Haiku - Roses

two dates spaced with dash

beginning, ending, between

petals remind us

What if... When I Need You

  

When I Need You

Leo Sayer

When I need you
I just close my eyes
And I'm with you. And
all that I so wanna
give you
It's only a heartbeat away.

When I need love
I hold out my hands
And I touch love. I
never knew there was
so much love
Keeping me warm night and day.

Miles and miles of
empty space in
between us
The telephone can't

take the place of
your smile.
But you know I won't
be traveling forever.
It's cold out but hold out
And do like I do.

 

When i need you
I just close my eyes
And you're right
here by my side.
Keeping me warm night and day
I just hold out my hands
I just hold out my hands
And I'm with you

-----------------------

I heard this the other day

as I was eating a bagel and thought,

 what if..., what if...  I were saying this 

not just to God, but to Christ himself.

How would this be heard? Received? Acted on?

Do I believe the presence is with me?
If I just hold out my hands... maybe....

just maybe....

What if?

to bless perseverance

May dreams arrive to inspire determination.

May recognition of worthy pursuit keep focus.

There is power and control in knowing, may these combine with gracefulness that reinforces positive relationship.

May the open hand represent perseverance, a reminder to hold goals loosely lest the transformation morph into stubbornness.

May perseverance be the transport, may happiness stick with the doing, and may every arrival yield guidance. 

~ o'hOgain

Somewhere near Bourbon Street

I was in New Orleans a few days ago.

I snapped these with my phone while

doing some "window" shopping.

to bless sharing

May the guideline for touching a life be 'as my life has been touched.'

May this encourage lightness, mollifying harshness.

May desire within overflow gently, oh! deep happiness.

May earnestness and hope refreshed foment dreams and aspiration.

May formulation begin to move toward heart's dream setting free the natural tendency to grow.

May sharing be courage tagged, swallowing criticism, bravely letting go of petty attack, accepting in strength personal flaws, yes, serious flaws, and courage still to make dreams the core of new action. 

May truth within be the joyful crux of sharing.

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Photo i-appropriated from ghettojack's photostream.
Click the link to see more of
Jack's super pics.

Love Letter No 87 - Dip Love

Dear S,

So we talked about broccoli and

applesauce for dip; or maybe

peanut butter. "Peanut butter is 

good on apples, are you gonna put

it on the broccoli?" 

That  would work. 

"I really like your 

hair, too cute." 

And you said,  

"It could happen." which

induced audacious smiles.

With deep and tender affection,

LarryG

------------------------------

Photo is my own. :)

Love Letter No 86 - Txt Msg Love

Dear T,

Lunch with you was "full of sparkle."

Affectionately,

LarryG

:)

What if... "D'yer mak'er"

Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You don't have to go oh oh oh oh oh
You don't have to go oh oh oh oh oh
You don't have to go

Ay ay ay ay ay ay
All those tears I cry ay ay ay ay ay
All those tears I cry ay ay ay ay ay
Baby please don't go.

When I read the letter you wrote
It made me mad mad mad
When I read the news that it brought me
It made me sad sad sad
But I still love you so, I can't let you go
I love you- ooh baby I love you

Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Every breath I take oh oh oh oh oh
Every move I make oh oh oh oh oh
Baby please don't go

Ay ay ay ay ay ay
You hurt me to my soul ay ay ay ay ay
You hurt me to my soul ay ay ay ay ay
Darling please don't go.

When I read the letter you sent me
It made me mad mad mad
When I read the news that it brought me
It made me sad sad sad
But I still love you so
And I can't let you go
I love you- ooh baby I love you

Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You don't have to go oh oh oh oh oh
You don't have to go oh oh oh oh oh
(Baby please don't go)  

  

~lyrics from "D'yer mak'er"

I heard this the other day

as I was eating a bagel and thought,

What if I heard God say this...

What if that longing for relationship 

that is expressed here came from above...

What if I were being wooed

in this way by the deepest love

of the universe...

what if it took God's breath away,

yes, and hurt God that I withheld

myself from the relationship...

What if the emotion and feeling of this

song summed all that up...

then I looked it up and read it. 

and thought, maybe, just maybe...

to bless the concise

May the point be obvious.

May repetition become easy 

because the point is succinct.

May nutshell's crux be meat.

May brief not imply

impatient or pedantic.

May the concise bless

enhancing understanding.

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Photo i-appropriated from ghettojack's photostream.
Click the link to see more of
Jack's super pics.

echo of friendship

The echo of friendship will 
tell you who you are.
Are you listening? 
~o'hOgain


 

Step back a bit and observe yourself for a moment.

Who have you told your friends (near family) they are? lately?

Who have your friends told you that you are?

Our friends tell us most of what we know about ourselves. 

I have to ask myself, 

am I listening?
-----------------------------

Photo i-appropriated from ghettojack's photostream.
Click the link to see more of
Jack's super pics.

What if... "Just the way you are"

~ Billy Joel

You always have my unspoken passion
Although I might not seem to care

I don't want clever conversation
I never want to work that hard
I just want someone that I can talk to
I want you just the way you are.

I said I love you and that's forever
And this I promise from the heart
I could not love you any better
I love you just the way you are.

 ~excerpt(s) from "Just the Way You Are"

--------- 

I heard this the other day

as I was eating a bagel and thought,

What if I heard God say this...

then I looked it up and read it. 

and thought, maybe, just maybe...

I know where the time goes

I know where the time goes,
Riding off on the wind,
Never looking over the shoulder,
Headed toward a new adventure,
Growing, reaching, learning, living...
I know where the time goes,
Across my toes, stumping on my heart,
and out of my head,
oh there goes time now.

~ LarryG           

      

------------------------------------------------

special shout out to BadMom 

she "rescued" this post from

data oblivion and formatted 

it wonderfully including the pic!

Check her blog BADMOM

Love Letter No 85 - Savor Love

Dear T,

What a precious moment, me stammering and searching for

words, both of us trying our best not to spin out.

This is something to savor. 

To hold hands in the dark, to gaze across the table,

your measured thoughtfulness, my impetuous loquaciousness.

I savor the moments; it's a homecoming, it's a journey,

it's a sunrise, it's a moon shadow, it's a lark's melody,

it's a wind's song, it's a skinny dip, it's a formal dance.

Savor the moments, the parsing of morning, noon and night,

as days become weeks, months and more. 

Savor love and life and joy.

 With deep and tender affection,

LarryG

------------------------------

Photo i-appropriated from ghettojack's photostream.
Click the link to see more of
Jack's super pics.

sailing from the shore

I was surprised to see the two of you and further surprised to recognize you.

But the first words out of my mouth were "Hey Chad! It's been awhile."

 And the response, "Good to see you, remember Trish?" and smiles all around.

There in the checkout line, we hadn't seen each other since the first time we met in that group setting.

The two of you so lovely in your enamored state. When we met Trish told everyone how the multiple sclerosis and tumors were just a part of life, very matter of fact. And how Chad was becoming a nurse in order to assist. Chad expressed his devotion by diving fully into a new career.

But last night y'all, we talked about "how it's going" and you told me.

Trips to the hospital have been taking their toll. A trip to store seemed so refreshing at first, but a certain shakiness was coming on Trish and the need was to checkout and get out. 

Another tip to the distress, Chad said "we called the md, but can't get in for about 2 weeks."  "There is an experimental treatment that I'll be taking," Trish shared bravely.

Finally I said to Trish, "So how are you doing?" 

And she looked at me and the eyes were watery and the tears came, I stepped over to give a hug.

Just an embrace to emphasize the sharing of that burden. Then Chad arrived from getting the car close to the door. And there were more hugs around. 

I said a silent prayer for Trish and Chad as the three of us parted company.

Driving home I thought of the encounter. Why had I met them, then ran into them again? Coincidence? perhaps... But as I drove, the tears came to my eyes... 
I have seen ships sailing, I sense this one is sailing from the shore, my confidence is the place of arrival is far better than the one departed from.

to bless extension

m

May extension of a hand be blessed. 

A reach up, or out, or down, or in, can

make a difference to an observer.

May the risk of extension be recognized

and quickly outweighed by perceived good 

accomplished.

May extension stretch the goodness of 

the day into the morrow.

 This extension may touch a surface need,

then at just the right moment 

add the words, "how are 'you' doing my friend."

May the heart be ready for extension of friendship,

of a hug, of touch to humanity.

And may extension serve to remind that 

humanity will touch back.

------------------------------

Photo i-appropriated from ghettojack's photostream.
Click the link to see more of
Jack's super pics.

Love Letter No 84 - Replay Love

Dear D,
The song, our song, is on replay. It's not stuck, no, no, no, it's set that way on purpose. I want to hear our song over and over. The digital groove cut in this ipod is like the scrape that's been made across my heart.

Replay has permanence, the moment suspends. Our movement together, the touch, the words, the eyes, the attention, all of it on replay. Like the man said, "It's like a melody in my head!"

I'll be back in a moment, I want to replay this one more time.

With deep and tender affection,

LarryG

---------------------

Write a love letter and share it with someone special in your life.
Love Letters arrive here on Thursday.

strongest craving and other exams

what is the strongest craving you get?
**moments, early, pre-dawn, as the cobwebs leave the slumbering conscious presence satisfied by faith alone, desiring to belong the body rises, reminders of the individual’s chosen nature, inherent to existence, longings pondered, bring belongings defined

how do you release frustration?
**music, the muse of the gods themselves

what is your wish for today?
**to give memories, however small, that refresh recollections ask someone to share a memory, to be soft – sweet – shaped – spent - AMEN

-------------
reclaimed from a comment I made here
back in April of 2008

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Photo i-appropriated from ghettojack's photostream.
Click the link to see more of
Jack's super pics.

to bless appetite

May appetite create energy
for core needs and desires.
May wariness come alive to the call of
pop culture and how the present can dominate
discussion, yet never get to the inner life.

May appetite for meals be sated with
enough. Enough wholesome goodness
to provide energy for day's activity,
enough time to relish the sharing
of friend's presence, enough delight
to tide one over until next meal.

May appetite of all senses be respected,
as this complements heart's desires.
May touch bring the warmth of relationship.
May sight inspire recognition.
May smell yield memory's harvest.
May hearing produce a longing that can
be trusted.

May appetite come into the moment,
a friend to guide, a confidant entrusted,
and a mentor of the soul.