They have shaded you so long.
Their trunks so large that even you
dear man
can not wrap your arms around them you
who held the little girls in your arms you
who held thousands of patients' hands
checking pulse, breathing, eyes
and now it is your
pulse breathing eyes
that those white coats check
as the doctor becomes the patient
that familiar disease of so many of us
westerners living in the risk-world
of endless growth.
oh those oak trees.
may they carry
on the back of sunshine and shade
these blessings.
blessings for a man of kindness
a quiet man who smiles sweetly
laughs gently
a reed bowing to the Wind
i call and
you seem on another island
even further away than america
even further away than home.
how are things?
Oh, not so good
At least I can stay at home
And there is not much pain
And I can still walk
But I'm weak
ah, yes: weakness - i hear
the raspy voice
You were never thick
I imagine you now,
a reed whistling
with the wind
of life and death
there is something so
pure
in the sweetness of your
raspy whispering.
May those oak trees
bless you with
beauty
bring the birds song
and the flowers of July
into the life of your veins
shining out so blue
like the streams
amongst the golden hills
the streams of moss, fern and home
you in your wood house
filled with books and tapestries
you who have given me
nothing but kindness
well-wishes
and a heart fully open
even before this 'abnormal' growth
ate into your tissue and bones you
were always open
to wanderers such as I
who keep at nothing if not growing
Have I loved you well enough
you reed amongst the oak trees?
I wish I could give you
more than blessings
on your journey
from this world to the next
You would shake your head, smiling gently.
My dear, it is enough.
For you
I have always been
enough.
your deep
acceptance of me
(and, long ago, when it was we)
For this
I thank you.
May you
Know in these last days
everything of what you so generously gave
love and kindness and patience and gratitude
may you
put together all that needs to be done
so you can bask
in the warmth of your fine family
two daughters - successful, strong,
courage in their wry frames they always
reminded me of you
such a wife, familiar with suffering, sorrow, joy
the mysteries between two people are seldom
fully known.
the cats, they come and sit besides you the
flowers you planted the fresh tomatoes of
california sunshine you can
still
taste everything please
may each morsel be
easy
may the pain
stay far away. I may believe
in feeling everything but
really
there is no need for that.
may the love come even closer
the light even stronger
may you forgive them
for what they knew not what to do and
may you
forgive yourself
for all that you left undone and
may you find happiness
in the pain of breathing weakly
may your mind
rest and still move
(not in desparation nor boredom) may i
learn
not to put off that which most needs be done
that work only i can do
a sign of peace
a piece of work
a string of words
in meter and in song:
protest, truth, resistance and
liberation
may you
be held in the arms of the Lover
who walked with Death at the Beginning
before you were born she
knew the arch of your smile and the
shape of your eyes.
May the winds of the high summer
blow sweetly
as you greet
whatever
it is -
that is a road only you can walk
the oak trees
only you can see
the wind only you
can let whistle through these
last few - times
i - i can only wish
that for you the oaks
hold you in light and shadow
and the wind be soft
not too cold
just a soft breeze - just
lightness
for a reed
in the dappled shade
of the might california oak
ah - may you rest
in the long time sun
shining you all the way
home
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