The Field
Click for meditationRegarding "The Field"
I was once given a gift,
A gift shown to me by a friend,
A gift beyond words to ever adequately
Describe, and a gift
Surpassing all measure and
Human treasure.
It was a place in the
Middle of the Maine woods,
Secluded, a field, a golden field,
Surrounded by old stone
Walls, inhabited by
Everything good that
Could ever be said
About the purity and
Hardscrabble spirit of Maine,
And it was in that field I learned
I could rest in solitude
Amongst the milkweed pod, and
Could recline in ease and
Peace with my name.
Leo Carroll
April 24, 2018
I stepped into a Maine-filled field,
Breathed its life and felt its feel,
When then I spied the milkweed pod, and
Mused they lined the path to God…
So amongst the pod I reclined myself, and
Spread my cares before that land devout. When
Then replied from a treetop far, crow’s
Answering call in knowing “caw.”
Autumnal Remembrance
Click for meditationRegarding "Autumnal Remembrance"
Autumn is a metaphor for
Endings and things
About to change. It is a time of
Great color, great beauty,
But change is definitely in the
Air, and everyone and
Everything knows it.
All Creation knows it, and it
Plays out in the life of
Every living thing. It is a
Season of soul-searching and
Introspection, melancholy
And feelings of loss – missed
Opportunities and
What-ifs, and on and on…
All this, though, silhouetted and
Accompanied by the
Wondrous majesty of
Nature as it peaks — and
Literally right before it falls…
In my mind, all other
Seasons pale in the
Shadow of autumn, and
It is in autumn when we get
The opportunity to
Re-evaluate our pilgrim’s
Path – and to somehow
Keep hope alive, because the
People upon whose shoulders we
Have stood are still with
Us in spirit, speaking to us
Through the things that they
Liked the most about autumn – geese
Passing overhead, yellow
Maple leaves dancing
In the breeze, the stunning
Purity of first frost on the
Petals of snapdragons…
Leo Carroll
May 20, 2018
When you hear the geese move overhead,
When you feel the wind rustle in the trees,
When you see the leaves begin to fall,
Please think of me, and I will be there.
When you smell the cool in autumn’s air,
When the sun bathes you in fading warmth,
When the flowers crowd for one last night,
Please think of me, and I will be there.
When dusk is early and morning late,
When frost touches dawn before it awakes,
When the grass curls for a season’s sleep,
Please think of me, and I will be there.
When fall becomes your season’s mate,
When you’ve aged and begin to contemplate,
When you wonder about all you’ve been…
Please think of me, and I will be there.
Prequel to ‘Elysian Daydreaming’
Click for meditationRegarding "Prequel to ‘Elysian Daydreaming’"
This poem was
Written six months after I wrote
“Elysian Daydreaming.” The two poems are
Companions to one another, but this
Poem is actually a prequel,
And depicts events
Leading up to, and prior to, the
First poem of July 1, 1998.
It describes the moments just
Before my dreamlike boat ride with
An unknown, mythical
Woman. Both poems
Are still very peaceful to me,
Lo all these twenty plus
Years later. They portray the
Exquisite happiness existing
Between a man and a woman in
The heavenly setting of an
Unbelievably placid lake in an
Unbelievably perfect time
And daydream.
Leo Carroll
February 5, 2019
I envision a woman
Upon a dock, a woman absorbed in
Blissful thought.
This woman slowly
Turns my way, as if expecting my
Arrival today…
Tied to the dock gently
Rocks a small boat, a boat at rest in
Elysian float.
This boat rides with a
Soothing sigh, knowing soon that
Two souls abide…
Ode to December’s Flower
(The Snapdragon)
Click for meditationRegarding "Ode to December’s Flower"
Creation has a
Resilience which is
Unconquerable.
I was reminded of that yet
Again when I saw a
Delicate snapdragon
In all its glory
On an overcast,
Cold December day.
I felt it was waiting for
Me to see it – before
It closed its eyes.
Leo Carroll
April 20, 2018
I kneel before you,
O leaf of green,
So soft to me with
Gentle sheen.
I touch your petal,
Still strangely there, and
Still alive despite
Winter’s wear…
Bowing down, I
Kiss your leaf, and
Warmed I am with your
Love replete.
Slowly rising, I take
One last look back,
Fixed in awe by your
Life intact…
Elysian Daydreaming
Click for meditationRegarding "Elysian Daydreaming"
When I am
Daydreaming,
My mind can easily
Glide to musings
Near and far, to
Wild imaginings as
If I was living under the
Influence of another
Time or star…
And so twenty
Years ago I had a
Daydream, and
A fantasy-image
Floated to me of
Being in a small boat
And rowing across
Surreal, placid
Waters. I was
Accompanied by
An unknown,
Mythical woman,
And we were
On a lake with no
Beginning nor
Ending, and seemed
Suspended in
Exquisite peace.
Looking back on that
Daydream, it was
Perhaps a metaphor
For Elysium, a
Glimpse of the
Afterlife of the
Ancient Greeks, an
Absolute abode of
Ideal happiness,
And occurring beneath a
Canopy of eternal
Blessing.
Leo Carroll
November 29, 2018
There is a lake in
Golden time, locked in place
Forever mine…
Upon that lake I
Gently move, bathed in
Light on waters
Smooth.
There is a woman
By my side, also peaceful
In that ride.
Upon that lake an
Image holds, of all my
Dreams to yet
Unfold.
There is a day I
Know not when, I’ll take that
Trip of which I ken.
Until that time
I calmly wait, and row
My dream upon
That lake…