Poetry by Tim -

Keeper of the Fire

It is Tuesday now
a day like
most of my days
of late
as I have this task
and that task
and I shouldn’t forget
about that other task.

Last night (Tuesday)
I talked to my friend
who was showing his work
on the International stage
and it was something
he had been focusing on
for many years…
… he made it!

The following day (Wednesday)
my life changed in a flash
when I read an email
from the gallery owner
indicating
that he needed to talk
to me about my friend.

It was the moment
much of what I’d known
was altered
and I had to come to terms
with a new reality
a new reality
without my friend/brother/son.

I was informed
that my friend
had died in his sleep
of a probable heart attack
and that his moment
in the spotlight
had just begun
on the international stage
a moment
for which he had
sacrificed so much
and worked so hard to attain.

He is on a new journey, now
where he has a clear vision
of the new adventures
of the new triumphs
because he knows that
the body of work he left behind
will be well cared for
and his legacy
has only just begun
to be realized
by the keeper of his fire.

Requiem for a Friend (for DD)

This is the moment
the one you have been
preparing for
most of your life…
the one for which
you have sacrificed
the one for which
you have worked so hard
the one for which
you went all in
in more ways than one.

This is the moment
you reached out
and you grasped
your golden ring
and rode it
to the stars
and beyond
and in doing so
you took us along
for the ride.

This is the moment
you rode the wind
and captured hearts
left in the wake
of all that you are
and forever will be
in the minds of many
and the souls
of a selected few.

This is the moment
we take the memory of you
and carry it deep
in our hearts
in a place reserved
for only those few
who touch us deep and pure
without guilt or recompense
for you are still a shining light
for those who have a vision
and a mission honed
by clarity of thought
and guided by many
seen and unseen.

Soar with the eagles
and swim with the whales
my friend…

We miss you…
©10/23/2022

*******

The Second Mountain

It was time
for him to go
away from the effort
away from the challenges
away from the pain
the pain…

It was time
for him to go
which came
while he slept
and took him
to a place of his choosing
crossing from
one stage
to another.

After he reached
the wished-for
first mountain
and was in the middle
of making the painful
as well as challenging
decision to follow
the well-worn
and well-challenged trail
to the second mountain

which can only
be attained
after more trial-and-error
as layers of skin
are shed
and perceptions
are changed
with each footfall
and each drop of rain

he knew the road
had been chosen
in lifetimes
past and present.

It was time
for him to go
after crossing
one bridge
and finding another
to the other side
into a new world
also of his choosing
and also of his knowing.

*******