Torn Fabric - Poem

I appreciate the friends I have in my life.  I have felt love and support from them through the years and I likewise have tried to offer them support.  I wrote the following poem for a close friend who continues to suffer the pain and heartache of divorce.

Torn Fabric

Torn fabric - torn heart

Can it be mended?

So suddenly ripped apart

One thread at a time

Carefully woven within

Creates a personal design

Now, new fabric - new heart

Pattern unique

Foreseen above from the start

Unseen hands mend

The anguish, hurt and fear

Gently laced with love divine


Janice Harten
Aug 2, 2000

Copyright © 2013 Janice Harten.  All rights reserved.

Strength

I am in love with a man who gets all sweaty and exhausted from wielding a chain saw, while cutting down and clearing out trees and brush growing around the summer cabin; then pauses to carefully distribute handfulls of seeds along the driftwood lining the deck and watch while chipmunks and squirrels chatter and gather.  He rides the 4-wheeler to neighboring cabins to visit and keep in touch, and then returns to fill the hummingbird feeders and watch the hummingbirds buzz from one to the other. I am in love with a man who insists on stopping by the side of the road to hunt for thimbleberries and eats them like a bear in the bush.  He rushes outside to watch the lightning and the downpour from a thunderstorm and is the first to see the developing rainbow.  And in the evening, tears fill his eyes as he watches the last of the sunset drop behind the mountain and he waits hopefully for a full moon's reflection on the lake below.

To some, these activities might appear as a sign of weakness.  To me, recognizing and enjoying the beauty and power of nature is an ultimate gift from our creator and a demonstration of strength.