Episode 34 - Revealing A Truth
SIT BACK
I could simply sit back,
laze around, listen to the whistling wind,
watch the day appear and disappear,
see the moon and stars sparkling
as the frogs sing
the owls swoop.
In the morning, the doves coo
the black birds sing
as the sun rises again.
But would I see the inner light,
hear the inner music,
become one with the beauty of nature
feel love for all people and animals
join the transcendental poets,
Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman
or those saints and sages of the East
who wrote the Vedas, Upanishads and more.
Is it time to stop
searching for the truth outside,
and simply sit back
listening to the silence.
UNDER THE STAIRS 1 - 4 X 6
The water heater started leaking
revealing years of memories seeking
to be seen again, not forgotten
4x6 boxes hidden in the bottom
Plastic storage boxes piled high
we moved them out with a sigh
discovering
there we were young and hairy
how we have changed, rather scary
then we realize that seeds were sown
and on the inside we have grown
and our love becomes stronger
as we live together longer and longer
And our physical appearance
will not matter in our disappearance
transitioning out of these bodies
onto the next big adventure.
UNDER THE STAIRS 2 - Stamps
2 suitcases full of the stamp collection
started by father in London in 1945.
I continued faithfully to Russell square,
with my pocket money, of shillings and pence
to all those philatelist stores.
Searching for those perfect Victorian
penny blacks and tupenny blues.
Checking my thick orange Stanley Gibbons Catalogues,
the stamp collectors’ bibles.
I would send myself “First Day Covers”
and fill in everything in between.
I learned History and geography,
Saw the changing British empire,
Borders coming and going
across Europe and Africa
Countries appearing and disappearing.
Pieces of colored paper telling stories
faces of powerful people dead and alive
the changing technology of trains and planes
Animals and plants, fauna and flora.
All carefully organized in green and brown leather albums
or stuffed in large labeled envelopes.
I thought I had a treasure trove
to be passed on to our daughter.
But the world has speeded up
and stamp collecting is slow.
Finally the decision:
rather than bringing them along,
it is time to move on.
I thought my carefully saved pennies, shillings and pounds
had become valuable historical artifacts.
In CT the dealer looked through, smiling gently
saying” this won’t change your lifestyle!
So the suitcases came to FL
and here, years later, I tried again.
This dealer wanted nothing at all.
The collection is like my other boxes ,
old cameras, old phones, iPods and computers.
All worthless artifacts of the short history
of our lives.
All that is worthwhile now are the 4x6 memories,
watching our daughter grow up,
The new party themes each birthday,
Costumes for all her little friends,
her grandmother laughing
seeing friends and pets who have passed on.
Cats buried under the weeping cherry and Japanese Maple.
The water heater did its work.
The truth is revealed.
©MartinStrasmore2021
Thanks for listening: Just a few words about stamp collecting.
In England when I was a teenager in the early 1960’s Russel Square where the British Museum is was full of small shops selling stamps to philatelists like me. Stanley Gibbon’s was the Tiffany’s of Stamp collecting and their 3 catalogues covered every stamp ever issued across the Globe and priced them by condition. I tried to buy stamps to complete my collections below the catalogue value. What a game it turned out to be - even as I learned a lot, enjoyed it and felt a sense of accomplishment.