'Our' Poems

My Treasure

I treasure a single moment etched in time,
Shining brightly like a star in a midnight sky.

An eon, an instant, a million years pressed
Into one when all stands still, and life explodes
Into infinite dreams.

All is changed for evermore, in the blink
Of an eye. Time stands still, my breath is
silent, I reach out and give you all I have
To give ........ My heart

I love you
xx

Sharon

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I Miss

I miss ...... wind chimes on the porch at night,
Lovin' kisses in the early morning light
Shopping at Sears, Reasor's, and the Dollar Store
Admiral and Harvard, and much, much, more.

I miss ...... Tally's, Panera, and the Saddle Grill,
Hot shrimps, Bison burgers, and eating my fill
Sangria, hard lemonade, and raw iced tea,
Dollars, country music, and my woman lovin' me.

I miss ...... the Arkansas river, and red Tulsa dawns,
Oklahoma wind, forked lightening, and wild thunderstorms
Moonlight, loving, and a Lincoln back seat,
Mama, the girls, and Arby's to eat.

I miss ...... strawberries, hot dogs, and jelly beans on the floor,
K95.5, hot nights ...... and smokes at the door
Harvard Liquor, Spaghetti Warehouse, and riverside walks,
Sitting on the front porch ........ and long lovin' talks.

I miss ...... sunrises, sunsets, crazy days at the mall,
But much more than all this ...... I miss
My hot Tulsa gal !!!

xxxx

As a small boy, walking in the Lake District with my father, we stopped and looked up at an expanse of vertical granite. With the sun in my eyes it seemed to stretch endlessly skywards. I could see figures clinging precariously to the sides. “What are they doing, dad?” I asked.
“Climbing” he replied. I was so fascinated that I never thought to ask why.

At that moment I fell in love with that rock face. From then on, I collected posters, photographs, etc ………. pinning them on my bedroom wall. I had a dream that one day I would climb that Rock.

Some years later I started climbing. As a novice, Napes Needle (as the rock of my dreams was named) was beyond me. It was 371 feet of sheer granite, graded amongst the climbing fraternity as E3 (Extreme Grade 3), so remained a dream …….. an ideal to aspire to.

I constantly climbed at the edge of my limits, striving to improve, testing myself. Whilst in the Lake District, climbing or walking, I would often stand at the base of Napes Needle …….. looking for foot and handholds on the route … The Viking … that my dreams were made of. I would accept with disappointment that it was still beyond me, still a dream …. I was still not good enough .… and over the years began to accept the possibility that I might never realize my dreams.

I began to look on Napes Needle as a woman, talking to me. She wanted me, she wanted to feel my body pressed close, wanted me to feel the cool dampness as I pressed against her. She would tell me that you can never realize dreams until you try …. no matter how long it takes …. never give up …. always carry hope, and a torch, in your heart, and only then can the things that you truly desire become yours.

Many years later, one sunny evening, I was once again staring at her when a voice inside told me that I was ready. I WAS capable. I returned in less than two weeks …. full of excitement, full of anticipation …. and a tinge of fear that perhaps I was not as ready as I thought.

I camped at the base and got up early to prepare. As the sun rose I started to climb. At first I hated every second …. the rock was damp, cold, and slippery …. I worried that I might not be good enough, that maybe SHE did not want me. It was difficult, painful, and quite frankly, terrifying.

At some point …. I don’t know where, my body relaxed …. I began to enjoy the sensation. It was attainable. I was good enough, SHE did want
me to succeed …. and from then on, I climbed with a confidence that I’d never felt before. I relished the danger, the risks, accepting the challenge. I accepted that if it had been easy it would not have fuelled my dreams for so long.

I stood on the summit, drinking in the Lakeland air, marvelling at the views through the misty haze, but really, nothing could better the feelings of warmth and contentment inside me. I felt exhilarated, but I knew that to totally succeed I had also to get down. More people have perished on mountains going down than going up. Often when the terrain or the conditions are bad, people develop ‘summit fever’ – the top becomes all-important. When common sense says ‘turn back’, they continue.

On reaching the bottom … emotionally and physically drained, all I could do was kiss the cold rock-face and say “Thank you”.

My dream had survived many years of wonder and self-doubt. Along the way I had been bruised, hurt, had some ideals re-defined, and had doubts that maybe I expected too much. I lowered my standards at times, climbing lesser mountains, but never experienced the satisfaction, the overwhelming, enveloping contentment that Napes Needle gave to me.

I learnt valuable lessons from this …………

Never give up on your dreams …. Always keep them flickering inside,
Never stop searching for ideals …. They are there to be found.
When something invades your heart and soul, accept it ….
Grasp it with both hands, and cling on to it …..
Love it and cherish it ….
Because it only happens once in a lifetime.
You will never experience it again.

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