Jewel went to The Giving Tree Gallery in Sandwich, and she sent me beautiful pictures of the poems and artwork all over the place. She said she didn't find anything special with it, it just looked a lot like all thetalahib in the farm behind our Lola's house. Hahaha. Crazy Jewel. But she did know I would've appreciated it so much more. Jewel is one of the few People Who Get Me. She is always buying or emailing me stuff that she knows take me straight to heaven.
She sent me this poem:
Wasn't that just perfect? It reminds me of the Bible stories about God taking care of the lilies and swallows, even if they don't do anything or serve any obvious purpose. Those are some of my favorite Bible stories bcoz they are just so comforting and consistent with my view of God as all-forgiving and boundlessly generous.
She also sent me this:
And I told her, OMG, that's a line from one of my favorite poems ever!
I am posting the whole poem below as a gift to all of you people who read my little blog =)
After A While
©1971 Veronica A. Shoffstall
After a while you learn
the subtle difference between
holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn
that love doesn't mean leaning
and company doesn't always mean security.
And you begin to learn
that kisses aren't contracts
and presents aren't promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes ahead
with the grace of a woman,
not the grief of a child
and you learn
to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow's ground is
too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down
in mid-flight.
After a while you learn
that even sunshine burns
if you get too much
so you plant your own garden
and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone
to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
you really are strong
you really do have worth
and you learn
and you learn
with every goodbye, you learn...
Now a poem like that is definitely one of the things John Keats must have had in mind when he wrote about a thing of beauty being a joy forever.
(Thank you, Jewel, for the pictures and poems, and for getting me =)
She sent me this poem:
Wasn't that just perfect? It reminds me of the Bible stories about God taking care of the lilies and swallows, even if they don't do anything or serve any obvious purpose. Those are some of my favorite Bible stories bcoz they are just so comforting and consistent with my view of God as all-forgiving and boundlessly generous.
She also sent me this:
And I told her, OMG, that's a line from one of my favorite poems ever!
I am posting the whole poem below as a gift to all of you people who read my little blog =)
After A While
©1971 Veronica A. Shoffstall
After a while you learn
the subtle difference between
holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn
that love doesn't mean leaning
and company doesn't always mean security.
And you begin to learn
that kisses aren't contracts
and presents aren't promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes ahead
with the grace of a woman,
not the grief of a child
and you learn
to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow's ground is
too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down
in mid-flight.
After a while you learn
that even sunshine burns
if you get too much
so you plant your own garden
and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone
to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
you really are strong
you really do have worth
and you learn
and you learn
with every goodbye, you learn...
Now a poem like that is definitely one of the things John Keats must have had in mind when he wrote about a thing of beauty being a joy forever.
(Thank you, Jewel, for the pictures and poems, and for getting me =)
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