Lying Down In Green Pastures - Expressions In Clay

To observant persons there’s nothing that’s missed
Four windows in sunlight all shine.
But even the sharp-eyed diversions resist
At best only part of the time.

Sun Tsu said diversion is key to all war
Von Clausewitz talked of it too.
Attack or move forward is not just for goals
But for freedom of movement with you.

When decoys, red herrings, and false leads are used
The un-sharp are easy too fool.
But watching the eyes lets one know right away
Who is quick or is slow like a mule.

What fascinates me is how open one’s talk
Can be right in the midst of a crowd.
Why, this art, speech, and poetry; silence and looks;
Can be clear, as when talking out loud.

In Cree just a question can share an insight,
A story conveys message too.
So out on the table are laid all such things:
"Pick it up, if it's helpful to you".

Objective of mine is to see light of day
Through this murky and stress-ridden mess.
When evil of others gets into the way
‘Press forward,’ I say, ‘none the less’.

The biggest opponent for me is within
But regardless, within or without,
I’m going to press forward, despite all of this,
Beating cancer, of that there’s no doubt.

Half way, with great progress, though tough, I’ll admit;
By the end I’ll be able to say
(So the stress drops within me – no more cancer hits)
What my heart feels, the photograph way.

It’s not “just an extra – blocked photograph route –
Since poems allow me a say”;
But it’s more like while paint or acrylic’s intact
Something blocks your expression through clay.

It’s connected – the photos and block – somewhere deep,
At a level all covered with fear.
Perhaps something's helped me survive in the past
But the junk-clearing time is now here.

The first half has opened, in context, a way –
Laid foundation of pyramid broad
Which is needed for height, though at half-way's quite low,
Press to peak now, I’ll do it, by God.

Please do not abandon, at side of this road
Viewing this as outside of your scope.
Already your work far exceeds all my prayers –
In this process abides so much hope.

Once again, greatest challenge for me lies within
To push through this, despite all my fear.
Success lies before me, just outside my grasp –
I push forward for all I hold dear.

I’ve heard lots of theory, walked others on through
Messes complex with fear, dread, and shame.
But for all of us counselors and artistic folks,
Faced with cancer – we’re all just the same.

You said, at the first, not with others compare
It’s a struggle for me all the time.
“Touch of cancer he’s had – just a wimp,” doctors say,
Hope they’re right so the hard road’s not mine.

Last night grandson asked me about some of this:
“Thought you had it, but now it's in past.”
“Each one of us throws cancers off all the time –
Why this one grew – that is what I now ask.

“This cancer grows rarely just once in the gut –
Comes in groups mostly, stretched over time.
So a lifestyle adjustment is key to success
Stress a factor – at least, one that’s mine.

“Out here in the boonies, resources are few
Ten percent of the Province lives here.
So we cope best we can – take a bull by the horns,
Rope and tie him like rodeo steer.”

For me, a great help, when I’m looking within
Is the courage expressed here each week.
Faced with challenge, and pain, loss of hope and support,
They persist with whatever they seek.

From that courage I draw, for this walk down my road,
Inspiration to press on, not die –
To push through the wall that’s in front of me, so
In green pastures I also may lie.

 

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