The Long Walk Home

                                                  

I measure the distance

By cracks in the sidewalk

The number of houses

The minute hand on my watch

The worn out soles of my ten dollar sneakers

Or the puffy white clouds that pass me by

The ocean of space in the deep blue sky

The notes of the songs that play in my ears

These are the landmarks that I've seen though the years

But not the real markers that guide my way

These are much deeper - not of water and clay

These are the yearnings that I feel in my heart

Seeking some solace and to make a new start

“Dreams and schemes and Circus Crowds”

My inner spirit cries aloud

For meaning and purpose – just why and how?

Now I turn the corner and what do I see

The end of my journey just ahead down the street

Decisions I make for today or tomorrow

May well provide me with great joy or some sorrow

So I watch my feet as they step along

Then look up at the trees as I hear a new song

Not made of notes or rhythms or chords

But angelic voices coming straight from the Lord

Guiding my steps as I find a new way

Urging me onward to greet the new day

Though I may no longer   measure each stride

I just picture the ocean and the roaring tide

For the inner journey is not on the ground

But deep in my soul where true life is found

So now I’m nearing my welcoming door

And the long walk home has been traveled once more.

Larry Hosack  October 2013

Winter… Where hath gone thy fury?

Winter… Where hath gone thy fury?

What has become of the ice and snow that chilled 

               our limbs to the bone?

Where is the mantel of white that covered even the 

               roughest of landscapes?

When will you revisit our humble clime and once again 

               reveal your icy beauty?

Is there even a hint of your wrath as the winds die down 

              and the sun grows warm?

Can my chilled ears adjust to the refreshing sound of 

              warblers and jays and children outdoors at play?

Can the rushing waters of melting snow gradually become 

              the pleasant gurgling of a bubbling brook?

And now will the once-tired muscles from the shoveling  

              of the storm be replaced by the April task  of raking 
              away the old layer of lawn with its winter debris?

Is the frosty breath of a winter’s morn soon to be transformed 
              to the sweat of the brow on a quick morning run 
              or neighborhood stroll?

Questions, only questions.  And more queries to ponder…

               as the days become longer and brighter…

But the warmth of the Spring sun has once again 
               begun to erase the memories of 
               the harshest season in our fair land...

Filling the void with a joy and a glow that sinks deep
               into the heart of every true New Englander…

Hush now, the peepers are singing once again….
               and the crocus in all its tiny glory has 
               burst into the sunlight of the New Dawn…

Y'all come back now - but not for a while!

Bailey and Phaedra - happiness defined!

                                                                            

Memories of yesteryear often leave me dry

Hoping for the future, can make me kind of high

The mysteries of creation, keep me asking, “why”?

And living in the present is something that I try.

Worrying about money, can be a foolish thing

Learning another brand new song, always make me sing

Sanity is a treasured prize to which I firmly cling

And when hugged by my little granddaughters – I might as well be king!

Trying to stay healthy – is always a daily task

When wishing for divine assistance, we only have to ask.

I’m waiting for the summer sun, so in it I can bask

I‘m trying be open and truthful and put away my mask.

Although I’d like to rhyme all night – I have some things to do

Like cleaning up my basement space – but I haven’t got a clue

Of what to throw away or keep – and what to fix or glue

And send this little poem on Facebook for all of you!

With lots of smiles and joy!  Larry (the artist formerly from Lyman)

I Walked a Mile at Wal-Mart

    I walked a mile at Wal-Mart tonight, not inside but out -- in the parking lot.  I measured it with the van’s odometer, put on my hat and scarf and my $16 knock-off mP3 player from Hong Kong and stepped out into the night, flashlight in hand so I wouldn’t get hit with parking lot traffic.

    I do this because I need to, I’m diabetic, type II - and exercise, mainly walking, is the best thing for it, cardio-workout and all that.  And besides avoiding chocolate candy, ice cream, cookies and other no-no’s it helps to keep my blood glucose level down and shed some pounds at the same time.   But the fresh night air makes it all worthwhile with my favorite tunes playing in my own ear buds’ music studio.

   But what I really want to say is what’s inside my head and heart while all this is going on outside.  A warm sense of gratitude comes over me at times like this and my mind flashes from one moment in my life to another with emotions churning and filling me with wonder that I’m still alive at all!   Not to mention being happy with my life, my family and friends, my work, my music, my hobbies and always trying to learn about and practice more of the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith.  I have several Bahá’í prayers in my mind and heart which well up within me, giving comfort, clarity and direction, sorting out all those moments from the Past and present with all their bittersweet recollections of people and places from bygone times.

    At this particular moment I’m feeling a bit overly serious about all this reflection, so maybe it’s time for a little relief.  A reporter from the big city asked an old-time Mainer sitting out on his porch, “Have you lived all your life in these parts?”  And the gentleman responded, “Not yet…”

    And that’s’ about how I feel at this moment.  Looking forward as much as back, knowing that in December, coming up later this year, I’ll be singing, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me…?” and feeling like it’s a true miracle how rich life has been and seems to continue to improve.

  We did have the “empty nest” for a short while and happily our daughter and two beautiful grandchildren have made sure that we always remember our child- rearing years!!   I can’t say that our home was quiet before - we always have had music playing either live or recorded, and Leona has learned and perfected playing the 5-string Banjo in the past five years,  and we have the piano, a keyboard and guitars are always handy - but there’s nothing quiet like the laughter and unabashed playfulness of tw young girls, 3 and 7 – to keep things lively!!!

     Lastly tonight as I review this epistle, I have been strangely moved by the reading of a very special Biography of the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, Shoghi Effendi, who did more in a short lifetime (he passed away at just 60 years of age in 1957) for the future of humanity and our beloved planet Earth, than anyone will ever know until future historians can get a clear perspective on the evolution of Unity among all the races and nations of our world, still enveloped in the painful birth pangs of a New World Order that Shoghi Effect propelled with a “quantum leap” into a viable, functioning and divinely ordained Administrative Order, outlined by the Prophet-Founder, of the Bahá’í Faith,  Bahá’u’lláh and His Son, the Perfect Exemplar of His Teachings, ‘Abdul’-Bahá during the past 150 years – with very few of our world’s leaders,  religious or political have even begun to peruse.

    So tonight I am a grateful man, with so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to.  Please God may I walk the straight path and keep my sights on the beautiful sun-lit horizon of the Dawn of Peace and Unity for our beloved earthly home….   ‘night all

Larry

South Berwick, Maine

PS - these are my own thoughts and reflections not official viewpoints of the Bahá'í Faith, for further study of the Bahá'í teachings please check    <www.bahai.us>