#compassion
AFTER THE HEADLINES
We’ve seen time and time again the horrible consequences
when Mother Nature turns her wrath upon our nation….
Like when the high tides, the winds and the rains of Hurricane Helene
left in her wake a path of devastation.
For a while every day the reality was right before our eyes
In the headlines of our newspapers, on the internet…streaming on TV.
We saw it on anguished faces, in swollen rivers, with every fallen tree…
Immediately after the hurricane as I walked my normal beat
I saw entire contents of house after house…piled near the street.
Walking among the ruins…it was difficult to avoid
the sorrow I felt for all the lives uprooted…all the memories destroyed.
It’s been seven weeks now…the debris has been removed
Hurricane Helene no longer poses an immediate threat
and since I was basically unaffected…it becomes easier for me to forget.
To forget even though the winds have subsided and the water is no longer flowing
for those who were directly effected by the hurricane..the suffering is ongoing.
For those of us not directly in her path…with our life no longer on hold…
we begin to think of other things…as new headlines replace the old.
So today…a little reminder…to keep in our hearts, our souls…our minds
those who have been unable to move on…
who have not left their suffering behind.
Always Giving
Oh, isn't it sad, this tale we weave,
Of a heart so giving, yet too bereaved?
Her laughter, a melody, sweet and pure,
A balm for others, their pain's cure.
Her hands, like lanterns, dispelling the dark,
Her smile igniting the faintest spark.
In every soul, she planted delight,
Yet none looked deeper, beyond the light.
She carried the weight of their secret fears,
Wiping their sorrows, drying their tears.
But oh, the silence when night would fall,
Echoing questions, unanswered call.
Isn't it tragic, the giver's plight?
To brighten the world, yet lose her light?
Her joy, a facade, a painted face,
While her heart longed for its own embrace.
Who stopped to wonder, who dared to see,
The woman behind the mystery?
For giving all, she forgot to keep
The dreams that stirred in her soul's deep.
So here's the lesson, a whisper, a plea:
See the unseen, let hearts roam free.
Ask the question, break the chain,
For the giver too feels joy and pain.
Oh, isn't it sad, and isn't it true?
Her light burned bright, but she needed it too.