"Life Lines"

What the heart gives away is not lost.

It is kept in the hearts of others.

~ Robin St. John

How can I smile so soon after,

 you ask?

What reason have I to cry?

He filled my days with laughter.

Would a saddened face and swollen eyes,

be proper tribute to such a man?

His reply to death was living.

I won't put him to shame by giving up on life.

To withdraw into a world of grief,

what kind of wife would I be?

Like a man about to be born, he died,

with a sigh of relief on his last breath.

He has gone on to a better life,

how do I mourn his death?

Having known such a man,

I should weep?

~ Randy Jaroch

U.S.A.

~ Beannaichte'

 8 July, 2016

@beannaichte.twitter.com

         

"Crystal Tears"

     As I walk into the office, she is the first person, I notice. She has a very definite presence. Her shoulder-length red hair is pretty, as always.~ Though we are not personal friends, I consider her a trusted acquaintance.

    Today, we are each thinking about a friend, who died two years, ago. I mention his name, and her eyes fill with tears.

   It is odd, but I do not cry. I feel strangely numb, from all of the previous losses, in the past two years. Some that are still in process, leaving me in a state of limbo. I feel like I am walking in ankle-deep sand. Each day I go about things, but I move slowly. I long for the days, when even death did not slow my pace.

   I continue to listen to the pretty red-haired lady. She is in so much pain.~ Why am I just standing there?  Finally, her tears jar me loose, from my frozen position. I understand so much of what she is feeling. I really do!

    I move slowly, around her desk. We each speak a few words.~ Again, it is her tears, and the incredible sadness in her crystal blue eyes, that touch me, at a Soul level .  I put my arms around her.  I am much taller. Yet, she returns my hug, as she  pushes herself upward on her tiptoes. We hold on to each other, tightly,  as to  not be pulled under, by the relentless current of grief. Then, we each step back, as she thanks me for the hug. I thank her, too.

   The tears in her eyes, are still evident, reminding me of tiny shards of blue crystal , in the office lighting.~ Beautiful, yet, incredibly painful .

    We say goodbye, as I turn to walk away.

     I think to myself...it is better that she can cry.~ My tears will  remain frozen...until it is `safe' for me to cry, again...

                                                                                                            ~Beannaichte'
                                                                                                                             Alicia O'Hara c.
                                                                                                                                     13 November, 2011
                                               ~ Posted on 5 April, 2016
                                                  @beannaichte.twitter.com                       

"Soul- Shards"

 
    ~ I do not think a day of my life will go by, that I will not think of you.


    You are my best Friend.

    You will be leaving this morning, to go to a different place, for continued care.

    I will miss you, dear Friend. I will miss you.

   Even though somewhere in the deeper recesses of my mind, and heart, I know it is time. Yes, it is time.
 
   You leave behind, many Soul-Shards. Yet, you take many with you, too.


   Some will be painful, as they will bring forth memories of the years we shared, together. Years that can no longer be.

   Others will leave me with a smile. It will be so easy, as we  laughed, and sometimes cried, about so many of the same things.

   When I see someone Signing, I will think of you.  I will  always be grateful for the wonderful language, that you and I shared. Yet, I will be sad, because I can no longer share it with you. 

   I will look at your chair. I will no longer see you struggle, as you begin to stand.     

   But you have always been brave, and you will continue to stand, without me.

   I will be grateful, for you taught me so much about patience and courage, in the face of harsh struggle.

   I will do my best to remember, I was always at your side to encourage you.  I must have learned how to be brave, too. 


   I will miss your silence, and your Hands that spoke to me, about so many things.

  I will continue to speak with my Hands, because it is a part of me, and who I am, after all these years...


  I will wish you every happiness, because that is so very easy to do. I hope you will wish me the same.

   But, for now , dear Friend; I will be grateful for every Soul-Shard you leave behind.

   Carry mine with you, easy, as I do not want your memories of me, to become a burden.

   And always remember; I am your Friend.

   I will never forget that you are my Friend ~ Forever.

                                                 Alicia O'Hara c.
                                                                  Written 3 December, 2011
                                                                 Posted on 17 February, 2016 
                                               ~Beannaichte'
                                                                       
                                                                                                  A.O'.C.
~To Dean: Tomorrow, is your Birthday. I wish you every happiness, on your Special Day, and for each new day, that is yet to come. ~ May Our Lord continue to hold you in the Palm of His mighty Hand ~ Forever!  ~ Happy Birthday! ~ 3 December, 2011
                                                                     ~ Bhur Chara,
                                                                      Beannaichte'          

"Walk with Me"

When you are thirsty, 

And no one will fill your cup for you;

When your well-dressed friends

Don't want you on their street;

When you're so far down the gutter looks up to you,

I'll still be kneeling at your feet.

When you can't  remember,

Where you left your laughter;

And you've forgotten the definition of your name,

When your yesterdays set fire to your ever-afters;

I'll reach down,

And pull you from the flames.

When at last,

Your bitter problems are behind you;

You've come out clean

And everything is done;

You'll realise I've been through it all before you,

Come and walk with me in the Sun.
 

                        ~Unknown                           

               

                                                                       ~Beannaichte'
4 March,2015

@beannaichte.twitter.com

"Merry-Go-Round Child"

Now your love is but a legend,

I would have liked to live on;

You came and left, like Wind-Blown Sand,

Just a legend, everything else is gone.

You sowed in fields of pleasure, 

While I reaped the fields of Pain;

You were happy, when the sun was shining,

I was Sad, when I walked in the rain.

I may never know your harvest,

Smiling with someone else in the sun;

I wonder if she's also gleaning the fields,

A Barren legend;
 where the harvest is none.

It's taken a lot time to realise,

I'm tired of reaping these same olde fields;

Where the harvest is nothing
 but Wind-Blown Sand,

And a Wounded legend;
 only time can heal.

You see, you are like Wind-Blown Sand,

And I didn't want to admit the sting;

It all seems sort of crazy now,

A Merry-Go -Round Child,
 with a tarnished ring.

If ever you come my way, again,

It's just a Legend that you've left behind;

I'm no longer that Child, of the Merry-Go-Round,

 I don't need tarnished rings

or Wind -Blown Sand.

~ Alicia O'Hara c.
 

~ Beannaichte'
20 January, 2015

@beannaichte.twitter.com

"War"

I hear the song the blackbirds sing,

The rush of mountain waters, tis Spring;

The corn lifts its ears without a sound,

Church bells ring all around.

The dormouse flits in and out,

A little squeak, he cannot shout;

A boy, a flash, and then a scream,

Is this the end, or just a dream.

Darkness fell in a murky cloud,

"It's only midday", said the voice out loud;

Oh my God, what has gone wrong,

Why is the burn and the hurt so strong.

In the distance, yet another boom,

I glanced around, I saw the gloom;

Mummy! Mummy! Came the child's scream,

Mummy had gone and could not dream.

My Heart is pained, but I recall,
This forest, these trees, once so tall;
Burning timbers still remain,
No more life in wooden veins.
Puffing, panting, breathing smoke,
I try to breathe, don't want to choke;
How I wish I could scream,
Just to wake, make this a dream.

My brothers and sisters, are they near,
Their future is my greatest fear;
For myself, I am not so sad;
In this world , so big, so bad.
The so-called super powers of late,
They've disagreed and sealed our fate;
Wait! That sound, I heard a scream,
I am awake, it was a dream...

~Eddie Barber
U.K.

~Beannaichte'
11 July, 2012 

 

"Abuse: A Love Story"

How many men
 are there in Ireland like Sean,
 beautiful wronged

beings who hurt others in order to protect

 themselves?

            How many women              

have been baffled and hurt by their intense love

 and swift rejection?

 How 

  many children wonder over their father's rages and mood shifts? 
      How many 

       lives are lived without joy,
 because joy is such a strong solvent that the rigidly

   constructed outer personality
     dissolves and the terror reveals itself?   
           

When I think of the pain
 Sean inflicted upon
 me,
 I shudder.

 If I could

go backwards in time,

 knowing

 what I know now, would

 I refuse his dumb-

show of pain, refuse to put on the black
 cassock-like dress,
 so I would be spared the cruelty

I endured?
 I think so.
 But then I think:
 perhaps someday that silenced

child will remember that,
 once,
 he showed someone
 what happened,
 and that

afterwards he was not hurt,
 or maimed,
 or killed.

 And perhaps then Sean will

have the courage to seek
 the help

 he so desperately needs.

 And the joyful times

 we spent:

 if I could unlive them, would I do so,

  in order to avoid the painful aftermath? 
 Sometimes I think so. But more often 

    I think-I pray- that it will ultimately have been worth it,
that the memory of our        

     honeymoon will rest in Sean's memory until one day
knowing himself capable of

such delight, he will find the strength
to fight past his demons 
and claim the life he

so desires.

                                                                                                                     ~From"Irish Spirit";
By Lucy Delores Moore

                                                                                      
                                                                                                              

~Beannaichte' (3-21-12)

 

                              

                             

"Ode to Jerry"

I give you this one thought to keep ~

I am with you still,

I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow;

I am the sunlight on ripened grain,

I am the gentle Autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush,

I am the swift , uplifting rush;

of quiet birds in circled flight,

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do Not think of me as gone~

I am With You still,

In each new dawn.

~Native American Prayer 

                                                                                                                                ~Beannaichte'(2-1-12) 

~To Jay: In Loving Memory of Jerry.~A man who was incredibly kind, 

giving, and genuine.~ I am so sorry for your loss, Jay.  So very sorry.

For each of us, that knew Jerry, we are richer, for the knowing...

~We Remember...We Remember.

"How"

~How

can my Heart

be Unsealed

if 

it remains

Unbroken.

~Khalil Gibran
                                                                                                                        ~Beannaichte' (1-18-12) 

"With My Blessing"

~YOU ARE LEAVING ME.
 

THEN GO IN PEACE.

And let Your wish alone 
be lamp to light Your path.

And find Tranquilty~
 where'er You be.

~Chaim Nachman Bialik

(1873-1934)

Israel

*James Taylor/V.B.                                                                                             ~Beannaichte' (12-10-11)