Yesterday…
Yesterday….
I am in the Fall of a life. Death whispered in my ear. Old heart and my tire soul seem to need and want less. Maybe I have given-in, given-up.
Once I had everything. Had long Summer days, I had the sea and I tempted love.
I read Salinger and Hemingway now. I am seeking Salinger silence and learning Hemingway thoughts. Salinger saw death and war, he sought private place. He couldn’t hide from the violence and blood. He taught me. Write for yourself. Hemingway taught me. Great words are rarely appreciated. Live hard and don’t complain.
Yesterday when I was young and fearless. I consumed life and today. The old man sits at Lake St. Clair. Observe life and hold on to his last breathe for his grandchildren.
I wonder if I did more, if I did less? Maybe.
I would know more kindness and less anger. I feel the pain of anger in my bones, old places and distance war had tattoos my mind and heart.
Beautiful faces, wonderful places and children dance in sweet dreams. Death whispered in my ear. I told Death. Not today. I will meet Hemingway in the Purgatory Inn later. We will drink American whiskey and talk of love.
Coyote
Funny how much more meaningful Hemingway becomes with age. I read him in early adulthood and admired his skill as a writer. I read him again in my fifties and began to recognize, if even from a distance, the face of death. Who knows? Another decade, and I may, like him, come to welcome it. From all you’ve shared with us, John, I imagine you came to recognize that face much earlier than most of us. Which makes it all the more remarkable to me how often I feel inspired by you when you write about love and longing. Well done, John. Really, well done.
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Thank you my friend for reading and the comment. Hemingway saw two wars. He lived to tell us. The truth.
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