www.leray.us

Death

Come sweet slumber and drown me in thy purple cloak…

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Release
Disappearance
Escape
Surrender

Shutdown
Sleep
Deliverance
Surrender

Euphoria
Paranoia
Fear
Surrender

Action
Reaction
Detraction
Surrender

Final breath
Cause and effect
Eternal depth
Surrender

The peace I seek
The quiet and meek
Come to me
When I sleep

Other worlds
Spin and twirl
Carry me away
On endless swirls

The vivid dreams
Calms my means
Show me where
Take me there

A long time ago I stood in a dark place. At that time, I was on the precipice of going full into the abyss or making my way out. Luckily, I had many good people keeping me from falling. Anyways, I came across this…written in 1998.

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Darkling

My voice is the whispers of shadows
My touch is the cold of the darkness
My movements the wings of dread
My mind the nightmares you dream

My life is your darkest fears
My love is your deepest desires
My task is universal
My work eternal

I am the shadow warrior
I am the dark sage
I am the black warlock
I am the boogieman

I stand in the shadow
Out of sight
You know I’m there
I can smell your fright

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Sweet dreams…..

There are so many reasons to help people, it’s quite easy to do actually. The unfortunate truth is many fail to help.

There are so many reasons…not enough time, work gets in the way, money/home/family troubles – the list goes on forever.

So today I write my reason for helping this cause, how a friend in high school, an avid skier & a beautiful 9 year old reminded me how blessed I am.

Being a career soldier, I received several injuries. The worst being almost loosing an eye, & damage to my leg. When the doctor told me I may loose my eye, I was not too troubled. I could make a life with one eye.

When the surgeon told me there was a 40% chance I could loose my leg, I can’t begin to tell you how scared I was. I felt like I would no longer be whole, that somehow I would be less of a man. I’d be unable to provide for my family. Until well after the surgery, those words would haunt/trouble me.

During my recovery for my leg, I remembered a friend in high school & his life in a wheelchair. Joseph, in my opinion, was just a regular kid…I never thought anything of his condition. I remember his mother commenting on it one evening at dinner she said “you never asked what is wrong with Joe.” To which I replied “What’s wrong with him?” I remember her hugging me.

In Europe, prior to my injury, I met a man skiing w/one leg! I asked him how was it to ski like that. He turned to me & said “It’s a minor inconvenience!” By the time I was able to close my mouth, he was halfway down the hill.

Thoughts of Joseph & the man helped remind me how lucky I was that my patella rupture was repairable & I’d be able to walk again.

Once I was able to get back on a motorcycle in 2001, I once again got involved w/MDA. The thing for me is that MDA affects children so early & quickly.

It was during this time I met a sweet little girl named Jezreel. Like most girls her age she detested boys, loved dolls & was playful & rambunctious. The wheel chair never seemed to get in the way. As my tour guide at camp, it was hard to keep up with her. When we talked she was looking forward to helping other children through the challenges involved.

Unfortunately this was not to be the case. She passed away at the tender age of 9.

It is these wonderful people, that remind me that no matter what my troubles are – I am blessed. Because I am blessed I can take time from my busy life to help people who need help. It is these people I honor by helping.

If you’d like to help, visit http://www.mdaalaska.com or http://www.mda.org.

We all have time….