An afghan blanket, draped over our recliner
a leather sofa with purses, and shopping bags with clothing
a wooden desk with books on farming, and a pill container
a piano – empty now,
the children gone off to college,
and the dog waits patiently
for the loneliness to leave.
Poetry and Image © Copyright 2016, ancient skies
“When we love people, we give them hope.”
The loner can be so elegant, and bold,
holding his or her distance as a strength
a trophy of aloofness, never
wavering until the wind becomes
dangerous, and their sea walls
begin the crumble.
They look good though, poised
strength only slightly shaken,
they must know deep down,
they were never really
truly alone.
Poetry and Image © Copyright 2016, ancient skies
Peace and blessings to everyone.
“When we love people, we give them hope.”
The lonely understand the pine tree broken,
branches left bare, torn by the wind
up on the high ridge, alone seeing,
but not feeling,
stories of children playing, run shallow in veins
longing,
and pictures of lovers embracing, skin
and heat can cause pain.
But the beauty is not in the loneliness,
it is in the refusal to give in,
the fight to be loved,
the acceptance of themselves,
who they are
the digging out, the persistence
of finding, they are already loved
healing themselves with confidence.
And they become so beautifully,
not a broken pine tree,
but a beautiful work of art,
proudly showing,
that their life does matter,
and that they are here to stay.
Poetry and Images © Copyright 2015, ancient skies
Peace and blessings to everyone.
“If you love nature, you will love people.”
He needed to find someone, anyone. It was the same everywhere, piles of clothes without bodies, and nothing but silence. One day he found a car with the keys in it, and drove for hours. There were no cars, and no trucks on the road, no one walking, no one hiding, they had all disappeared.
Fortunately, the electricity was still on, which meant he could pump gas. All he needed were credit cards, and the piles of clothes had plenty of them. He didn’t like doing it, but he carefully removed wallets, and decided to make searching his job. The credit cards were tools really, to help him find someone else.
He managed to find an empty house, which was for sale. It became his base of operations. The strange thing was he felt no need to defend himself. He wasn’t concerned about stocking up on guns, and he even left the door unlocked at night. He was desperate to talk to someone, and he was half hoping someone would break in, uninvited.
Day after day, week after week, he drove, widening his search each day. He realized it was a fruitless attempt, a crazy attempt, to find someone. He began searching the internet instead, with a computer he had picked up from an electronics store. He spent time in chat rooms, talk groups, Facebook, anything he could think of. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare.
Another strange thing was that he began praying, he had never done that before. He learned really, to talk out loud, as if someone was there. Maybe there was. It couldn’t hurt, that was for sure.
The only thing good about being alone, was that he could drive whatever car he wanted. He simply went to a dealer, picked one out and found the keys. He began driving a silver Mercedes. New cars were the only thing good though, and the silence outside began to wear on him. He was concerned about going insane.
Five weeks after leaving the cave he was in a routine of searching the internet, driving, and a new project of collecting can goods. He knew he would need several years of food before he could start growing anything on his own. He stored the cans in a U-Haul truck he parked in the back yard.
By week eight, he was depressed, and hardly left the house. Until one day, when he began checking chat rooms for the hundredth time. As he opened one of them up, there was a message he had not seen before. What???? It read………. “Is anybody out there??”
He looked at the calendar, and the time on the desk, and then back at the message. It had been sent, just fifteen minutes ago! He quickly typed, “Yes!! Yes!!” “I’m here!!!” Tears streamed down his face as he once again connected, to a human being. They chatted for hours, non-stop. She lived in Toronto, and her name was Miriam. “Thank God”, he said. “She’s a woman……..”
To be continued.
Writing and Image © Copyright 2015, nicodemasplusthree
Peace and blessings to everyone.
“If you love nature, you will love people.”
He hid in a cave for three weeks. Fortunately, with this last biological plague, there was no more screaming coming from the valley below. Besides the water he had stockpiled, his most valued possession was his wind up radio, which didn’t need any batteries. The news had all stopped now, and he wasn’t sure how many people had died. But before the broadcasts had ended, he heard that there were a few people, known to have an immunity to the virus. Was he one of them? He wasn’t sure.
Should he go down to look around? The closest buildings were some houses, and further down the mountain, a small shopping center. After waiting two more days, he decided to give it a try, and spend no more than thirty minutes in the area, after which he would quickly retreat back to the cave. He was terrified he would catch whatever it was that had swept through the area so quickly, but his food had run out days ago. He started down the mountain, on foot.
As he walked past the houses that dotted the mountain, there was no one around. Were they all gone now? He stuck to the road as he walked, believing that if he went too close, or knocked on their doors, he would get a pistol or shotgun in his face. Nothing moved. There was only the wind, rustling through the trees.
Several miles later he made his way to the shopping center. He knew there was a 7-11, and a few small stores. Maybe he could get a sandwich at the deli. As he got closer, he could see something wasn’t right. There were clumps of something laying on the ground, he could make out a purse, next to a car with an open door. They were dead bodies!! His mind started racing, he wanted to run. But wait – there was no smell, and they weren’t quite dead bodies. What was going on here?
He noticed there was no sound here either, and the silence was heavy. He managed to calm himself down, as he carefully walked closer. His heart started pounding.
They were clothes, different piles of clothes, without anyone in them! People had fallen right where they were, shoes, belts, hats, all in a mostly neat row, making the outline of a person, but there was no body. Chill bumps ran up and down his spine.
It was very clear that whatever killed these people, dried them up so badly, that it turned their remains into dust, which then blew away in the wind. Would he catch the infection? He didn’t care anymore, he needed food, so he rummaged through the 7-11, and then the deli, loading up his backpack with as much as he could. He took off again, running up the mountain.
He felt horrible taking things that he hadn’t paid for, but he had no choice…….
To be continued.
Writing and Image © Copyright 2015, nicodemasplusthree
Peace and blessings to everyone.
“If you love nature, you will love people.”
Seeking the highest rocks,
the deepest rivers, the trees,
answers without words,
oneness of spirit,
flowing.
But the curse of the seeker,
is loneliness,
wanting a heart called Lakota,
tied in with the heartbeat,
seeing cathedrals,
clouds for walking on.
Living in the valley he learns,
painful lessons,
and joy, with love,
always looking though,
to the west.
to the loneliness,
of the mountains.
Poetry and Image © Copyright 2015, nicodemasplusthree
Peace and blessings to everyone.
“If you love nature, you will love people.”
Rivers Renewed 