—∞—
It sits there Quietly Facing the rising sun Not a speck of dirt Nothing but the shine Of a pampered black car It’s alone At the head Of a procession Yet to be Formed Automobiles From all over town Friends Relatives But for now No one The lot is empty The funeral home Has no visitors To come see And grieve And mourn And, often, celebrate Whomever Lies alone In the chapel On This hot June day© 2013 Thomas W. Cummins
—∞—
The threshold Of the future Is pulled forward Slowly and surely Second by second Or stands still As the past Slips away Retreating fitfully But never completely Our yesterdays linger Sometimes Directly behind Taunting Or back around a dim corner Barely accessible If warm and pleasant Abruptly intrusive Uninvited If unhappy or filled with regrets But what of our tomorrows? Sometimes Filled with hopes and dreams Or other times with dread Uncertainty Days and years Lying ahead Our dwelling place To be Fleetingly or longer Yet, they are Empty Years Waiting to be filled By us or circumstance Health, family Resources, friends A spiritual foundation A sense Of the Other All shape A life to come But, really, isn’t it now, The present, That will ultimately decide? Our sense of self Now Our willing to be Now Our gratitude – now Isn’t that what shapes us, Now, and in the years to come? How we view the past Our acceptance of self and others A willingness to be present© 2013 Thomas W. Cummins
—∞—
“Since 1941” Proclaims the logo On the paper cup Torké Coffee Roasting Company I sip the coffee A train lumbering by Filled with grain A mournful early-morning whistle Announced earlier 1941: my natal year But now A train slowly passing Evokes a childhood memory My maternal grandfather A locomotive engineer Time collapses Looking out the window Many years Overflowing with joyful memories Hopes Dreams Others (few, but too many) Tinged with sadness Disappointments Confusion Anxiety Loneliness What brings This reflection This day In front of this window? A convergence – “Since 1941” and … A train slowly passing© 2013 Thomas W. Cummins
—∞—
Breathing in Breathing out We enter the world Being loved We exit being loving A rhythm A pulse Time ticking Minutes and hours Days and years Generations Lives Breathing in Breathing out© 2013 Thomas W. Cummins
—∞—
O, waning crescent Where are you heading? The morning is clear, crisp Dawn is breaking You appear to be leaving Won’t you stay to welcome the day? In your fullness rising Large Golden Warm Romantic You welcome our evenings Your presence is everywhere A sharp beam on a glassy lake Silvery lamé on a wind-tossed sea Hanging over a southbound river like a lantern Climbing over a stadium wall during a game Shining on an airplane’s wing In your fullness Your stay around all night Making tree shadow patterns on the snow Casting twig-laced squares on the bedroom floor Flirting from behind the pines As morning draws near You startled me one night In a canyon … in Utah I was asleep Under the stars You suddenly peeked over the towering, sheer, red wall Your desert brightness unrestrained. Remember? But, for now, you are leaving Each month you give us A warm evening greeting A chilly morning farewell We know all about lunar cycles But our ancient feelings prevail© 2013 Thomas W. Cummins
In a dim light... 