Waiting

 I've loved once. She was all that was good in my life: so many firsts, too many to recall. However, I remember her soft skin and her scent always close, smiling with that beautiful smile I long to see again. Time can't destroy love, as love has no time limits if it's real. I know she sees me and watches over me until we meet again, wherever that may be. Her laughter will guide me, her arms reaching out to hold me. We will become as one as it was always meant to be. I loved once in my life, and she's waiting.

MO

Fading seasons

 I wait with little patience as winter's fury refuses to give way to the splendors of spring. The dirt mixed with snow, creating what looks like a charcoal drawing, being erased a little each day. I have been looking through leafless trees that will soon be lush and green, allowing me little space to see past the first few. The air I breathe is crisp but lacks smells so familiar during springtime, like barbeques and freshly mowed grass—newly painted houses and dirt. Snowflakes replaced with fireflies and a feeling all is well in my tiny space on this earth. Then, just as quickly as it arrives, it's gone, fireworks light up the sky, hotdogs are grilled outside, and ice cream cones now have 36 flavors. The heat blankets the land as a drought comes, and the colors of spring wilt and die. One day, you awake, and there's a slight, very slight chill in the air, and you see color in leaves, a most welcome sight, at least briefly, as you remember last winter's wrath and the charcoal drawings. 

MO

Fade to darkness

 I don't see death as a punishment but rather as a gift we receive and earn. Our entire life is a series of events that define us and is determined by our actions in a short span of time. I know in my heart that heaven and hell exist, and both continually pull at us; eventually, one winner will prevail. I believe my God is forgiving, but his patience can run out. It's our job to see that it doesn't happen in our lifetime of good and evil. All of us sin at some point and ask for forgiveness, hoping we are heard through prayer and faith in our beliefs. Others will say sin is just a part of life, and when we die, only darkness remains where our feet once stood. Questions are many as we continue our journey, only to be answered when the soul leaves the body and judgment is swift and deserving. To me, having faith and believing in something bigger than any of us gives hope that everlasting peace awaits us when it's our time to be called to the gates we see so clearly in our everyday lives.

MO