It is not what was meant,
when you were thrown here,
thrown to this place of aloneness
and diminishment.
It was not what was expected as you moved
from lavishness to a simplier life,
empty nights, and days marked
by long silences.
It was not intended, yet
it became a nourishment of soul,
a rebirth of unintended pleasures,
a new reaching Godward,
a new acceptance inward,
of a life far richer than it's trappings,
filled with quiet color,
openness, and wonder, that even in pain,
there is the possibility of joy.
====================
The picture is of Roger's Store, a museum in Surry County, Virginia. More and more as I get older, I find simpler is somehow richer and this picture, from the area where my roots lie, somehow captured that for me. You may click on the image for a larger version.
The poem itself was inspired by an entry on The Blog at Bree, quoting Solzhenitsyn on his time in prison, and the benefits of suffering.
Tom
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