By Kim Nelson, on May 21st, 2010%
“Love is life.
All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love.
Everything is, everything exists, only because I love. Everything is united by it alone.
Love is God, and to die means that I, a particle of love, shall return to the general and eternal source.”
~ Leo Tolstoy
Dear Leo,
Did you know that I’m a Leo, too? Yep. Born on August second. Smack dab in the middle of The Leo Zone. I am FULL of Leo-glow… strong, creative and enthusiastic, open-minded, faithful and loving. I’m a little bit dramatic, like to make an entrance, and want to leave an impression.
I can be dogmatic, pompous, and am sometimes patronizing. I’ve been called stubborn and opinionated, and overly idealistic. Although I hate to admit it, I’m a little vain. And I must be boastful since, on occasion, I really do think “It is good to be queen,” while secretly yearning for a ruby-studded tiara. I am uncomplicated. I have few secrets. What you see is what you get.
How is it that I am aware of all these things? How do I so thoroughly understand my assets, flaws and foibles? Simple. You, Mr. Tolstoy were right. We only understand when we are willing to love, and I have learned to love. I’ve benefited from exceptional living examples, numerous historic role models, and a lover and friend who loves me unconditionally. I have learned to love. Not all of us do. How lucky am I? I live love, give love, take love, make love. I AM love. I live. I breathe. I love.
So thank you, Leo, for so famously putting into words what is certainly the universe’s driving force and eternal truth. But I have to say, you and I are also alike in our verbosity. John Lennon put all that in a nutshell. And then in a song. Using only 5 words. “All you need is love.”
And there you have it.
Love to you, Leo!
By Kim Nelson, on March 9th, 2010%
As he teetered on the brink
Of this existence
Did he quantify success
Based on
Fast cars and hot women?
~
Any regrets?
~
Did the futile search
For his ideal
Cause concern?
~
Did he measure his own value
In the manner of the world:
Dollars
Cents
Titles
Rents,
And feel remorse?
~
Or did he say,
“Hot Damn!
This was one wild ride!
I’m so flippin’ glad
I lived large ’til I died!”
Inspired by Three Word Wednesday… Ideal, Measure, Teeter
By Kim Nelson, on February 23rd, 2010%
An Ode to Valley Fever
Breathe them in
To the lungs
Airborne filaments and spores
In the warm, moist pleura
Spots and spingles form
Then plan
Their next move
~
For most
It is mild,
This inner invasion
~It means~
Fever, cough, chills, ache
Perhaps a rough, red rash
~
Six months
A year
You’re better
~
For others
Even twenty years later
Fever, weight loss, cough, chest pain
Blood-tinged sputum
Nodules to blame
But you don’t die
~
For the vulnerable few
Lung growths, ulcers, abrasions form
Skull, spine and bone lesions, the norm
Knees, ankles, other joints ache
The brain and spinal cord join in
Forsake
~
Recourse?
Rest
Fluconazole
Itraconazole
~But perhaps most important~
Learn the lessons
Do your best
This may be
The final test.
A few years ago, my dear friend died from a mad conflagration of valley fever and lung cancer. This piece emerged from that experience.
For the latest information regarding Coccidioidomycosis, commonly called Valley Fever, click here.
By Kim Nelson, on November 12th, 2009%
Search for LIGHT ~ shine brightly,
A beacon toward release.
There it is! Go forward!
Decrease, decease, find peace.
~
Move on in to join it,
Follow to the gate.
Denied!?
This must go on?!
Wait!
~
Upon return, again…
Pain, punch,
Humiliation
Rush
And pummel down.
~
The breath
Becomes the struggle.
Broken body.
Broken crown.
~
Finally then, it’s over.
Every cell, gene, chromosome
Release, re-live, re-love.
To Home!
By Kim Nelson, on September 1st, 2009%
Cradling you in my arms
~ all six feet of you ~
Is easier than you’d think.
~
You,
This moment,
Are perfect.
~
It will be our last, this exchange,
Until we meet on a different plane.
~
Caught in the heroin snare,
You’ll leave this time, this place, this space.
And so I hold you here, now.
~
Cradling you in my arms
~ all six feet of you ~
Is easier than you’d think.
~
Letting go.
Letting go is hard.
Inspired by Three Word Wednesday...Cradle, Perfect, Snare
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