Friday, December 14, 2012

Real Life Soldiers


Haiku My Heart
December 14, 2012



On Friday, we Remember Our Hearts and write poetic verse in Haiku. Many of relate to others in our once per week community of friends and show up with stories, photos, art and feelings and share with each other. The exercize is called Haiku My Heart and can be shared and viewed at Rebecca's recuerda mi corazon




Trees at attention

Soldiers obeying orders

Guarding scenic view


“The camera never does it justice”, one of us would say as the other snaps photograph after photograph of a place we wandered to during our travels. My iPhoto is full of scenery pictures from scenic views, like this one, from all over the United States. 

We take the scenic drive. Stop the car where we deem a safe place to park. Then the dance begins:

"I'll grab some water, you got the camera?" she'll say.

"Yep, I got it. Wait a minute, I'll need my glasses. Where did I put them?" I'll answer.

"Last time I saw them they were in that side pouch on the door." she'd suggest.

"Oh, that's right." Then I'd dig through two glass cases, a pair of sunglasses, a candy wrapper, a lid from a carry-out Americano and a couple of pair of readers, one with the broken bow that is useless but never gets thrown away.


The above photo, by the way, is at an overlook on the drive to the top of Mt. Lemmon near Tucson, AZ. We made the trek as an outing during our recent trip. As I write this, we are near Kansas City and on our way to the Chicago suburbs to visit friends and family until we return home by Monday.

Photos like these always makes me think of a slide show of vacation photos that a friend wants me to see. They would show up at the coffee shop with the dreaded envelope bulging full of photographs, or if I were to go to their home to visit, the slides would come out and with the room lights darkened, I’d view life through their eyes one frame at a time.

These days, all the pictures I take are loaded onto the computer. As I’m traveling now, I load them from the camera onto the iPhoto on my MacBook Air. When I get home, I’ll share them onto the big desktop. Hopefully, I can show the Grandkids where we’ve been. At least they will look at the photos as they are wonderfully trained at obedience and politeness.

So now I show just one of them to you, and write to catch your interest. Sorry, nothing of note except a beautiful place atop the Sacred Earth Mother overlooking more mountain tops and valleys that seem to have these tree soldiers standing guard.

They look tired and in disarray. Almost like they are at attention but slumping from their battle fatigue. Energy spent. Battle will ensue soon and they know it, but they will stand and protect until the death. Were they lucky to pull such a duty station, high atop the world? Or would they have been better off down below along the empty stream?

You don’t need my photograph to see these guardians protecting the soil. Sometimes they are not so tall and weathered. Crawl down on your hands and knees and look at the blades of grass on the plains, or small pieces of plant growth amongst the rocks and sand of the desert. They stand there too. On guard. Protecting.

Peace

16 comments:

Mel said...

Oh, we'd say the same thing as we fill the cameras hoping for at least one shot that takes your breath away.
It's gorgeous out there. But then, it's gorgeous over here. Pretty sure it's perspective, to come degree.

I had to laugh at the conversation and search for glasses.
Sounds pretty darn familiar!

Enjoy visiting with your friends and family!!

Barbara said...

Thanks for sharing your wonderful ride across the country. My prayer is that we humans will help the trees do their job and stop hurting them. I had to chuckle at your tale of the glasses. It sounds so familiar!

Kim Mailhot said...

Standing on guard, with hearts full of love for what they protect.
Love that, Man !
Thanks for sharing your beautiful pic !
Love light and peace to you, my friend !

Delphyne said...

Always love reading your travel adventures and your haikus. Today is no different!

Priti Lisa said...

Oh Joe! This post is so beautifully written...the haiku and the rest of it. Guardians of the earth...that's wonderful.
Searching for the right eyeglasses, been there, too funny♥

carol l mckenna said...

Lovely photo with very enlightened haiku ~ speaks well of the 'soldiers' so necessary in this world ~

(A Creative Harbor) aka artmusedog and Carol ^_^

Unknown said...

Your the premier story teller...I always love seeing the world through the eyes of others, one of the strange folks that actually looks forward to the 'my summer vacation's of family and friends.

safe travels!
x...x

Gayle said...

"protecting"......what a beautiful thought.

Grace said...

Lovely reflections....pictures and words are enough to capture the beauty of nature ~

rebecca said...

you are the king of the road! it seems you are truly at home in the natural world and viewing from a motorcycle, car, van, i think in a different time you would have loved to ride the rails!
thank you for all the ways you look for peace and offer it to all!

Jean said...

It's true that the camera doesn't do the scene justice for most of us most of the time but the memories they can evoke does so much more. I love your haiku - shows how everyone might have a different interpretation - to me the trees looked like graveyard markers - perhaps a military graveyard.

Lea said...

This view, this vista, such beauty takes my breath away... These guardians, we need them now more than ever... I touch their worn bark, broken branches, and think of their youth when their branches brushed the sky and life sprang from their vibrancy... how grateful I am to them, to all the guardians, in their part in this great circle... Peace and love to you my Dear Mr. SHM.

Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio said...

LOL! That's what we call, 'growing old gracefully' isn't it? Love the guardians and most especially, loved visiting with you in person and meeting your wife this week!

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

These guardians, without weapons, are ones I understand and appreciate.

Hiding Place

Dawn Elliott said...

Ha - that looked like Tucson to me! I grew up there and Mt. Lemmon was a favorite place to play. I so enjoy your travel journals...I'm hoping you had the best of times in the desert this December!

Irene Rafael said...

with this one photo you tell a tall story, one that we know but may not know we know. what you see in mother earth, in life and in your travels definitely catches my attention and i want to hear more. your stories brings to mind a time in my childhood when i sat at the foot of my grandfather's chair, listening as he told of his samurai father and a different world.