Join me in this poem and in this video link for a walk through the woods that I loved during my growing up years. Writing the poem, capturing the place in a video walk, and assembling that into a music video has helped me find my footing in a new role in life. This newness came mixed with sadness, as my siblings and I said goodbyes to beloved parents, and then to the family home. Time does not stand still does it?
The movement from one generation to the next, as new patriarchs and matriarchs in a family rise up, will come to all of us. May what I share here help you to reflect in a thoughtful way about your own place in this movement of family generations through time.
It is the
end of an era
The
beginning of a new way
Of being in the world,
Time to be
family heads now rather than look to parents
As the role
models of stability and wisdom.
Even with a
fist full of decades in one’s repertoire
This duty
beckons with surprise
As footsteps
hesitate to
Mount up
with wings as eagles,
To walk and
not be weary
For the
challenges ahead.
And so I
take a good-bye walk
Around
beloved space,
Listening to
the wind and leaves
While adding
my own voice in prayers
Of
thankfulness for such a richness
In legacy,
Highlighted by the riotous colors of the
Fall
woodland, decked in
Flutters of
golden and red whispers.
We are not
alone in this world.
The spirit
of our loved ones
Salted the
earth in their own times,
Paving the
way for those who follow.
The Spirit
of God ties us with them
In memory,
in beauty, in hope of reunion.
The fall
woodland reminds all that
Each era of
our days on earth
Is spread
out in time with
Masterful
skill by the Designer
Of changing
seasons; springtime,
summer, fall.
His
intricate weaving of life with life,
Soul with
soul, days scattered,
Hours
diffused with mundane or majestic centers,
All part of
His score for the world.
Our part,
however lovely, long, or little,
Is to play note by note, minute by
minute,
Breath by
breath, the song that
The Composer
of our souls
Gives us in
love and time.
Bless my
frailness,
My leapings into this or that, Lord.
Help me to
play Your music well.
May this
arc, the end of summer,
The stepping
into the autumn of my life,
This third
movement of a life symphony
Be rich and
bold with grace,
Celebrating
the harvest of life
That has seen goodness from Your hand,
Taking up
each ripe fruit,
Using it for goodness sake.
Prepare me, Lord,
in all these glorious days
For the walk
with dignity into the next movement
When the
cadence of my Fall is complete,
And the
quietness of my Winter breathes
Frost-like on
another chapter toward life’s end.
With echoes
of golden leaves hindering sadness,
May the boots
and mittens of winter
Not inhibit
the song,
Hummed
softly during long nights
Or bellowed
joyfully when
Crystalline
flakes dance with delight
Windowing
clearly the bluster and beauty
In all of
life’s days.
Here are photos from that walk . . .
Here are photos from that walk . . .
MUSIC LINK
A Walk in the Woods - piano solo from my archives on "Faith of Our Fathers" with video from the woods at Spring Hill Farm
