Tuesday, April 26, 2011

NO REGRETS Poem

This is a poem I wrote last year. It happens to go along with my 30 day study and seems so fitting . . .

No Regrets
July 9-10, 2010

Wisdom . . .
It is the prize which comes with age.
A treasure gained after enduring “life” . . .
Each joyful and painful stage.

Becoming one who is “wise”
Is not a quick or easy mission.
It takes a lot of hard work and time
To obtain such a position.

I am in the “wisdom forming cocoon;”
It is a mandatory state.
I am neither totally naive nor completely wise;
I am simply learning to appreciate.
I am not ready for the title of a Guru;
However, I am not on the playground anymore.
I am seeing things about life and death
Much clearer than ever before.

A small child was actually my Guru,
Though he was not aware he was playing this role.
He did not guide me by my ears with words of wisdom;
Instead, he touched my soul.
Typically, the child learns from the adult . . .
That is the normal cycle we see.
However, this was an exception to the rule
As the life lessons were exposed to me.

He and his family showed me many skills,
Ones I have never seen portrayed.
They once lived a life just like you and me . . .
But that is not how it stayed.
Sickness entered their home,
It was assumed to be the flu.
They waited it out for awhile,
And did all they could do.

The “flu” seems so stressful;
How we wish that was all which was going on.
It was not the flu at all . . .
Cancer had stricken their only son.
The days which followed were agonizing,
More than one could ever foresee.
It was a frantic treasure hunt to find a cure . . .
It was a lock with no sign of a key.

This time in my life,
It is one I shall never forget.
It showed me the value,
Of “Living life with ‘No Regret.”
A little boy and his family taught this lesson to me,
It took a little over a year.
They shared every single part with one another . . .
Every joy, smile, pain and tear.
(Click READ MORE for remainder)

I am so thankful for them
That this is the route they chose to take!
They didn’t miss a moment of time together
And made every memory they could make.
They learned what is real and important in life . . .
The true meaning we are here.
We are all so caught up in the things “of this world”
Which makes everything so unclear.

Special times, precious memories, prayer, love, family and friends;
That’s what we need.
Some of us have fallen victim to façades;
Power, money, success and greed.
All of those things are here only for a moment
They will soon pass into the wind.
We must learn to hold on to the things in life
Which remain from beginning to end.

I watched my friends do this
With no hesitation and such ease.
They stayed close to one another every day
As they fought this terrible disease.

There was plenty of joy AND the pain to last a lifetime . . .
Or possibly even more.
Now, everything is completely different,
Than the life they had known before.
Though this wound will never completely heal
And the pain will never leave . . .
There is a magical beauty which also exists
In the success they did achieve.

Cancer took their child from this earth
Long before the time seemed right.
He is in heaven with The Savior,
No more battle left to fight.
That is the one and only comfort
His mom and dad can feel . . .
Their son will no longer suffer,
There are no more wounds to heal.

There is an underlying comfort in that knowledge;
But it does not take the hurt away.
There is something else that brings them consolation
As they go from day to day . . .

They can look back at this time
And hold their heads high.
They have the peace and comfort of knowing . . .
They tried everything they could try.

They never gave up,
No matter how difficult things became.
They stayed strong in one another
And maintained their focus just the same.
They took advantage of every moment;
They did not miss a single thing.
They will never be tormented by the darkness
Which Regret can always bring.

That is the lesson taught by my friends and their child,
Merely a nine year old little boy.
“Live every moment to eliminate Regret and Remorse . . .
Never let them steal your joy.”

Make the choice today to take a second look,
Ponder each thing you begin to do.
Is what you are doing meaningful in life?
Or is it “All about you?”
Will you look back tomorrow,
And long for yesterday?
Will you be searching for the remote control of life?
Trying to Rewind and Replay?

Today is what you have;
That is the only certainty anyone obtains.
Even if the sun is not shining,
You can STILL “Dance if it rains!”
If you have the chance and do not take it,
You will have more sorrow in the days ahead.
You will not reflect on the happy memories;
But live with Remorse instead.

My little Hero’s family is surviving on the fumes of memories,
AND lots of faith and love.
When they see a beautiful rainbow
They can feel his smile shining from above.
They consciously chose this path,
And gave it all they had.
What a beautiful legacy of NO Regrets
For such a special Mom and Dad.

 © Kasi M. Bryon
July 10, 2010

1 comment:

  1. Hi: Beautiful! My experience has taught me that my past can be my most important assess (if I have learned from it) when trying to help others in a similar situation. I am sure that is true for the parents of this little boy. Who else could tell parents of a child so sick - "We understand what you are going through" and what a comfort that might be to them.

    ReplyDelete