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A fly buzzes Hitting the screen Wanting in Wanting out In hot, damp air A ceiling fan Hangs Lifeless Spots of moisture Here and there On floor, on table Sweat, tears, or both Silently, stupidly A phone awaits Replies To unanswered calls Birds singing Unheard Beautiful flowers Unseen On the horizon A cloud A single cloud Coming or going Bleakness, dejection Momentary But recognized A fly buzzes© 2013 Thomas W. Cummins
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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
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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
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“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
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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
In a dim light... 