For Erin (in her battle with ALS)

“Unsteady And Ready” Facebook Profile

I have found a new hero on Facebook, and I will make her yours as well.  Pope John Paul II  once visited a colony for leprosy. When he left, he spoke these words, “It is easy to smile and love God when you feel good and everything is fine.  Choosing to smile and love God when things are terrible is not only a ministry unto others, it is a ministry to Him.”

Erin suffers with ALS, and she chooses to smile, while showing others what this disease does to people, and what she endures in everyday life.

For this reason, I consider her a silent hero. I presented this poem to her, and now I present her to you.

A bird takes flight for granted,

As we take the ability to run,

To laugh,

To walk,

To live.

As your abilities departed,

You sought for other means,

To smile,

To love,

To give.

Hawking, your colleague in suffering,

Resolved to explore with his mind,

While you armed with compassion,

Resolved to explore with your heart.

Showing us who frown with full faculties,

How you can smile in infirmity,

Bearing your cross with faith,

Giving face to a faceless disease.

Where the muscles fail,

May the angels lift you up.

Where the body is weak,

May your heart give strength.

Love is the source of strength,

God is the source of love,

As you pour forth from your heart,

May He fill you always.

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The Dream

 

I found myself at a funeral,

For an elderly man well dressed,

Behind a young boy I stood,

As we approached to view the coffin.

The pale face was as if asleep,

And we turned to a sound behind us,

Being startled for just an instant,

We both looked back at the coffin.

His head was now turned,

Gazing at the boy with closed eyes,

One finger raised to his lips,

As if to silently say,

“Don’t say a word.“

I felt tingling weakness,

The draining sensation of fear,

As I turned to leave the church,

 Walking to a park playground,

To see the settling sight of children.

A girl turned in the sand and rose,

Walking awkwardly in my direction,

Plucking limbs from children as she passed,

Which each child began to play with,

Carrying one limb closer to me,

With her mouth gaping open,

A blank stare from missing eyes,

Ants streaming from her lips,

She raised the fingered limb to her mouth,

“Shhhhhhhhhhh!”

Rising I ran into the street,

Uncertain where to go,

The world embraced in silence,

Accept for a thumping which grew louder.

From behind a taxi rolled close,

No engine was running,

I quickly stepped to the side,

And saw the passenger trapped,

Banging on the windows,

Tears rolling down her face.

The was driver slumped over the wheel,

Lifeless on the verge of decay,

Black oozing from his ear,

He turned his vacant eyes to me,

Raising a finger to his lips,

“Shhhhhhhhhhh…”

I ran until the street ran out,

To where the land meets the water,

And the freedom of the horizon,

Yet there was no solace to be seen.

I then saw them in the water,

They were floating face down,

Except for one struggling beneath,

Except for one who looked like a child,

I jumped into the water to help,

But he was nowhere to be seen.

From the cold depth I looked up,

The bodies silhouetted against the sun,

Each slowly moved one finger before the mouth,

And terror collected its toll,

With my screams trapped in rising bubbles,

Everything went black.

I awoke in my room,

Walked quickly to the window,

Opening for some fresh air,

Everything normal as it should be.

Yet the neighbor’s security light flickering,

Revealed a silhouette hanging from the branches,

Neck and rope turning the face to me,

Slowly one finger begins to rise…

I finally awoke from the dream,

Awake to a nightmarish reality,

Where Americans harm other Americans,

For a difference of opinion,

 Inciting violence with words,

Replacing understanding with hate,

As the blind spread the disease of blindness.

For when God was forsaken,

So was justice and order,

As the godless void within us,

Collapses the soul,

And we become like walking dead.

The Breach

Why do we assume that ghosts are spirits of the dead?  Death is merely a part of life making nothing to fear.  What if ghosts are the spirits of the living trapped somewhere beyond reality?

Between the day and night there is a division.

Between the shadows and the light there is a gap.

For not everyone returns from the shadows.

Is a ghost really a spirit of the dead?

Then why are they in the world of the living?

If the dead feel no pain then why do ghosts wail?

A cemetery is peaceful because those souls departed.

Our world is full of angst from living souls trapped in the void.

Felt in a flick of motion behind you where nothing can be seen.

Have you dreamt seeing people that could not see or hear you?

You spoke enshrouded in silence and no one turned your way.

Did they feel cold in that room? How did you make it back?

Those who fell through reality and never returned keep falling.

Those sudden chills unexplained are the horrors which they feel.

For lost in that place without dimensions they do scream.

Do not seek shelter in the vast knowledge of science,

Or take comfort against the darkness with your religion,

For the immeasurable unknown engulfs them without mercy.

It is only God who has made a fish or a tree.

This is the creator of love unstoppable,

Who can keep us safe from the breach.

 For how else can we be certain of our safety,

When we stand only upon atoms,

And atoms are nearly nothing?

by Eric Visconti - Poet

Exploring Life

“Words are the beginning of every journey.”

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