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      March 14, 2016Old Age Requires the Greatest CourageRed Hawk

      The greatest courage is not needed for war,
      but for ordinary people growing old.
      Like soldiers, the aged are never very far
      from death: many are called,
      all are chosen. A soldier faces danger
      then retreats, but for the old, going back
      is not possible; they may hunger
      for youth but pray for the luck
      of a quick death. When one by one
      the body’s systems fail, they must be brave
      and face annihilation of the flesh and bone,
      the Soul clinging like a shipwrecked sailor, to love;
      finally, love is all we are given
      to navigate between exhaustion and heaven.

      from #50 - Winter 2015

      Red Hawk

      “By the Grace and Mercy of Our Creator poems are given. My task is to remain open and vulnerable, to not interfere with incoming energy, to receive with Gratitude. By that same Grace and Mercy, sometimes I am given a poem which requires revision and allows me to participate in the creation. Old age is the present condition; the great trap of old age is succumbing to the urge to lie down and rest. Thus, courage is required to go on in the face of one’s inevitable weakening and doom. Everything is grist for the poet’s work.”

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