352521825408&postID=2666906108554070065">comments </a>have illuminated
me. Forgiving MS is a slippery concept, both in understanding it and in
applying it. Several among you have said they could not forgive MS.
Some have said that through their anger they gain strength in their
ability to live with MS. Others have said that perhaps it is peace we
seek, rather than forgiveness. Some believed that it is really the human
condition we need to forgive, that condition which opens us to
experiencing both joy and pain.<br />
<br />
I'm afraid that figuring this out
may be above my pay grade. Perhaps some noticed that out of my post's
42 sentences, more than a third were questions. Even after your input, I
still have mostly questions. I remain, though, grateful for the deep
reflection this issue has generated for me and for others. I suspect
for me it will remain an open question, generating ongoing thought.<br />
<br />
The
issue, though, perhaps boils down to, who is in control? It may seem
laughable to some that I invoke control in dealing with MS. Isn't MS,
after all, an illness over which we currently have little control other
than delaying the process of decline? True, but we have ways of
finessing that lack of control; indeed, of wresting total control from
MS or any similarly dire circumstance.<br />
<br />
I have been fond of citing
Holocaust aurvivor Viktor Frankl's concept of the ultimate freedom,
which is the ability to choose one's attitude regardless of
circumstance. Since he developed this concept in light of the Holocaust,
I feel safe in assuming that he thought the concept applied even in
extreme circumstances, where one's life is at stake.<br />
<br />
In the
particular case of the Charleston families, someone shared with me an
unusual take on how forgiveness possibly applied in that circumstance.
He suggested that with their apparently noble act of forgiveness, the
families (unwittingly perhaps) acted with passive-aggressive hostility
in saying to the killer that they forgave him. That is, by expressing
their forgiveness so publicly, the families essentially neutered the
killer's intention to create public pain and mayhem. Whether their
forgiveness was a passive-aggressive act or not, the point is that the
families took control of their story. They took away his power to
control their lives any more. They decided how they were going to feel,
what their attitude would be. It was their choice, not the killer's.<br />
<br />
So
the issue of MS and forgiveness may boil down to, how does one take
control of one's story? Would forgiveness do that? Would anger?
Depression maybe? Even, as several friends have done, ending one's life?
It could be all of the above. Or none. Forgiveness, for example, could
be dismissed in favor of seeking peace or some other goal. My belief,
though, is that each person can choose freely what the attitudinal
response will be.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-19204252757988024802015-06-24T00:01:00.000-04:002015-06-24T00:01:00.261-04:00Dazed<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dazed_again_%284972630499%29.jpg"><img alt="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dazed_again_%284972630499%29.jpg" border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MmEVDNB3vME/VYQfFEkVb3I/AAAAAAAAIM0/kbuvVzYPm6Y/s200/Dazed_again_%25284972630499%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Daily life requires<br />
a miracle a minute<br />
to do anything.<br />
<br />
Miracles mostly<br />
dodge my power and control.<br />
Randomness may rule.<br />
<br />
While my world shudders,<br />
shaken and destabilized,<br />
I feel overwhelmed.<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-59071557077513984142015-06-17T00:01:00.001-04:002015-06-17T01:21:55.672-04:00Promise?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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The world too awoke,<br />
welcoming daylight's entry.<br />
Renewal prevailed.<br />
<br />
Hope's lasting promise<br />
joined the chorus of rebirth.<br />
Or was it a tease?<br />
<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-10241281575538328602015-06-10T00:01:00.000-04:002015-06-10T00:01:00.907-04:00On My Journey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Sailing#/media/File:US_Sailing_Team1.jpg"><img alt="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Sailing#/media/File:US_Sailing_Team1.jpg" border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GewckOckFrc/VXMTQUpbP9I/AAAAAAAAILQ/TUZ1UsfAZ2k/s200/US_Sailing_Team1.jpg" width="126" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Facing stiff headwinds,</div><div style="text-align: center;">I tack and then tack again</div><div style="text-align: center;">but keep losing ground.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The losses pile on.</div><div style="text-align: center;">New normals replace old ones,</div><div style="text-align: center;">scarce time to adjust.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">To find peace I pray,</div><div style="text-align: center;">"teach me how to live like this" <span style="color: yellow;">*</span></div><div style="text-align: center;">and to do it well.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: yellow;">*</span><a href="http://giftsofms.blogspot.com/2014/05/just-live.html"> Robert Parker</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-81934518265939451382015-06-03T00:01:00.000-04:002015-06-03T00:01:00.469-04:00Getting Things Done<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Defense.gov_photo_essay_100630-F-7906C-532.jpg"><img alt="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Defense.gov_photo_essay_100630-F-7906C-532.jpg" border="0" height="133" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DmPo8kiuLl4/VWnJGoPnIcI/AAAAAAAAIKk/PO7F0-BzCCU/s200/Defense.gov_photo_essay_100630-F-7906C-532.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It used to serve me. <br />
Push, push, push, and keep going<br />
to finish a job.<br />
<br />
I still complete tasks,<br />
pressing on through exhaustion<br />
until I collapse. <br />
<br />
Dogged willpower<br />
stubbornly commands and rules.<br />
Not always for good.<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061553352521825408.post-46689218423159046812015-05-27T00:01:00.001-04:002015-05-27T00:01:00.430-04:00Falls<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cooktown_orchids.jpg"><img alt="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cooktown_orchids.jpg" border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_Vk-k2Y2MHg/VTOlB6H9EEI/AAAAAAAAIIg/3kAVICHq8pw/s1600/481px-Cooktown_orchids.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
Orchid petals waft<br />
from their airy loft in trees,<br />
drifting down to grass.<br />
<br />
My falls rarely glide<br />
to a cushioning surface,<br />
brain and bones at risk.<br />
<br />
Lacking orchid grace,<br />
my last fall injured a rib.<br />
It hurt when I moved.<br />
<br />
</div><br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6