Recognizing wants isn’t
Enough giving to
Those that ask
Isn’t either for
Most ask for
What they want
Ignoring their needs
Generosity is temporary
Kindness on the
Other hand speaks
The language of
Love cutting through
The selfishness of
Wants be kind
To someone who
Expects nothing and
Fill their needs
Silently without fanfare
This is godliness
And once upon
A time there
Was a great
Oak tree mighty
And strong with
A canopy so
Large that it
Gave shadow to
A 200 head
Herd every afternoon
And in its
Thicket of leaves
One could hear
Delicate giggles as
The early Autumn
Wind blew there
Prompting the browning
Leaves to jump
Like children atop
Wooden sleds landing
Down below or
Even far away
As Winters first
Snow danced like
Drunken revelers swirling
And teasing there
Remained one last
Leaf above clinging
To its branch
Thinking that it
Had been forgotten
When in truth
All it was
Was different and
Being different is
By far the
Loneliest thing in
The world when
Viewed by others
When in fact
Being that one
Last leaf alone
Gave it a
Freedom to be
Itself uniquely strong
Being different requires
That much strength
To hold on
When we met
I was like
The cream in
Your coffee making
It less bitter
You were like
The butter on
My toast making
It slightly sweet
But now your
Coffee is tepid
And my toast
Is cold eatable
And drinkable but
Hardly ever satisfying
I think that
Now it’s time
For us to
Dine alone rather
Than lose the
Taste for each
Other all together
I suggest living
By this principle
Give until it
Hurts and then
Give some more
Love until it
Hurts and then
Too love some
More expect nothing
In return besides
The opportunity for
That opportunity is
Your path to
Riches of Heaven
And like a
Late April pond
In Northern Wisconsin
We’ve weathered the
Cruelest harshest and
Frigid months of
Our relationship hunkering
Down like foxes
Deep in burrows
Choosing to wait
For winters passing
And like said
Pond continues to
Flow and grow
Beneath the ice
We must choose
To embrace what
We’ve become during
These dead months
Or remember what
We were all
Those seasons ago
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 