He was once
a soul who fathered
such grace and seemliness,
whose once generously edifying
opinions stagger now in the grays of
riddles and pridefully expressed opinions,
and now, too, someone whose contempt
causes him to view another’s faith
with a supercilious eye…
Have life’s struggles,
and being misread, begun
sequestering you from your joys?
Was it all the alcohol and pills?
What’s happened to you?
Getting old is
an act of God’s grace,
but being old shouldn’t distress
any more than the moon’s snowy luminance
as it pirouettes with swaying trees….
.
Senescent or not, heaven’s
rains still refresh, and
the rich moist soil
yields its
musty fragrance
as flowers blossom
and smile and fade in an
unappeasable passing of seasons.
You too (at times) resemble a flower
(in season)
in spite of your
utterly foolish notions,
and the mounting years and
dread uncertainties weighing on you….
.
My advice:

The next time
you’re in nature,
look up… see where
the sunlight filters down
through the higher branches,
there, the Mockingbirds still delight,
with their colorful fire of conjurations,
even as winters snow deepens,
despite how a crotchety old
man’s heart strain’s
through memories
portion of
impermanence….
The intensely aching beauty
you see being just within your grasp
has a heat that burns when you reach for it,
you want it, you always have, but whether it’s yours
(or not) is NOT in your power to understand,
.
Freddie… I still have love for you,
please, turn back towards the Light…
.
richard lloyd cederberg
7/2021
   Between the Cracks - A Monumental Journey Series