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Along the Assabet

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Regarding "Along the Assabet"

Somewhere over the rainbow,
Somewhere in Acton along a road…I found
Myself seated along the Assabet
River. It all started when I
Was out on errands, and was
Waiting to have a car
Inspection completed. I was
Sitting outside the garage
Due to Covid-19 social distancing,
And was in an Adirondack
Chair, my mind near and afar…
As I was sitting there, I was
Marveling at the presence of
Some morning glory flowers
Hanging wondrously in front
Of me. They were mature plants
And were in large pots, and
Were very lighthearted in their
Pinks…Then through their
Foliage I heard a slight gurgling, and
Realized how very close I was
To the Assabet River! And so,
On a warm, muggy day
While out doing errands, I was
Graced with the cooling effects of
Color and sound and peace…
I peeked through the morning
Glory leaves and saw the
Shallow, running waters of the
Assabet, a foot deep, rounding what
They had rounded for eons…
And thus, perfectly-formed stones
Were added to the effects of
Color and sound, all culminating into
An unexpected moment…
A gift handed to me for free, and
All I had to do was to believe in it – – on a
Day in July when all else seemed
Tumult and roar and fear
Beyond relief.

Leo Carroll
July 26, 2020

 


The waters of life by me
Flow… “No worries,” they bubble,
“Let us o’er the riverbed
You row…” And so I let them
Take me, in sort of a
Swoon on a sultry afternoon,
Surrendering myself to
The moment, the waters in
Consonance with each other,
No vying for honors, their
Burbling being humble,
Rounding as for eons the already
Smooth-etched stones.

Leo Carroll
July 20, 2020
Acton, Massachusetts



Photos by Leo Carroll

Someone Somewhere in Shadow

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Regarding "Someone Somewhere in Shadow"

When I was recently at the
Service department of a local car
Dealership, I found myself
Standing at the service desk and
Discussing a problem with my
Car battery. And as I was doing this,
I saw out of the corner of my
Eye what appeared to be a statue…!
Strange it seemed! I then
Focused my gaze directly at the
“Statue,” and as the service
Manager continued to tell me
About some nuance of
My battery, I realized the statue
Was actually a young man!
He was standing perfectly still, his
Eyes locked on me, listening
To my discussion at the
Service desk. I cannot overstate
How completely immobilized
He was. He blended
Completely into the background
Around him. He was inert like a piece
Of furniture! And it came
To me that in his lifetime he
Must have regularly been
Viewed as such! His upper body
Was strong-appearing,
Muscular, but his lower body
Appeared undeveloped, almost
Without any dependable
Strength. He was supporting
Himself as he stood by two specially
Configured crutches. And a
Little while later when I
Saw him moving about, he was
Able to do so by swinging his
Upper body on the crutches…
Maneuvering by the grace of his
Sculpted chest, shoulders and arms.
How blessed I felt! And how also
Ashamed I felt to have taken for
Granted all that had been
Given to me in life! A bare hour
After I had first arrived, my
Battery problem was fixed
And I was on my way! When I last
Saw him, the young man with
The specially designed crutches was
Sitting in the waiting area for
His car. But to those seated around him,
I believe he was probably still
Invisible, just this time molded into
The contours of his chair, where
He remained immensely quiet and still.
I have since thought about the
Countless people who have crossed
My path in life, some of whom
Have had distinct physical or
Mental challenges, all nevertheless
An integral part of the human
Condition. They are a reminder to
Me of all I have been given, deeply
Flawed and imperfect as I am.
I have come to think of these
Revelatory moments as signposts,
Maybe even necessary advisory
Warnings about how fragile
My own life’s path is…spinning and
Tumbling as I am with everybody
Else in the seeming chaos of this universe,
And comes to my mind the old
Saying which I paraphrase,
“There but for the mystery of
Creation could go I.”

Leo Carroll
June 18, 2020

 

The corner of my left
Eye catches him standing there,
Like a statue stoic, but my
Senses tell me his breath is like
A living metaphor of the
Surrounding, fixed furniture.
Locked in silence he is,
Someone who could be
Construed as invisible if it was
Not for the slight heave in
His chest as his lungs
Reached for air, and as his
Ears attentively listened to what
I self-importantly described
Brought me here…

Leo Carroll
May 1, 2020
Westford, Massachusetts



Photo by Emiliano Vittoriosi (via Unspash.com)

New Wine

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Regarding "New Wine"

In the Gospels, Jesus
Teaches His followers about
A transformative and revolutionary
Way to renew their spiritual
Lives — to “love thy neighbor as thyself,”
And in so doing to gently satisfy
The letter of the Law.
Jesus taught a liberating
Theology of how to
Live a good life, and when
Questioned He told the
Famous parable about the
Good Samaritan, to clarify the
Meaning of the word, “neighbor,” i.e.,
Anyone we encounter along
The pathway of life.
Jesus said that to accept
This new teaching would be to
Take on His “yoke,” which He
Metaphorically visualized
As a burden “light.”
All we had to do was to
Relate to our neighbors as if
They were a manifestation
Of ourselves, and to treat them
The very same way we
Would like to be treated.
And thus, the Gospels outline
A soothing yoke to be put
Upon the fragile shoulders
Of humanity – just like
Newly fallen snow kissing the
Faces of pansies in an
Easter Week planter,
Beauty upon beauty, Love
Upon love, Divinity upon divinity,
And Creation upon creation.

Leo Carroll
June 29, 2020

 

New Wine

And so was heard,
“The yoke I give you is easy, and
The load I will put upon
You is light,” and across the
Waters and continents
Blew the Word, and at that
Moment the pansies
Knew by the new-fallen
Snow they would not be hurt…
And so they confidently looked up –
Easter petals lain up’n by an
Overnight, fresh snow –
Beauty gently placed
Up’n beauty, Love up’n love,
Divinity up’n divinity, and
Snowflakes up’n pansies from
Heav’n to earth bestowed.

New Wineskins

After the snow
Came the beauty, but I never
Expected it would be in
The form of words…But rather just
The honor of fulfilling duty,
But not the Balm of Gilead to
Assuage the hurt…

Leo Carroll
April 16, 2020
Westford, Massachusetts



Photo by Christine Carbone

Stone Wall and Flowers

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Regarding "Stone Wall and Flowers"

Some weeks ago,
I was sitting beside the bed of a
Woman who was in hospice.
She has since passed away.
We were quietly talking, and
She was very reflective.
Out of the blue, she said
There were “two things” about
“Beauty” which were “important” to her…
She went on to say that
The hardness of a stone wall was
One of them, and that it was
Only equaled by the exquisite
Softness of the earth which
Nestled silently at its base.
She then continued, saying that
When looking up’n a stone
Wall, it was easy to become
Fixated on the wall’s strength and
Reliability and endurance,
But to overlook the softness
And gentleness of the
Grace resting at its feet – the
Meek grass, the wondrous
Autumn leaves, and the indomitable
Wild flowers. As I listened to her
Observations, I was taken
Aback, because although I
Had always loved stone walls and
Had written about them for
Decades, I had missed the
Complementary way in which
They blended into their environment…
That is, that duty (as represented
In the solid face of the wall)
Could not endure over a long
Period of time without the relief
Of a soft shoulder of love to
Lean and weep up’n. …

Leo Carroll
March 31, 2020

 

Against the stone wall
She gently placed some flow’rs, to
Complement the wall’s
Hardness in answering
The call to duty and honor…
And thus the wall
Finally genuflected, ne’er
Before having been
Brought to its knee…
Until a humble woman by
Her kind act — showed
That e’en valor needed the
Softness of beauty.

Leo Carroll
March 31, 2020
Westford, Massachusetts



Photo by Kevin Shattuck

One

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Regarding "One"

I know of someone who
Always says, “Life is full of second
Chances!” What an upbeat,
Nice thing to hear in a
World full of crises, cries,
And stresses! And so
Recently I was on a
Visit to the state of
Washington, and while
There had the good
Fortune to visit a place
For rescued animals called,
“Second Chance Ranch.”
This is a ranch where
A menagerie of animals,
Mostly farm animals, is given
A home to live out their
Lives in well-cared-for
Circumstances.
It is a very uplifting
Place, staffed by gentle,
Kind-hearted people.
I toured all the animal
Enclosures there, and felt
Blessed in the experience.
One of the enclosures
I visited was for pigs.
It was there that I
Particularly got a good
Feeling, as if I was also being
Gifted a “second chance.”
A little pig rubbed
Up against my leg, and
I realized that all
Humanity was not
Exempt from the inside of
The ranch’s fences…

Leo Carroll
November 16, 2019

 

Found, at a
Ranch for animals lost,
A friend against
My knee to lean,
A creature accepting,
With me willing
To be seen…

Leo Carroll
October 8, 2019
Second Chance Ranch
Sammamish, Washington



Photo by Mary Elise