More Than a Memory

More Than A Memory

(For Gene)

I remember so clearly 

First days of friendship 

School days and discoveries 

Like it was yesterday 

Now you are gone

And I wonder…

Does a forest remember?

After a storm

In calm 

after the  storm

Even though it is broken

Torn down and fallen

Trees returning

Standing tall once again

More than a memory

Former glory

Nature restored.

Is that how life is?

After a heartache 

 When you are battered and torn

From the inside out

You wonder

Can I live again?

And I look yonder…

Does a farm field remember?

Winter wheat resting under blanketed snow

Spring hail in a thunder storm

Even though it is flooded

Washed away, and swollen

Corn returns with tall tassels 

More than a memory

Former glory

Bounty returns.

Is life like that?

After the mourning

Taps calling

A volley for your service

Finally resting 

In a garden of stone…

I wonder

 Can we live again?

Saying goodbye 

 Brother, soldier, and  friend. 

More than a memory

A smile

A laugh

Sound of your voice 

Echoing inside of myself

And I wonder…

Does your spirit remember?

D.A. Wittler 5/13/20

 

A Few Thoughts: Untitled

A Few Thoughts: Untitled

Don Maclaine wrote a song about Vincent Van Gogh. Have you heard it? Have you listened to your heart? Can you see today a little more clearly? Does yesterday even matter any more? 

Now, do you care about tomorrow?

 Vincent said, " Sorrow is a small beginning." I am beginning to realize that I cling too tightly to sorrow these days, yet, there is hope come the morning where light dispells darkness, and awareness changes doubt to reason. But we don't need light to see, we only need a heart worth feeling, and no thought of what we are suffering, only that we become enlightened a little more on our journey through the suffering rather than becoming stuck within it, and sinking. We must rise above it, and realize that love never ceases as life does; it merely changes as the seasons, and we grow with each ring we earn like the tree outside our window, beautiful, tall, and free!

In Memoriam

04:30:

In Memoriam: Eugene Arthur Sadler; 

Son, Brother, Soldier, Friend!

Can't  sleep knowing I'll  be taking a man I have known for over forty years to his final resting place in just a few short hours...

But the worst of the storm has passed, 

Those dreadful tears have done their worst, 

And the pent up rage of knowing

Becomes my saving grace...

To all who are lamenting

In darkest hours like these

Those lost days of youthful exuberance

Rekindle in a wink of an eye

With every re-telling beside the flames

In a camp fire come morning

Becomes a spark for a new day dawning

As the embers glow

We shall remember nothing is lost

Only time we could have spent

And witnessed a slower decline.

So live as he would wish

And hope as he now knows

That we shall all gather once again

Lift a glass

And laugh at all our suffering

From the past.

Amen

D.A. Wittler 5/9/20

Reflections Amidst a Pandemic

A few thoughts: 

Reflections Amidst a Pandemic:

 (A work in progress)

I think about the miles 

these dogs have trod, 

and a flag unfurled 

I dream about a time 

of great upheaval,

and a people longing for freedom.

 

I feel the absence of a soldier

in the field, 

and a mother's prayers uplifted. 

I hear a gentle chimming 

of the hours, 

and the chorus of a windswept symphony

On a loney journey echoing;

It's origin dangling from a front porch.

I know loss,

and a friend struggling

Just to keep his heart beating

Silent faces peering 

from behind fear

Of a pandemic spreading.

In all this 

I know faith continuing

Flags still waving,

and a people clinging to each other

Proclaiming:

"This too shall pass."

D.A. Wittler 5/3/20

Thoughts On A Sinking Ship

A few thoughts about a sinking ship:

I think the analogy of a boat is more like a sinking ship. No matter where people were on the Titanic they were all in peril. There were not enough life boats to rescue everyone. People on the bow went first. The band played amid ships, and those left on the stern deck went down with a rush pulling them into the frozen depths. And all the while a few shocked souls watched in horror as their loved ones took a last breath. Yes, some of us are still working, sustained by a pay check. Some fall through the cracks, and depend on family to keep them afloat, and still we lose neighbors, friends, and family to this silent menace, but we are all on this sinking ship together no matter where we sit, stand, or view the horror of the carnage left behind in the wake of an iceberg barely visible from the surface. Take heart, and know that even in the worst of times we can all have faith to carry us to safer shores. Amen, and God Bless all!

Where the Cardinal Goes

Where the Cardinal Goes

(For Mom)

On a clear blue morning

I saw him perched precariously on a metal limb

Head held high 

Chest bared in brilliant crimson red

And in my silent mourning it occured  to me

"Mom?"

Where does the cardinal go

When the heart needs comforting 

When life seems lesser than when you were here?

In my silent prayer I know

Where the cardinal goes

He finds his mate

Settles in to a common space

A nest they have gathered together

To cultivate

A new generation

Another chance for life to renew itself

Though my sorrow ebbs, and flows

My spirit soars to

Where the cardinal goes.

D.A. Wittler 3/13/20

Windward Sons, Great Coaches, and an Artist of Life

A few thoughts: Windward Sons, Great Coaches, and an Artist of Life.

We received a letter on Friday from my son Ryan who is about to begin the midway point in Marine Corps training. I have come to realize that he is a windward son because he has chosen the difficult path against what most young men his age would choose, but in the end he will be stronger, and more able bodied to face any obstacle life places in front of him. The same could be said of his brother Aaron who is learning, and growing in his own more traditional way; work, save, explore possibilities, and build gradually at his own pace. 

Ryan says it's like his Drill Instructors are easing up one minute, and jumping down their throats the next. Believe me, any former service member, or student athlete knows this feeling. It is because they have reached a point where being a novice gives way to being a serious student of "the game." Drills, conditioning, fundamentals, and mental maturity start to kick in, but not without constant pressure to gain proficiency above, and beyond. Like great coaches who strive for perfection, life teaches many lessons, often times throwing obstacles in our way to test us of our worthiness, or courage to strive on.

Now, I'm  finally getting to read a good book about some of the greatest coaches of Notre Dame football, as I am constantly looking for ways to encourage my sons through this most challenging time of their lives. Since martial arts is a part of Marine training, I sought guidance from one of the greatest teachers/philosophers in Bruce Lee. He changed the world in regards  to opening up the ancient arts of the Far East. As a student of philosophy as well, Lee melded together what he knew of the physical art with the discipline of the mind. This is what I gleaned from a brief study of his life, and work.

Become like the caterpillar

Prepare, 

Grow, 

Dream, 

Emerge, 

Stretch your wings, 

Fly on your own power 

This is what it means to be

An Artist of Life

A student of the soul.

Paint your canvas like a perfect scene before you 

Is it a deeply hidden meadow amongst the trees?

Or can it be seen for miles around

Like a journeyman's dream 

With limitless possibilities?

It is up to you

According to the life you lead;

Choose wisely,

Be true to the heart within

That beats the drum 

And leads the way.

D.A. Wittler 3/8/20

God Bless!