The Prophet

The Prophet

Live long and prosper
so the famous prophet says
work hard day and night

in this troubled world
somewhere there’s a place for us
between moon and stars

aim for the North Star
it’s only just out of reach
then it crashes down

pile of grey ashes
my spirit is still glowing
I rise from the dust

the song is over
the so-called prophet declares
but I won’t give up.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2023
March 11, 023

Oh that was a fun challenge, weaving Spock’s saying and some West Side story lines!  The thought came to me last night, but I was too tired from the busy week to write. I literally fell asleep at my computer last night researching lyrics. Sometimes it’s better to sleep on a poem in progress.

I wrote this because many in this country and world are suffering so much lately – physically, emotionally and financially. This poem is about determination, persistence, and overcoming the bad things in life despite the odds being stacked against us. You learn just how strong you are when you look at the things you have been through during your lifetime.

At times we feel beat down for working so hard and trying to sock away our retirement savings. It’s depressing to look at my 401K….all my earnings seem to have gone south. That’s so discouraging. I mean, who can really afford to retire these days? Each week Dan and I are flabbergasted at the cost of a grocery run for just the two of us. We leave the store each week shaking our heads, thinking how little we got for the money compared to even one year ago. I mean, last night we spent over $200 for the most basic things! No alcohol, and the only meat we bought was some chicken breasts and tilapia! It seems as if literally everything has almost doubled in price. We grumble about it, then we realize how fortunate we are to have good jobs to be able to provide for each other. I cannot even imagine what groceries for a family of 4 or over cost! I count my blessings to have a wonderful husband, children, grandchildren, and family. We all seem to be doing fine, but one never knows the future – even a prophet can be wrong!

Yesterday I had quite the scare.  My hands were extremely dry, so as I was sitting at my office desk, I took my rings off and applied lotion. Apparently I forgot to put my diamond engagement ring back on, despite putting my other 2 rings on. I realized this on the way to Giant for a grocery run. No problem, I know where I left it. Then I forgot about it when I began to prepare dinner and clean up. It was when I was taking my jewelry off for the night around 9 pm that I remembered. First, I looked on my ring holder to be sure it wasn’t there. It wasn’t, so I headed to my office, got down on my hands and knees and began searching with a flashlight. Nothing. Then I proceeded to backtrack every single step to find it, and the panic in my chest grew rapidly with the anxiety. Finally, I asked Dan if he could help me look for it. We looked all over the house, but I kept thinking… “I know I took the ring off at my office desk. It has to be somewhere in this house!”

Finally, I crawled on my stomach to below my desk, shone my iPhone flashlight and bam! There it was sitting, sparkling diamond face up in our floor heating vent! Fate had it closed just enough that the diamond couldn’t slip through. I nearly screamed with joy. Then, how to get it out without risking it falling into the air ducts? We decided to just gently lift it up off the floor, in one clean sweep I had it out and the ring back on my finger! 

Dan said, “Somebody wanted you to find that ring.” Someone was definitely watching out for me… thank you, God, or Dad or whichever angel was watching out for me. My whole body was shaking, and I dissolved in a puddle of tears into his arms. This whole event set off my anxiety, and I felt sick the rest of the night. This often happens when I go into fight or flight mode like that. More than likely, one of the cats got up on my desk and knocked it down onto the floor when I went grocery shopping. I am so grateful, after wearing this beautiful ring for 36 years and never losing it until yesterday. It means so much to me, and this was a hard lesson learned. I will be extremely careful next time I put lotion on my hands. That was definitely enough stress for the week!

I hope you have a wonderful, calm weekend! xoxo Colleen

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 36.14 Topic: Live Long and Prosper
Hard Bonus: Incorporate a line or lyric from “West Side Story” (“It’s only just out of reach”; “there’s a place for us”)
Easy Bonus: Include the phrase “the song is over”