Her Ride Came

POEM IN MEMORY OF JANINE..

I PLAYED WITH THE IDEA OF OUR RIDE OUT OF OUR EARTHLY EXISTENCE..THANKS TO EMILY DICKENSON AND WARREN ZEVON. I ALSO STOLE RAY BRADBURY'S IDEA OF TATTOOS THAT COME TO LIFE AND PLAYED WITH THE IDEA OF HOW A SPECIFIC INDIVIDUAL'S GUARDIAN ANGEL MAY APPEAR.

Dusty-gray mundane, workaday world.

Keith carried the load, struggling to survive...

Aidan marched in uniform

Far away on a late summer's day.

No one expected Janine's ride to arrive.

Behind the mystery of gray clouds

Shone a bright figure, leather-clad

And fully illustrated with tattoos.

Directed by the Throne to polish chrome

With all the strength that angel had.

Elijah had a fiery chariot,

Emily Dickinson? A coach.

Warren Zevon? A car came for him.

But Janine? Her dream machine

Was a Harley beyond reproach.

When she boarded that bike,

She gazed at her guardian's ink.

The pictures came to life as memories..

Her father explaining why he wasn't complaining

About the kids who stole and making her think.

Janine believed her Dad was up ahead

And heard the barking of dogs, the neighing of horses all about

As she gazed upon more of the tattoos

Views of hunger and pain, hospitals in the rain

Scenes of despair and doubt.

Her guardian turned to her and said,

"Your pain on earth was etched into my skin.

Your sufferings recorded in the Throne Room.

Every tear drop collected in a jar that was selected

Only for you before your life would begin."

Then Janine gazed more deeply at the ink..

She beheld the comfort of her beloved Keith,

She saw her deeply-loved son Aidan through the years..

Her joy at his birth, and how his feet left the earth

While dancing. How could that strong soldier now bear the grief?

Then she saw two other guardians

Rising up through the clouds and carrying the jars of saltwater tears

One jar was inscribed with Keith's name, the other Aidan's.

Why's are a mystery, bright light hidden behind dark clouds of our history

Love, Hope, and Faith stand against our fears.

Her guardian pointed up ahead

And Janine could just perceive the pierced Hands in the brightness

Bearing tattoos all their own.

All three of their names were written on the Palm, filling her with the calm

of peace and her soul with extreme lightness...

Yet prayers against suffering and injustice filled bowls of incense

And jars of tears were stacked high.

The guardian said, "Thick clouds of mystery surround these truths.

Those below, plagued with doubts and fears, wonder if the Throne sheds tears.

I assure you, in vast saltwater oceans those teardrops lie."

So, when you arise from a rough night,

Body aching, pillow case full of tear stains,

May you run with the dogs through fields of sunflowers,

Ride a horse over the hill, recall a joke if you will...

And remember, deep love remains.