nursing « bearspawprint

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I watched two herons fly over
Heading away from the setting sun
They passed in front of
The rising soon to be full
Brightly beautiful moon
Then I drove towards home
The direction from
Which today’s strangely unfolding
Journey had begun
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As I was driving
Negotiating traffic thinking
About how late it had gotten to be
Noticing clouds coming in from the north west
And not much color to the sunset
I crossed the rail road tracks and headed
West towards home
Still wondering at the heat packing
Messenger Angel thinking how
Nice that she was brave enough to
Approach a stranger and offer blessings
With her beautiful huge smile
Then I thought of Mrs. Lucas an
Obstetrical Nurse and Midwife who
Measured my height
Amongst other things
Forty odd years ago
She told me I was three inches
Shorter than I thought I was
I made her measure again
Mrs. Lucas kindly did so
Laughing all the while
Deep chest rumbling
Heart hugging chuckles
When a young woman is pregnant with
With her first beloved child an
Imposing regal Angel like Mrs. Lucas
Is most reassuring
She was at least
Three hundred pounds and close to
Seven feet tall good hearted
Competent strong empathetic her
Amused self assurance told me
That my strength was what
Made the illusion that I was bigger than my
Size I had so much to carry that it
Seemed only a woman of greater height
With shoulders more like hers could
Do what I did so I grew myself a bit
To fit beneath the load that I carried
I had fought and defended against
Those much larger than myself
It seemed I really got bigger my
New stature stayed with me to
Be firm for a few not so tough
They needed me
To lean against my strength
Mrs Lucas kind eyes and rumbling laughter
Not words she actually spoke
Conveyed a message to my soul
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There is Power when needed
All required is to allow
Energy to flow free
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If it had been possible Mrs. Lucas
Would have traded herself for me
My skin fair young for her
Purposely unplucked wiry face hairs
My relatively puny body for
Her back and muscles and massive size
In a heart beat she would change
Her skin and the size of her custom shod feet
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Her knowing gentle eyes
And velvet basso concealed
An anguished child’s cries
Forced too soon into maturity
Only appropriate for her size
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As the miles passed beneath
The tires my thoughts flowed
And eddied round the messengers
I was thinking of what the
Young police woman had
To overcome to gain her armored status
Of law enforcement officers
And of public servants I have known
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Remembering intersections
Crossroads detours and
Choices the pauses and the stops
Lifetimes of touching only for a moment
Something rich knowing exchanged
Not coincidental but not planned
Nor pre-ordained
We sing our world into being
With our small
Mundane daily choices creating
The inevitable and also illusion
What our destiny will be
Is something we cannot see
But whether we are devils or
Are angels is how we shape eternity
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As I neared a special place I remembered
Another day filled with delays and odd
Encounters not unlike
This peculiar passing Beauty Day
When I reached this stretch of road
I craned my neck and searched
The sky south east to south west
Perhaps I would see another
Meteor hurtling towards
The west north west as I
Had witness a few years ago
A fearsome giant burning fire ball
Apparently massive as a house
Flying hyper speed
Towards Georgia how could
Such a monstrous glorious conflagration burn
Itself out I expected explosions and fireworks
Forest fires and sirens and FEMA but though
The burning fire ball was gigantic the
Core size was less than half my woman’s fist
It burned itself
Into no more
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Still when I pass this way
I’m always extra observant
Searching hunting waiting
Will I see another sky house fire
Thrown out of heaven
A reject of design
A terrible beauty burning in the
Darkened starry night
Thus far I have only the one
But there have been faraway falling
Wishing stars and comets satellites
Aircraft space shuttles moons even
Eight thousand helicopters in route
to Iraq rockets zeppelins
Jets and balloons planets and
Stars but not another
Burning fireball’s oxidizing doom
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To the north north west two
Cumulonimbus incus growing
Kept capturing my eye
The anvil tops oddly positioned
So that the longer arms
Were towards each other
Just enough light lingered
To see the rising shapes
Triangulating horizon
I guessed about thirty miles
Two clouds anvil arms reaching
Together merging top and bottom
Dark updraft ice winds
Casting rune shadows
Foretelling lightening wind and rain.
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Bear … 03.17.2014