We all experience it — you cannot speak.
Something deep inside acts up,
And will not be denied.

You have this choking sensation
Like something stuck – burning — in the throat.

You must wait for it to pass
Before you can speak again.
An emotion so raw and primitive it paralyzes.

Sorrow, sadness, despair —
All weeping together…
A dam of emotion let loose.

It’s humanity’s response to personal tragedy
When the only possible response…
Letting go your emotions;
Letting those wild horses run free.

Welcome to humanity.

All Poetry — Henry Barnard

The sea laps upon the shore
Little waves are no more.
While time winds its wily way,
We are only made of clay.

Life?  Life a gift unique,
But over in a blink.
Our prospects, very bleak, sink,
As the waves galore
Continue on ever more.

All Poetry — Henry Barnard

First Love

Vulnerable alone.

So the mind casts back in time
And finds you.

But there is no face,
And no hand,
No heart.

What I would do
For a few moments together…
Just a few.

What would I say?
I miss you, oh, I miss you so – yes.

I miss the we that we were,
Once upon a time…
Stars in my eyes.

I would, yes I would,
Cling to those moments
Before they slip away.

But there are no moments,
Flown long ago…
Not even a whisper.

Vulnerable alone.

All Poetry — Henry Barnard

My Story

Psst, between you and me,
I pretend the little white butterfly,
It’s really you!

Flutters about me in a protective way,
With the lightest of touch.

I know what it’s trying to say:
I love you still – forever — very much.

I know you cannot hear me true,
But I do too – you — oh so much.

All Poetry — Henry Barnard

When you arrive in your 70’s and have a few dollars put away, what are you supposed to do with the rest of your life?  The obvious answer is dedicate yourself to the welfare of others — your immediate family certainly, but also your community, your state, your country, and humanity at large.  Use what resources you have left to benefit others, not just yourself.  The old adage is, “You can’t take it with you,” so why not use your assets and the time you have left for the benefit of your fellow man?

In her A Drama of Exile, Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote, “Thou shalt be served thyself by every sense of service which thou renderest.”  One is reminded of the transformation that takes place in the character and personality of Scrooge in Charles Dickins’s A Christmas Carol when Scrooge begins to live for the sake and benefit…