The Magic, Miracles and Joy of an Artist: A Grandpa

Sunday, September 18, 2011

A Grandpa

A Grandpa

There was a man;
A kind man;
A gentle man.

He came from another time and place.
Sweeping his hardships to the side of his new life,

He gave more than he took.

Sweet Face, Welcoming Smile, Genteel Manner.

This man will never come again.

We will never see the likes of this man.

Where does a man like this go? Where does he fit when his work is done?

He lives in hearts and memories and words.

Hearts are bigger, Memories are vivid, Words are spoken with love,

Just because he was here.

~Susie Spear Bruhn

A dear friend of mine wrote this poem. She said the photograph of my Grandpa inspired her to write it. She is the sweetest person and writes about many things. The things she has written that I've had the good fortune to read have all been written with love and her good heart shines through all the words. I have a few writings of hers that I've intended to post and will do so one day. I've known her for many years ~ since I was a young child living at my Grandpa's house ~ but I haven't seen her since high school. Through email, she contacted me about 4 years ago. I'm so glad she did. We've been corresponding ever since and getting to know her again has been a blessing to me. We live in different areas of the country, but plan to meet one day.
Thank you, my friend, for sharing this poem. It is beautiful and speaks lovingly about all the Grandfathers who worked hard to make a good life for their families. I hope you won't mind that I've shared it. I believe anything that stirs emotions of love should be shared.

2 comments:

Jan said...: Thank you for sharing your friends words. Its funny, just today I wrote out the story as told to me by my grandfather (in 1980) about how he and my grandmother met back in 1920. This poem fits so well.; September 18, 2011 at 10:55 PM
pinkglitterfae said...: not many people can write as beautifully as your friend. I saw the photo of your grandfather she mentioned, and I can see why she was inspired by it. He looks like he was such a kind , and wise man. You were lucky to have him, and he still looks over you I am sure; September 19, 2011 at 12:03 PM

For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come!

I AM A "SEARCHER"

"I am one of the searchers. There are, I believe, millions of us. We are not unhappy, but neither are we really content. We continue to explore life, hoping to uncover its ultimate secret. We continue to explore ourselves, hoping to understand. We like to walk along the beach, we are drawn by the ocean, taken by its power, its unceasing motion, its mystery and unspeakable beauty. We like forests and mountains, deserts and hidden rivers, and the lonely cities as well. Our sadness is as much a part of our lives as is our laughter. To share our sadness with one we love is perhaps as great a joy as we can know - unless it be to share our laughter. We searchers are ambitious only for life itself, for everything beautiful it can provide. Most of all we love and want to be loved. We want to live in a relationship that will not impede our wandering, nor prevent our search, nor lock us in prison walls; that will take us for what little we have to give. We do not want to prove ourselves to another or compete for love.

For wanderers, dreamers, and lovers, for lonely men and women who dare to ask of life everything good and beautiful. It is for those who are too gentle to live among wolves."

~ James Kavanaugh

I am THE LOVERS Tarot Card

Motive, power, and action, arising from Inspiration and Impulse. THE LOVERS represents intuition and inspiration. Very often a choice needs to be made. Originally, this card was just called LOVE. And that's acually more apt than "LOVERS." Love follows in this sequence of growth and maturity. And, coming after the Emperor, who is about control, it is a radical change in perspective. LOVE is a force that makes you choose and decide for reasons you often can't understand; it makes you surrender control to a higher power. And that is what this card is all about. Finding something or someone who is so much a part of yourself, so perfectly attuned to you and you to them, that you cannot, dare not resist. This card indicates that you have or will come across a person, a career, challenge, or thing that you will fall in love with. You will know instinctively that you must have this, even if it means diverging from your chosen path. No matter the difficulties, without it you will never be complete.