Iowa
cause the aunts live in places named Keokuk and Grinnell and Kellogg and Attumwa.
'cause sweet corn tastes like sunshine
and tomatoes are a fruit.
'cause jello is both a food group and an art form.
'cause they play serious pinochle and cutthroat dominoes.
'cause your favorite uncle will tell you what war is really like and he doesn't sugar coat or hold back.
'cause he'll tell you that he lived 50 years with a devil of guilt, that he reveled in unspeakable cruelty delivered to another human being.
'cause he left his soul on the battlefield and he knows that there is no glory or honor in the drug death leaves in your veins.
'cause he told you things he could never tell his own children.
'cause he finally sleeps next to his parents, next to your father who carried the same drug in his veins but would never speak, only rage and self destruct.
'cause the debt can never be paid, but there is still a chance to shine light in the world.
'cause the life I have began there.
The songs that emerge from our hearts, the joy of the arts, music, literature, paintings...our species, unique, genuine, we have the ability to illustrate our existence. Use this gift wisely.
Musings from a midlife mystic.
Namaste