REFLECTIONS IN THE GRAVEYARD
©Ray Waugh, Jr.
"9-19-74 6:30 p.m."
the monuments we raise to our loved ones
outlast the trees ... but
a tree is alive ...
Let's not lose the good (memories) things ...
creaky rocking chair
quiet moments on the front porch
fresh green beans
quiet suppers
Grandma
Just because our loved ones are gone...
David pondered and studied the Word without it being in his
hand.
Why, can't we do our love and memories the same way?
Our memories are monuments to the Lord's gifts to us ...
Memories are opportunities for giving thanks to God.
Memories are opportunities to pray...
that the believer's testimony will continue to bear fruit ...
"9-18-74 2:35 a.m."
Yesterday, I found a graveyard very peaceful ....
Perhaps, I should realize more and more that
He does have victory over death and the grave.
"9-19-74 5:45 p.m."
I saw a man who might have talked with
George Washington.
I'd like to see snow in this place.
It's different today ... alone I guess.
10-11-74
"An old graveyard ...
well, part old and part new."
Jan Willis
"9-20-74 12:45 a.m."
Ever sit in a graveyard at sunset?
Well, if you are there in the morning
the shadows fall the other way ...
How similar to life every other day, and sometimes on the same day.
Often flowers turn with the sun ...
from the east ...
through zenith ...
to the west ...
The stones do not move ...
we who are alive in Christ have the opportunity of move as the Lord directs.
Finding new and different, and sometimes the same things when a new day dawns.
"9-74"
Man is caught in different places ...
If he stays up late, he'll miss the early morning.
Perhaps, both late night and early morning are the same.
It is just in the way we look at the sun.
"9-21-74 7:45 p.m."
Today, I saw that tree
you wanted me to climb.
"I'll take your picture," you said.
Today, I'm alone.
If I had your pictures I'd be alone.
If I had your poems I'd be alone.
Today, I feel like those stones
There are lots of others around
but (today) who can talk to any old stone.
Later ... in time and in miles
This graveyard is different today"
I guess what you get out of a place
depends a great deal on your
attitude when you run in the gate.
"9-23-74"
Today I miss the quiet of the graveyard.
Everybody is on my back to fall in love
... do something
... do anything
... do something just anything.I am ... It may not be what everybody else is doing,
but, if I were like everybody else then
would I be falling in love ...
"9-24-74"
I need to run to the graveyard in the rain.
Today, maybe ...
"9-26-74"
Ran out here today and didn't need to stop.
The rain is over and the squirrels are still here...
leaves are falling off a tree ...
I see one East Texas Pine.
The shadows are getting longer.
It's neat how the shadows start separate,
but as they get longer, then,
they meet other shadows.
They mowed the grass.
If it were not for modern technology
there would be the sound of
horses, cows, and sheep eating up "old man Whitman."
Artificial flowers may last longer than
real flowers.
But, it's like true love ...
a moment of the real ...
shows the utter folly of the artificial.
Why do we put these rocks up?
If it were not for the rocks the graveyard
would be a beautiful place with its
trees, grass, and gentle slope.
But, then there would be no Mr. and Mrs. Scott.
There are cedars to consider.
"9-26-74 9:00 p.m."
"Sun-smitten Alps before me lay.
I stood among the silent statues,
And statued pinnacles, mute as they."
I've done the same.
Sat among grave stones as "mute as they."
But ... are they mute ... listen and you will hear.
"10-12-74"
I don't know why I ran out here, but
the sun is coming up bright orange.
Plenty of blood suckers too ...
These cedar trees still have me "stumped."
Could you consider a cedar tree a flower?
Ah! A bouquet of cedar trees?
I am going to preach Psalm 1 and the tree for the folk at Lohn.
There is just a little bit of haze which makes things glow gold.
The sun rise was a good enough reason to run out here.
Mr. Scott continued.
I wonder if Mr. Scott and Mrs. Scott ever held
hands and watched the sun rise?
I hear a squirrel knawing ...
Give me the gold -- true value -- any time.
Glitter and glory both come cheap.
I would rather merely be able
to appreciate the "little" gold, than to
own the glory and glitter.
Even the tall cedars of Lebanon can be humbled
to a stump with a dull axe.
I saw a dew drop on a real live pink rose this morning.
These squirrels live in a good place ...
to appreciate beauty
to think
to write
to fall in love
I am leaving ...
It is strange walking thought the gate alone ...
after a good talk ... anticipating another sunrise.
"9-29-74"
I ran to the graveyard one night ...
but they had locked the gate. There
would be no need in jumping the
fence, I don't guess.
Rain in graveyards reminds me of a
friend whose knees hurt when it rains.
Graveyards are not so bad if they help
you think of others ...
The monuments out last the trees, but the trees are alive.
That reminds me of something I wrote one lazy spring
day sitting looking out of Ol' Main at college ...
"As I look out at the trees are in early spring,
I find The parasites the greenest ...
but, I'd rather be "a tree planted by the water."
REFLECTIONS IN THE GRAVEYARD: I wrote these words with a pen and paper I carried in my sock sweat and all. I spent many hours in this graveyard. And there I realized many eternal truths...many thanks are due the Lord for Him allowing me this opportunity.
Last updated Thursday, February 24, 2000
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