You write we are extinct. That floods are a lesson from Him.
We tender no mercies. We lie. Cheat. Doing what is easiest forgoing the
consequence. We are always wanting. Blame the establishment. The government.
The people.
Who has seen the wind? I lived on street lamp time. We
played make believe in the gully alongside our side yard. Made mud pies and
built bridges using old planks taken from the wood pile outside the shed. We packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
and shiny red apples in a paper sac to last the entire day as we foraged
through the wood high atop the hillside.
We sat cross-legged at the bench pressing our pencil lead
crisply into the salmon notebook.
Carefully and with precision writing in cursive – practicing our
letters. We made our beds each morning
and brushed our hair until it was shiny and golden before making our way to
breakfast. We washed our dishes by hand
and played word games with dad after the dishes were done.
I carpooled to catechism with my sisters. Attended a Protestant
Sunday school tucking our quarters neatly into closed fists paying for our
souls to be free. Confession was
inconsequential given our strict upbringing.
Sunday afternoons we attended a public skate or swim at the community
center.
I believed in my dad. I followed his rules. A sheep to his
pulpit. I excelled in school and was well versed in sports and enjoyed a
handful of faithful friends. My life was straightforward and I supposed
simplistic in nature. I was taught to protect myself and to work hard. We walked everywhere. Rode our bikes hard.
Skipped rocks and kicked at crumpled cans that littered the ditches.
When did I lose my way? Astray from my father’s flock my
faith in my God and in humanity began to crumble. Wearing thin an armor no
longer fit to bear arms. Lost is the innocence
of youth. The blessings and life lessons that were mine are extinct to this
generation. This world I hold out to them in open palm is complicated.
Over-processed. We see too much. Know too much.
Seeking solace freedom from the chaos of a world overloaded I demand
simplicity. I am frightened. Sickened. This reality I cannot escape. The atheist
claiming no God. The religious fanatic killing for what he has been instructed
to do in his code living in his world. Our dollars feeding the hungry,
propelling the movements and fighting the diseases. Too many are the self-serving
and too few the compassionate. The corrupt leading the blind the indifferent.
I want to return to the softness of the soil. A barn dance. A
sleepover. Summer camp. Where we are led
by nature. Let our children simply be. Let them laugh. Pick teams. Explore.
Sleep in and dream big. Too soon all
that we know will be a weight on their soul and in their hearts. Whatever happened to tag and red rover or
capture the flag? To believe in what is good. To teach and understand kindness.
To know there is hope and choice. Hopscotch and double-dutch. Joy in the unknown. Peace from the onslaught
of a social media warfare. To be an uncomplicated fifteen year old. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord
my soul to keep.
