Shared Strength

In my minds eye, I can see a small country house with a fire burning on a cold evening.  Slowly, the sun is chased away by the chill of evenings glare.  Outside sits a horse stall, vacant still since morning.  The ruts of the wagon road lay untouched, by tracks of man since.  The hay sits primed and ready, earned by a spring on the plow.  For the work is never done, to keep the status quo.  For nothing be gained by circumstance, but only by their brow.  Inside she tucks in children, tired from their playing.  Their world is big and full of adventure, after chores are done each day.  Evenings are filled with books and learning.  They rest their heads with prayer of safety, sent for their father.  Oh the worry that night doth bring, her cold and eerie gaze.  They drift off to sleep in humble heart, knowing of the faith.  As Mom sits with watchful gaze, waiting for the gallop of four trimmed hooves.  Her prayer will not cease, until the sound of the harness bell echo the prairie.  Oh, the

Man cannot outrun the rain Despite the desire to flee And ever postpone the pain If for a moment I can think of me Man cannot outrun the rain Despite the desire to hide And ever postpone the pain To wait about a changing tide When clouds churn in near view And bring within your soul fear What becomes of the proud few Who choose this day not to veer? Forgoing the worry of what will And welcome instead her furry Choosing their fate to fulfill Hard written lines of life's story Man cannot outrun the rain But in time her tempest past Leaving behind a tested chain Each link a legacy to last Nicholas Campos - 2013 There is one word that has followed just about every loss or personal tragedy that a person has faced.  The word is why, and it is often followed by me or now.  It is spoken as a plea to the invisible hand that shifts the forces of nature against us.  The breeze that comes up out of nowhere and sends the plates we balance c

The sky was beginning to cloud over, the leaves had turned and fallen gently to the ground below.  Summer was over and the crisp mornings of Fall were upon us.  The forecast for rain found me busily working on remodeling our kitchen.  With one frustrating setback after the next, I found myself questioning my ability to finish such a sizable project and wondering why I even started it in the first place.  The little voice inside my head a constant reminder of the consequences of my failure, while offering no acceptable solutions.  My head was hung, my spirit beat as I finished tossing the remnants of our old kitchen into the trailer for yet another dump run. Driving along with the radio off, I was walking through the electrical diagram in my head.  My focus was interrupted as worries of the timeline surfaced, how the drywall, cabinets, granite and flooring would all have come together in the week to follow.  How can I see it through?   I was so busy that I almost missed it as I dr