Reflection on a life

Just a season ago

A life budded

Connected to the branch

Becoming an integral part

Supplying life to the tree

In its short life span

It gave of itself fully

Taking water and nutrients

Returning nourishment

A symbiotic cycle

Providing beauty 

Supplying shade

Offering protection

Taking little

Giving much

Then the days are shortened

As the seasons change

The nutrient supply stops 

The process of dying begins 

The world takes note 

As the chlorophylls (greens) degrade

Xanthophylls (yellows) 

And Beta-carotene (oranges)

Take the center stage 

Then anthocyanins (reds) emerge

Time, wind, rain

Eventually a separation 

Another stage in life’s process

Here we find our red leaf

On the ground, reflecting 

This is life

This is how it works

All of life in this microcosm 

Birth, life, death, and beyond

Giving and receiving 

We are born

Even as a suckling child

We give love in the fullest

We take

And we give

We grow

The process continues

As we take less

We give more

Beauty, shade, protection

The life imperative 

To give in greater amounts

To provide more than we take

To see this at the end

Reflecting on a life

Blessed are the givers 

Casting their bread on the water

Generosity is its own reward

Blessings always find their way

They will come home again

Reflections on a life

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

November 18, 2020

Unity

“Unity is not uniformity”

Pope Francis

Unity

“The quality or state 

Of not being multiple:

Oneness”

There is much to be said

In praise of having unity

A conviction of one purpose

Creates a clarity of direction

However, 

There can be no unity

Just for the sake of unity

Unity must have a direction

When we finally understand

The purpose of any unity

(Yes, there can be more than one)

Only then can we find our place

It is within this understanding

We discover the truth

Unity is not uniformity 

Diversity is not the enemy

A multitude of counselors 

Brings rescue and freedom

The lack thereof brings failure

(Proverbs Eleven.Fourteen)

In diversity is unity

In the multitude is one

Thousands of different voices

Singing a common, yet uncommon song

Some say tolerance brings unity

I must vehemently disagree

For tolerance implies an inequity

Acceptance brings equality and unity 

Sing with your unique voice

I’ll join your song with mine

Creating harmony in mutual chords

Diverse, but vibrantly unified

Diversity is not our enemy

Tolerance is not our goal 

Sing with me a chorus of equality

Unity is not uniformity 

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

November 10, 2020

This is my Jar

My life is a jar

Filled with the sum 

Of my experiences 

In some sort of mishmash 

Loosely covered in thin veneer

Every pain is in there

As are marvelous joys

Cataclysmic sorrows

Jubilant victories

Gains and losses 

It’s all in there together

Combined and intermingled

Each vying for prominence 

Each influencing reaction

The mix changes daily

When you discount my opinion

When you ignore my reasoning

When you minimize my history

You crack the jar just a bit

You see me as less me

I am sum of my experiences 

For better or for worse

Bruised, battered, and bandaged

This is the culmination

Of a lifetime of going and growing

This is my jar 

Do not believe the lie

Your jar does not have the right

To tell my jar how I’m supposed to feel

Or how I’m supposed to react

To other’s words or deeds 

This is my jar

These are my feelings

These are my ideas

These are my thoughts

This is my heart and mind

This is my right

This is my jar

I may be sometimes broken

I may be occasionally quiet

I may be sporadically loud

But, do not patronize me 

Do not ignore me

This is my jar

I see

I hear

I feel 

I breathe

I am alive

And, this is my jar

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

November 7, 2020

Ashcan Politics

I see your ashcan politics

The residue from the fire

After the burning of truth

Has stripped away the lies

I hear your off key choruses 

Singing your songs of economy

But truth says it’s been stronger

Under other leaders

I hear your throaty chants

Calling for nationalism

In a globally connected world

Where decisions affect everyone

I hear your crooning

Calling for traditional values

But these traditions

Were steeped in ignorance and hate 

You cry your tears

For the life of the unborn

But dry are your eyes

To the plight of the poor

Or the immigrant born

You sing your anthems

Of a church-led nation

The same untenable state

Our forefathers fought to escape

I’ve heard the many verses

Sang while wrapped in privilege 

Stomping on the very rights

You pretend to endorse 

I see your ashcan politics

The residue from the fire

After the burning of truth

Has stripped away the lies

I see the scattered ashes

Floating on an underground wave

Carrying your hurtful doctrines

Bursting into the light

We’ve burned away your facade

We‘ve sifted through your lies

We’ve exposed your hate and fear

The underlying song of your rally cries

Yes, we see your ashcan politics

We see your fear of change

We see the terror in your eyes

Of strong women and equal minorities

Change will come

Birthed by fire

Championed by right

Fanned by love

We see your ashcan politics 

© Ron Simpson Jr

November 1, 2020

Anger

The sun splashed the sky with colors 

As it broke across the hard horizon

Such blatant vibrancy chafed my soul

How could nature not be aware

Of what is churning in my life

The ticking of the clock

The progression of time

How can all other things continue

When all this stopped with you

Take me back to the time

The time before endings

The time before loss

The time before death

Do not think yourself exempt 

It could be any minute

Any hour, any day, any week

Any month, or any year

When suddenly everything stops

Just like it stopped on that day

Unexpectedly I am trudging

In the mire of sad memories

The glimmer of happy remembrances

Is sullied by darkness of pain

I know

Time must proceed

I cannot stay in this hole

Nothing changes if there is no movement

I know all the right words

I’ve heard them from the well wishers 

I’ve even spoken them to others

Now is teaching me how ineffectual they are

Anger cuts through me like a plow

Exposing the tenderness of my bared soul

Nothing good can come from this loss

The blood of my love wastes on the ground

I want to howl, I need to rage

I want to scream it out 

And yet, I want to hold it close

It is, after all, what I have left

Loneliness, my closest friend

Emptiness, my constant companion

Pain holds me like a shroud

I am baptized in bitter tears

Memory has become my enemy

If I did not know, I would not know 

For, although love is worth the pain 

Anger is all I have left

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

October 30, 2020

Within me

When we look at others

We must see ourselves 

For within them resides

Those traits within me

For all that is in the world

The lust of the flesh

The lust of the eye

The pride of life

Live within me

I am the drug addict

I am the alcoholic

I am the unfaithful spouse

I am the murderer

I am the liar

I am the thief and robber

I am the beggar

I am every person

You will encounter today

I am everyone

Upon which you looked

With eyes of condescension 

With eyes of judgment

With eyes of disdain

I am fallen man

I am Jesus Christ

As He came

In the fullness of flesh

With all its marvels and downfalls

Within me

Is every man

Within me

Is He

Within me

© Ron Simpson Jr.

October 27, 2020