Recently we had a Friday the 13th. Many people associate Friday the 13th with darkness; bad luck and black cats crossing our path bringing misfortune. But did you know that this year, Friday the 13th was National Random Acts of Light Day? This is a day that encourages us to bring light to the darkness of cancer by surprising someone with an act of kindness. This is a day that was brought about by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as part of their Light the Night Walks fundraising campaign, Random Acts of Light. The intent is to bring awareness to the importance of providing cures.
I was reminded of this poem that I found unfinished in my binder of poems that I had been reunited with during the Covid lockdown of 2020 when I, along with many other people, were looking for home projects to occupy the days of being homebound. I decided to clean out an overstuffed drawer, and found a binder of my young poems. When I read through this one, I felt a mix of emotions, as I’m unsure of my intent with this poem all those years ago. As I read through it, I was pretty sure that initially I had intended it to be a story of a young romance that had ended and now the person was reflecting back, remembering the sweet joy of young love. As I started to play around with it, once again as they often do, the words took me in a different direction, and this turned into a story about two young people who were separated in a terrible way. We never know what life is going to throw at us, and these two young lovers clearly had no idea of the real storm that was headed their way.
This is another reminder to cherish every day with our loved ones, because we never know what storm is brewing inside of us to sweep it all away. I also think it is important to note that almost everyone is fighting some kind of internal battle. It might not be a terminal illness, but most people do have some inner conflict or struggle that they are dealing with, or regrets about past mistakes or decisions (https://thepracticalpoet.com/regret-from-gather-seeds-of-hope/). In a poem from this same book called “The Weight of Memories,” I discuss how memories are heavy and can weigh us down, but that we each need to decide just how long to carry them around before we release them into the world and remove the burden from ourselves (https://thepracticalpoet.com/the-weight-of-memories-from-scatter-seeds-of-kindness/).
So many people are struggling, and sometimes it is obvious; whether physical or emotional you can see it all over their faces (https://thepracticalpoet.com/every-dayfrom-scatter-seeds-of-kindness/). Then there are others who are so good at hiding their pain. Cats are like this. They don’t let you know they are sick until it is almost too late to help them, because to show their illness makes them weaker to a predator. Is that what some people think; that revealing pain is a sign of weakness? I definitely don’t think it is. Then there are the people who complain about everything! You know who I am talking about; the people whom you have stopped asking how they are doing because they will tell you every little detail and all about every ache and pain. As they say in the south, “Bless their heart.”
My friend’s dad used to talk about the “Pile of Problems.” He would say that if everyone threw their problems into a pile, each person would grab back their own problem after seeing what the others are dealing with, because once you see what someone else is struggling with, sometimes your problem doesn’t seem that bad.
Pain comes in many shapes and forms; sometimes physical, sometimes emotional, and sometimes it is past pain carried into the present, perhaps triggered by a memory that the person suddenly cannot shake. So it is good to give people some leeway and bring out the kindness whenever we can. I write this as a reminder to myself also, as I am not always kind when I should be. I lose my patience in traffic and honk and swear at people more than I should. I turn away from people holding signs at intersections asking for assistance. I get irritated if someone cuts in line at the grocery store, or if I am waiting in a long line and a new register opens and someone new walks right on up. Sometimes I say something, but more often than not I let it fester inside of me and then I carry it into my day by being irritated and unkind to others (https://thepracticalpoet.com/reflections-of-the-day-from-scatter-seeds-of-kindness/). I know my thoughts and actions don’t always exemplify what I am encouraging here. But sometimes just being aware, and realizing that we are human and trying to do the best we can, is a step forward in the right direction.
The Storm Inside
I remember the night we watched the storm
Your arms around me, safe and warm
My head against your sturdy arm
I thought nothing could do us harm.
I remember listening to the rain
That drip-drop-drip-drop sweet refrain
The lightening as it lit the skies
Left us silent, mesmerized.
What kind of thoughts went through your head
As we watched the storm with words unsaid?
Storms that test the strength of spirit
Wondering if I could bear it
A life without you by my side
As you fought the battle that raged inside.
One small cell that had created
An enemy that quickly invaded
Your body; fighting an unknown force
Throwing both our lives off course.
Month by month you grew too thin
As you fought the enemy within.
I remember my tears as I cried and cried
While you stood strong against the tide.
Eight months later you lost the fight
Slipping away into the night.
Now many years later I hear the rain
That drip-drop-drip-drop sweet refrain
My thoughts return to those days carefree
Before we learned of this enemy.
The rain, it always takes me back
To the days before this deadly attack
That time, so innocent and pure;
I pray some day they find a cure.
-K.A. Bloch-
