Mood
Strange Day
Click for meditationRegarding "Strange Day"
Sometimes we can find
Ourselves in a place or state of mind
Which seems ‘different.’
Such a thing happened to
Me several weeks ago
When I went to a meeting
In Weston. I no sooner
Took the exit off Route 95 South
Onto Route 30 West and
I seemed to immediately enter
A different sensory world.
The traffic lights at
The top of the exit ramp
Were not working, and the
Number of cars on the
Road seemed eerily
Light. I eventually found
The address for which I
Was searching, but the weird
Wind and rain were no
Help! As I walked up the
Steps to the building,
I realized something
Was amiss because some
Sort of alarm system on the
Premises was beeping.
I tentatively opened the door and
Went into the foyer, and
There was more of the same.
People on the first floor
Seemed oddly subdued, and
It was then I heard the
Hum of a generator
Running – but not for the
Whole building, but just the
Offices on the first floor.
The elevators were not working,
And so I took the staircase
To the next floor, where
I came upon a waiting room
Where people were talking in
Whispers … Hmmm …
They politely pointed
Me to where I should sit,
And it was then I became aware of
Fire, police, and ambulance
Sounds on the roadway
Below the window.
Then a tree across the
Street crashed down, and
Was accompanied by the
Wind rattling uneasily on a
Nearby window pane,
All, remarkably, giving me an
Impression of events occurring in
Hues of black and white …
Thus, when later at my
Appointment, a person
Observed, “Strange day,”
Indicating to her, too, that
Things seemed out of whack,
All I could manage was,
“Yes, something surreal,” and
Thus it was and thus it
Still remains now –
Where was I really? Only
The wind and rain and
Swinging traffic lights
And building alarms and fire and
Police sirens and people whispering
Knew what time and place
My confused senses
And bearings had stumbled
‘Strangely’ upon. The only
Thing I can confirm is it occurred at
Exit 24 off of Route 95,
But even more ‘strangely’ –
I still felt and feel I belonged there
On my path to somewhere …
Leo Carroll
February 7, 2019
“Strange day,”
She says, and immediately
I agree, Yes, something surreal, but
Did the ‘strangeness’
Come from the day seeming
To be tinted in hues of
Black and white, or was
It the unstable, out-of-season
Tropical weather, or the
Malfunctioning traffic lights,
Or this building I am in
Shrouded in darkness
With a buzzer endlessly
Sounding in despair, or
The fire engine sirens
Coming closer from afar, or
The police lights flashing
Across the street, or an
Ambulance going by as if
From something fleeing, or
People in a nearby waiting room
Talking in whispers, or the
Wind curious and nibbling
At the window panes,
Or the thumping ‘bam’
Of a tree falling in the
Woods across the way!?
Yes, indeed, a very
“Strange day,” but for me
In this place, this life,
This time, just another further
Step along my journey
Without cessation.
Winter Blessings
Click for meditationRegarding "Winter Blessings"
All it took was the
Meditative rhythm of the
Sound of light rain falling on
A small garden bed
Covered in old oak and
Maple leaves, to
Soothe the seas of
My mood, and then
Adding to this calming
Effect was the soft sound of the
Same rain hitting the
Mossy and mottled
Rocks of an adjacent,
Worn stone wall …
Reminding me once
Again that the gifts from
Creation actually
Occur all year-round,
Not just in spring or
Summer or fall,
But in winter when
First impulse might be
To don sackcloth
And ashes, but instead
The January drizzle
Wags its finger and says,
“No, not at all …!”
Leo Carroll
January 11, 2019
I hear
The pitter-patter of light
Rain on leaves, maple and oak and
What else lies hibernating between, and
I hear an even softer sound
As it lands on a nearby
Stone wall’s mottled moss,
Green and grey in blotches, an old
Coat from the colonial era,
But to me now like new
Wineskin cloth . . . and
Thus my ears listen intently,
Interpreting, soothed by
This revelation and nurture
Alive in my January garden,
When winter would
Otherwise harness me
To my mood, and it wouldn’t
Be until the first crocus’s
Song that I’d dare consider what
Spring’s freedom could
Loose.
Thicket
Click for meditationRegarding "Thicket"
A thicket, particularly
One in the middle of the woods,
Can be so intimidating
Because of the prospect of
Getting lost within it.
If you go in, you may not easily
Come out! It is common
To lose your bearings,
Even with a compass.
As an example, I was once
In a spruce thicket in
The Maine woods with
Someone else. He was no
More than 15 feet to my
Right, and we were
Both dressed in blaze-orange
Clothing. I lost sight of
Him! If it was not for
The fact I could hear him,
I would not have known
He was there! A thicket can
Be a metaphor for life —
Scary, daunting, confusing —
But, if you keep your
Head and stay calm, all should
Be alright. The old saying is,
“What doesn’t kill you
Makes you stronger.”
On the other side of a thicket
Comes a tremendous confidence
Boost upon exiting.
This also happens with
Major life events – death,
Divorce, job loss, illness, handicap,
Financial disaster, etc. These
Things are part of our pilgrim’s path.
They can be very painful,
But can lead to tremendous,
Personal character growth, just
Like leaving a thicket…
Leo Carroll
December 5, 2018
If I e’er
Entered this place,
Would I be
Able to find
My way back out,
Or would I get
Lost in a tangled
Maze of conflicting
Directions,
Decisions, and
Doubts, thus
Leaving me
Turned ’round
And ’round about, or
Would I be fine,
This apparent
Obstacle
But a further
Steppingstone
Along my
Winding
Path, and each
Straw-hued
Swamp
Stalk just a
Walking stick,
For me to depend
Up’n and to
Have…?
Sailboat
Click for meditationRegarding "Sailboat"
To be free,
To be carried by the wind
Uncaringly, to
Cast your lot with
Fate and to let the tides
Caress you with
No fear, because you
Have decided to
Be free, the air in your
Hair and the
Air imbibed like
Quenching, wheat beer…
Ah, yes, free,
Answering to no one
But Mariah the Wind, and she
Turns her gaze
Towards you and asks,
“Why not come
Here, where the sails
Are topped for your life
To live?”
Leo Carroll
July 9, 2018
There rides my
Daydream, sailing towards and
Away from me,
Gracefully,
Effortlessly,
And then gone it is
Beyond a jutting shoreline,
Where it disappears
For a moment behind
A teasing veil…but then back,
I see it, back, tacking
Towards a little
Summer isle, appearing
To slow offshore
A small, sandy beach,
Contemplating,
Pausing, deciding whether
To dip its masts
Towards me — and from
Afar show a
Promising smile!
Footsteps
Click for meditationRegarding "Footsteps"
Anyone who
Has gone to the beach has
Probably had the experience
Of seeing footprints
In the sand, and wondering
Whom these might have
Belonged to? This
Frequently happens to
Me, especially when I
See footprints which retrace
The very same steps I
May have made. I wonder whom
They belonged to,
Perhaps a never-known
Soul mate, a person
Interested in the same
Things I am, a person on a
Similar pilgrim’s quest, a person
Seeking advice, guidance,
And the precious
Reassurance of Creation’s
Understanding and acceptance?
Footsteps, footsteps, that is
What they do to me –
Reminding me I am not
Alone on this plane
I walk, but instead that I
Retrace the common steps of
All humanity — in what
They seek, and of what they
Would talk…
Leo Carroll
July 23, 2018
Sitting
On the beach with
Someone else’s footsteps…wondering,
Musing what they were
Seeking…? Down to the
Water’s edge they solemnly went,
Down to find the
Answer to their
Prayer’s “amen.”
“Who were they,
Who, who?” I plead.
“Their flesh is now just indented
Sand where once they
Meekly walked,
Someone, someone who
Came this beach,
And someone about the
Tides with whom I could have
Talked…”