Monticello, This Day

Slowing ever down,
Not for age but for the joy
Being present brings.

Monticello near,
Years of fam’lies living lives,
I could never know.

Sally Hemmings here,
Once in Paris, coming back,
Fam’ly bonds too dear.

Freedom was right there,
But no one knows what her heart
Knew and why she stayed.

Last time I was there,
with my parents, long ago,
I knew nothing then.

Beauty of green hills,
Majesty of columns white,
Presidential world.

Now I know the truth,
Never simple, always more,
We are so complex.

Black or white is false,
In us each are seeds of all,
Bringing us to now.

Problems I can’t solve,
Hurts and cruelty, sapping life,
Hunted say “No more!”

On this day of sun,
Nearby hills so green and lush,
I can only speak.

Write my truth today,
Honor dark and light within,
As they blend outside.

Patience, Compassion

Here this Monday morn,
Patience I am called to have,
With this friend, now crone.

Like the rest of us,
She has lost some of her mind,
Compassion key now.

Ah, the veils of youth,
Hiding all the secrets tight,
That old age reveals.

Wisdom comes with years,
Bringing wrinkles, sagging, yes,
But new views as well.

Thank you, God of all,
For the beauty of this earth,
Kindness can win out.

Not the God of Men,
But a force some know so well,
Loving without end.

“What a fool!” she says,
“Look at all the lies and dark,
Killing, hating, all.”

I still look to light,
And the dawn of each new day,
Bringing hope again.

Yes, the darkness is,
Seeming sometimes all there is,
But that is not truth.

Out beyond the clouds,
Moves the sun beyond our view,
Bringing light one day.

In youth and in age,
One can think that hope is lost,
But it’s still out here.

Hidden by a fear,
Gone from view with some deep loss,
But it’s still out here.

Here this Monday morn,
Patience I remember now,
Bringing hope with joy.