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Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Bridges_WEP post






I look about at the world.  It seems this Age's Day has slipped into Night.

And that Night is dark with more than the drowning of the sun into the horizon, 

the fires long out, and the reason why is the only doubt. 

I try to remember the boy I once was.  

Would he approve of the man I've become, 

the choices I made, what little I learned from the past? 

The past … where the road behind is clear but the bridge is closed … 

where you learned to dance, but now the music slows.


The road ahead is unclear, 

and the toll to the nearing bridge, born of our choices, some wise, most utterly unwise, 

may be more than we will be able to pay.

We are in blistering summer, but Autumn lies ahead for all of us ... and the world.

Yet, Autumn is my favorite time of year.

Still,  this may well be the last Autumn for so many of us.



Autumn's very air fills our noses and lungs with the tang and wrinkling of leaf bonfires, 

of ripened apples making the heavy branches hang their heads as if in mourning for ice storms to come. 

Can you hear the leathery flutter of pheasant wings, the still happy liquid singing of a meandering stream, and the sad lament of a sparrow facing hunger?  

The red and gold of Autumn murmurs of happier times as I tramped lonely hills and haunted forests.   

And a peace fills me.  

The peace which is the reward of completing the long gauntlet of summer.  

 The quiet dark that precedes the winter of the soul which lurks just around the next bend towards the next bridge.   

A time for binding recent wounds and old -- and forgetting them, along with the misfortunes that brought them. 

May the bridge that lies before each of you 
have a tolerable toll and 
lead to a future that blesses 
more than damns. 

 Tropical Storm Cindy flooded my car on the way home
yesterday evening.

No car.  No job.

So I guess you could say my bridge 
has washed out.


l

35 comments:

  1. Hi Roland ... I'd be very grateful if the bridge into the summer solstice is kinder to me this year ... I could do with a tolerable toll and a future that blesses me, that doesn't cause me problems ... I'd love a bridge across to a happier and easier place - I need to push in that direction - cheers Hilary

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    1. Perhaps just a bridge over troubled waters like the song title. :-) As water has killed my car, I am a bit up that well-known creek!

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    2. Hi Roland ... oh gosh - yes I just picked that up - I hope you can get it sorted and back on the road soon. Take care I'll be thinking of you ... cheers Hilary

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  2. The same wish to you Roland, for each of us the journey is different and yet very much the same!
    Great addition to the WEP bridges challenge!

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    1. Thanks so much. Say a prayer for me and my dead car. :-(

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  3. So very nicely done. I too love autumn, but it is also a kid of sad tine too. I guess the melancholy in me takes over.

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    1. I guess the childhood memories of happy Halloweens lift my spirits and reminds the child in me that Christmas is coming! :-)

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  4. Hi,
    I like how you compare bridges with life decisions or choices. We tend to forget that our lives stem out of decisions made and there is no way to avoid it. If you don't choose, it happens to you anyway. It is better to make a decision or choice and learn to live with it than to ignore. Because the winter will come and what happens under ground will determine what comes back up. An engaging poem that made me think.
    Shalom aleichem,
    Pat

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    1. Not to choose is to choose, right? Better to get hung for a wolf than a sheep! :-)

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  5. This piece brings out so many feelings and emotions, it's extremely well written, a great use of the theme.

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    1. You made my day, Laura -- and facing losing my job having lost my car to being flooded - I needed the boost. :-)

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  6. I do hope we can all afford the toll.
    Bridges which all of us must cross, only the timing and the approach vary...
    This is such an evocative post.

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    1. Thank you so much. As Tropical Storm Cindy has taught me by flooding my car and ending my job, the tolls can sure be higher than we expect!

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  7. That was an evocative, contemplative poem. And the wish in the end is so heartwarming. Thank you. I wish you the same.

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  8. That was beautiful, and sentimental. Thought provoking. I also love Autumn, my favorite season.

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  9. I loved your piece, Roland. As Olgo and EC say, very evocative. I love Autumn too, but in Oz it just means it's not as hot as summer!
    Great use of the BRIDGES prompt. Life is full of metaphoric bridges we either cross or avoid.

    Denise :-)

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    1. Oz sounds a lot like Louisiana -- only one kind of weather: hot!

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  10. Hi, Roland,

    As usual your imagery and message is truly beautiful. Autumn is also one of my favorite times of year. But I do love certain aspects of every season...

    Wishing you the same, of course. And, yes, sadly some of our beloved friends will not cross this year or next. Part of the circle of life, I suppose, but doesn't really help in the hurting aspect of it. Such people we will never ever forget. They have touched our lives too deeply.

    My submission is similar in feeling but different of course. WE each have an old soul but I believe yours may be just a bit older. I think you have a few more lives on me. LOL.

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    1. Facing the loss of my job with the loss of my flooded car from Cindy, I certainly feel much older! Only happy surprises for you, my friend.

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    2. What? Oh, no.... I am so sorry. They surely won't fire you for losing your car in a natural storm. Don't you have a company vehicle to do your deliveries?

      Take care and please stay safe through this. Ugh. Poor Louisiana never get a break from these catastrophic storms....

      Your SOUL is old my friend, not you.... No happy surprises yet, but I will certainly keep you posted. I'll be thankful if nothing tragic happens. I can deal with life's smaller dramas...we have to. I'll be driving back to Florida next weekend, so hopefully the rains will subside and calm. Summer is always SO ACTIVE in the mid to southern regions of this country.

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    3. My personal car got flooded out on the way home from work. If I do not have a car to take me to the center when I am on call or when my normal work hours beckon, I will lose my job. Hence, no car, no job. :-(

      Summer during summer means Hurricane Season. Ouch! You be careful. And keep me posted on any happy moments coming your way. :-)

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  11. Beautiful! evocative. As usual your descriptions and imagery are amazing. Autumn is my favourite time of the year too. But 'the ripest fruit is the saddest.'

    Wishing you toll-free on every bridge.
    Best always,
    Nilanjana.

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    1. The toll on my washed out bridge may cost me a job, Sigh. Always something, right?

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  12. I'm sorry about your car, but your poem is stunningly beautiful. There is much flooding in the Okanogan in BC. People has lost their lives, their homes and their vehicles. And there seems to be no end to the rain.

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    1. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike taught me to hate flood waters!

      My Jedi Master mechanic, Bill Brilles, fixed my car for under $200!

      Answer to prayer and then some! :-)

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  13. Very nice with lots of imagery. Hope you have better times ahead after the storm.

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    1. Thanks, Deborah. Your good wishes worked. Thanks for the compliment. :-)

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  14. Great images here. To me it's about choosing to focus on the positive and having the courage to cross a bridge when you know you're not able to go back.

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    1. The truest courage is crossing a needful bridge when you know you could retreat you wanted. Thanks for the nice words. :-)

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  15. Yikes, sorry to hear about your car!

    Great work with this post though.

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    1. J Lenni, thankfully the car was repaired and my job saved! :-)

      Thanks for liking my post.

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  16. Your writing always moves me. So glad your car is now repaired and you can continue working.

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    1. Uh, yeah, about that. I am on solo duty this weekend, and the bottom has just dropped out of the sky, so say a prayer I do not have to venture across any more flooded streets!

      Sally, thanks so much for the compliment. My Stetson's off to you for making my morning a bit brighter despite the rainy skies. :-)

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