Gift
Stone Wall and Flowers
Click for meditationRegarding "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.
One
Click for meditationRegarding "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…
Day’s Done
Click for meditationRegarding "Day’s Done"
As I’ve said so
Often, I love this little beach,
This Pemaquid beach,
This jewel on Maine’s
Mid coast looking out
Onto the Gulf of Maine!
I am always so reluctant
To leave it. It lies on only a
Bit of a wisp of sand,
Perhaps a quarter mile
In length, but one that has
Given my grandchildren
A lifetime of memories and
Smiles – of seagulls
Swooping, and hermit crabs
Clinging to shelter
Inside the tiniest of
Shells, and sandcastles
And fortresses being
Buttressed against
The onslaught of a
Rising tide. This beach,
This secluded haven,
Has also been a
Gift of solace to me,
As I’ve sat and watched
Little running legs merge
With my own — in a
Miracle of times past
And now — as I morph
Back and forth
From boy to man,
Feeling melancholic over
Those things I would
Do over again…
Leo Carroll
August 27, 2019
The day’s gift of
Precious life all done,
All sand castles
Built, all bare little
Feet now home to be
Bathed and by
Sleepy-time
Welcomed,
All done, with
Naught but the
Majesty of dusk
To be spread across
A quiet, low tide
At rest, and the last
Glimpse of light
To be felt like a
Goodnight’s kiss
Unexpected.
Climbing
Click for meditationRegarding "Climbing"
In one of
The Gospel stories,
Jesus is tempted when
He is shown all the vast riches
Of the world, and is told
All of these could be
His if only He, Jesus, would
Relent and worship Satan…
Whether a Christian Believer or not,
All of us can relate to this
Story in some respect, because
We are all “tempted”
In life to give in to earthly
Desires, and to ignore the
Blessings of Creation which
Abound all around us
And also within us.
In a variation of that
Gospel theme, when I recently saw a
Tree stump with fungi growing
Out of its sides like steps,
It reminded me (again) how
My own life is a work in
Progress, and how each latticed
Foothold of fungus was a
Metaphor for something very
Significant in my life, and that when
I someday do finally reach the
Zenith of my journey – – what I will
See will be not the riches
Of the world as I sit the
Roughhewn, splintery seat of the
Stump, but the nearby rock
Garden it overlooked, filled with
The floral faces and blessings
Of all that which God
To me had so lovingly and
Naturally and freely always
Provided…
Leo Carroll
September 16, 2019
Up each latticed
Fungus I crawl, hand
O’er hand scrambling to reach
The summit of a tree
Stump’s throne.
“What am I king of?”
I muse, as I finally sit atop the
Weather’d hardwood cut.
“Surely my domain
Contains naught of earthly
Riches, but just the
Love and affection of
My garden’s
Faithful hearts.”
Awakening
Click for meditationRegarding "Awakening"
My life has been
Anointed with far, far more
Gifts than it has with any trials and
Challenges which are otherwise
Names for the unremitting human condition.
Millions of little things, like
A songbird, an autumn leaf, a
Stranger’s smile, an unexpected
Encounter, a perfect
Snowflake, a dandelion, the
Love of a grandchild…
All these things and endless
More are constantly
Given freely when we may be
Thinking of ourselves as otherwise
Alone. I believe there is a
Power Greater Than We Are
Which knows of our
Existence. Each of us calls
This Power by a different name,
And even some who do
Not believe in a Higher Power
Acknowledge its possibility by virtue
Of disclaiming its very existence.
We are blessed so much in
Our day-to-day lives with Beauty…
Beauty which itself is a
Manifestation and face of
Our Higher Power.
For me, I hope my life’s
Path is a long one, in whatever
Form and realm my physical and
Spiritual travels may take…
I feel I am still in the early
Stages of having my rough edges
Smoothed, and every time I
Am bowed I am elevated by an
Unexpected gift which
Grabs me under the arm…
Like the Rhode Island lotus
Flower this poem describes, in
Its own right wondrous in its
Appearance, but, nevertheless, not
Limited by its physical beauty,
Because it, too, is always
Becoming through the work of
Creation mysteriously even
More beautiful, like all of us
Are, as the inside of us unfurls,
And our Higher Power finally
Says, “Behold My Child.”
Leo Carroll
December 28, 2019
As if at long last
Revealing its inner self,
All caution set aside,
What had been enough
Finally deemed to be enough,
What had heretofore
Been cloaked, but
Caught now in photo
As it floated upon
A Rhode Island pond,
A lotus flower in the
Faintest pinks and
Whites and greens and
Yellows, all blending
In the hues of a
Proffered heart
Given freely, and its
Beat the divine
Rhythm of the
Blood of Beauty,
The pulse soft and
Subdued, the petals
A cushion for
God’s footstool,
Whereupon the
Haversacks could be
Placed of weary,
Arriving souls.
Leo Carroll
August 3, 2019
Westford, Massachusetts