Complete

This morning, the sun’s fingers

Caressed my face with its warmth

Sleepy, satisfied eyes awoke to linger

Upon the space beside me, now filled-

Resembling my heart-

Where once, long ago

One half was void and hollow

That loneliness we’ve since shed tears over

In all the journeys that have followed

Twilight mornings we embraced

Before whispering goodbye,

Not unlike the dirt road you drove down.

Painfully watching me cry

Airport hugs we know

Only too well

Yet those parting residency kisses

Quite frankly, were hell

Because each time we were distant 

My soul felt incomplete

Like the years before you made me laugh

When each night, I prayed I would meet

Someone to accept me

For all that I am

Just a friend, I pleaded

But, He knows the plan.

On the backside of time,

You were there all along

While I endured patience and trust

Our first embrace, Heaven’s song.

And each one since

Is warmth, familiarity and joy

Feeling perfectly at home

In the arms of my country boy

The sharp sting of goodbyes 

The silent, cold and dark

We’ve endured many nights 

Of being apart

But each newborn dawn

Half awake- I’d hear

The unlocking of our door

Which meant you were near

Anticipated reunion

Calm, reassurance in your voice

Soothes my sensitive soul

So grateful for our choice

To be eternally linked

To know your smiling eyes

Mold the present with our hands

Hinging hope upon our ties.

Mustering a thousand goodbyes

Is something I could do

If it meant the sweet bliss of reunions

Restoring love anew.

For each dusk evening you return

My heart still skips a beat

I adore you, truly, Ertle-love,

Your heart makes mine complete.

Clutter

Piles of laundry

jumble of toys

bottled up emotions

that can rob us of joy.

Clarity becomes foggy

anxiety replaces peace

and the time to watch sunsets 

seems to disappear with ease.

The mirage of more 

is the American dream,

of wealth, of having, of deserving;

the realities unseen.

More data, more friends,

more house and more story-

more cars, more fame, 

more work and more glory.

In this desert of excess

we cannot stay content

our thirst equates dehydration

for all the hours we’ve spent-

Spent worrying, cleaning, attending

to our clutter

we’ve acquired over time

seeking for a better-

Life than we have,

the grass is always greener

but the oasis we desire

comes from being freer.

So, edit the words

calm the commotion-

leave space for ideas,

worthwhile goals and devotion.

Eliminate the extra,

let creativity thrive

cultivate gratitude for simplicity-

unify, rather than divide-

Desires and needs, 

where we feel fulfilled

our spirit is all we will possess,

intelligence, upon which we should build-

A shelter of growth

under which there is peace,

the satisfaction from a breeze

contrasts heat with its relief.

Joy that springs up

when to stillness we succumb,

for “the more simple we are,

The more complete we become.”

*quote by Rodin.