Direction of the Heart

"Seeing Black & White"  photography by the very talented Susie Clevenger.

Linking with the Sunday Muse for Muse # 116

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The past is not a package one can lay away. ~Emily Dickinson

In my dreams I see reflections of yesterday

Leading me down black and white highways

to places I once had been

I wander backwards

Heading into the past

Holding moments long since gone

I see the faces I miss so much

 and hear voices

That I have not heard in years

Holding children that have long since grown up

For in life, I have seen many things change

Right before my eyes

Each one is a part of what has molded the direction that my heart follows now

The joy keeps me hopeful

The storms inspire change

The loss has given me calluses upon my knees

Giving me the strength to keep moving forward

No matter what lies ahead

For my heart knows where I come from

And that gives me the greatest direction of all.

As I Sit In My Living Room

"Protector" Photography by Susie Clevenger

To visit her wonderful photography blog click here.

Linking with the Sunday Muse for Muse # 57
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"All gave some, 
 some gave all."
~Billy Ray Cyrus

We look back past the bullets ricochet

And our hearts see

Fear cloaked in the armor of bravery

You stepped out in harm’s way

Heart pounding louder than a bomb

But my eyes were spared the gruesome details

Sitting in my living room

My brother’s blood did not splatter

Upon my face

My legs still unshaken

 still intact

no throat can express it

thunder knows what it knows

and we can only wait for the lightening flash

some memories should be unremembered

but a soldier somewhere

packs for home

carrying all those memories

he brings with shrapnel

yet leaving behind a leg

he tells himself that he is lucky

and hopes someday he will believe it

for his fellow soldier

will be laid to rest

underneath clover grass

near the shade of concrete angels 

as I freely sit in my living room.

©Carrie Van Horn 2019