bedside flight

5:30 AM Tuesday driving south on the New Jersey Turnpike
You see the downtown Newark window glass shining bright orange
And I see the red sun emerging behind the Manhattan skyline.
The glow of the sunrise light makes your face extra beautiful to me.

I realize it is 4:30 AM but for daylight savings time
And the sunlight will be with us for another 15 hours.
Your mind is thousands of miles away in Utah
Anxious to get to your stricken father’s bedside.

You are worrying about all the bad things that could happen next.
You are going to be unreachable for much of the day
Hurtling along in the plane chasing the sun west all morning
Hoping he holds on there in intensive care.

I’m doing what I can to take care of you
From cell phone to laptop to sandwiches for the trip.
You are scared and I try to help you be brave.
It’s hard to think straight. I try to help you decide what to do.

It is all so sudden, this life changes in a day.
Saturday all is well, there’s no hint of trouble.
Sunday morning brings vomiting and the gut pain is extreme.
Monday emergency surgery cuts away 4 feet of dead intestine.

Later I hear from you at the hospital.
His condition is grave but it seems he’ll pull through.
That’s such good news. Let the healing begin.
I asked you to tell him what I’m hoping for.

One day you might ask me to have you and yours
While he is still with us and can share our delight
You taking his arm walking as father and daughter
Coming towards me as we join our lives together.

red fox kit and mother

paterson

great falls, garret mountain, silk mills, botto house

prom send off

rachel corrie

The ship Rachel Corrie so aptly named
Heads towards Gaza to challenge the blockade
Eleven brave persons on board risking their lives
Carrying school supplies, children's shoes, wheelchairs and such.

Rachel Corrie, who dared to stand against injustice,
Defending a Palestinian home with her body,
Crushed under the bulldozer 23 years young,
Now her namesake carries on inspiring courage.

Just four days after the blood of nine dead civilians stained the decks
And the first wave of boats was seized, the Rachel Corrie follows.
Tomorrow about 8 AM they will reach the blockade perimeter
Daring the Israeli military to let them pass.

Rachel Corrie, classmate of my son,
I see the beautiful idealism in your face,
Taking action, finding true purpose for your life,
Choosing to stand with the oppressed.

Palestine is an occupied country.
No one can honestly deny that.
International law prohibits collective punishment
Against an occupied population.

The blockade is collective punishment of a population.
Demolishing homes is collective punishment of a family.
Things have gone from bad to worse.
It’s no surprise that desperate people become so-called terrorists.

The Jewish people historically have been the oppressed,
Keenly aware of right and wrong, models of morality,
Held in highest admiration for jurisprudence acumen,
But the state of Israel follows a different imperative.

Israel is like a tribe engaged in tribal warfare.
The perception is that to survive
It must oppress or perish from the earth.
But that’s not so I don’t think.

What if the right of return were recognized
For the displaced Palestinian refugees?
What if the occupying settlements were emptied
Like an invading army withdrawing from a foreign land?

All things are possible when you dare to imagine them.
Consider the courage of Rachel Corrie.
Consider the courage of those aboard the ship Rachel Corrie.
Consider the simple truth: no justice, no peace.


British Survivor Gaza Aid Flotilla
Rachel Corrie Court Case
Collective Punishment Home Demolitions
Collective Punishment Gaza Blockade

dreams do come true

Dreams do come true.
Not always, of course.
But that it is possible
That’s the big deal.

Imagine being happy
Enjoying being with someone
Sharing a life together
Give and take in love.

It has been a year now
Knowing you in all seasons.
This is no illusion.
You are my heart’s desire.

We pause and reflect
Sure that this is real.
We begin our second year
Getting ever more better.

This did not come easy.
The timing must be right.
Start with years upon years
Learning what not to do.

But that it came at all
That’s about staying true
Keeping the dream alive
Being the good person in us.