Rattlesnake Preacher

I’ve never really known

A rattlesnake preacher

No doubt if I had

They would have scared the %#*!

Out of me

Truthfully, just the thought of them

Scares me a little

But also intrigues me

What passionate faith they must have

No I do not believe a person

Has to grab hold of a deadly live snake

To prove they are filled

With the Holy Spirit

But I have to admit

There have been days in my life

That I wish I had

The passionate faith it takes

To grab a live rattlesnake by the tail

Maybe

If I had had that kind of faith

I could have saved my son

From drugs and jail

E.A. Fussell

07/18/2018

Magic Machine

It looks like an old tire swing

But it’s really a magic machine

That can transport you

Anywhere your imagination can go

I’ve sailed away to lands afar

Swinging in an old tire from a car

Told my secrets to the tree limbs

As I rocked back and forth in the wind

Planned my future revisited my past

Sometimes swinging slow, sometimes fast

Laughed for hours with my sister

Spinning each other like a twister

Sometimes still when I run across one

I pause for a moment to reflect on the fun

That can be had in an old tire swing

Twirling or swinging in that magic machine

E.A.Fussell

07/3/2018

Sometimes

At the end of a long day

I watched as the sun sank slowly

To the other side of the world

Where it continues to shine

As it leaves the darkness behind

I noticed the old tree limbs

Continually lifting upward

In their unflinching attempt

To reach the sky

In direct contrast

With their roots grasping and

Burying themselves deeper in the earth

A seeming dichotomy of purpose

One part reaching upward bound by

The other part forcing itself down

In an ongoing struggle forever bound

I saw a windmill gently turn

Faithful to the wind and

Whichever way it was blowing

Unconcerned with right or wrong

It’s metal structure glowing in the sunset

Sometimes I’m like the setting sun,

Leaving the darkness behind

Continuing to shine

Sometimes I’m like the old tree

Divided within myself

Wanting to reach new heights

Bound by roots of tradition

Sometimes I’m like the windmill

Allowing my thoughts to go

Whichever way the next wind blows

E.A. Fussell

07/08/2018

Family Home

Texting with one of my sisters tonight

Longing for back in the day

When things seemed alright

Back when we were all at home

In a time before there were

So many cell phones

When we were carefree

For the most part

My sisters and brothers and me

Our whole life ahead of us

Most of our family members

Alive and well and still with us

We had no idea no clue

A few short decades later

There would remain so few

If we had known back then

What we know today

Fewer arguments there might have been

Over motorcycles, music, and friends

If we had only known how time would fly

We would have spent our time differently

More time listening to our parents

More time talking with each other

More time hugging our Grandparents

But we can’t go back to days gone by

Except in our memories

Which sometimes make us cry

So much love was there

But our rebellious hearts

Took us elsewhere

We understand now albeit too late

How many loved ones

Would be taken away

And how very quickly time slips away

Now all we can do is remember

And long for those days

E.A. Fussell

07/03/2018

Courage and Grace

We are all

Respectfully observing

Your courage and grace

Which are truly awe inspiring

As this latest battle you face

Many of us

Find it hard to understand

Why you?

Why now?

Why?

But His ways

Are not our ways

All we can do

Is pray

And as you lose

That bunch of 1983 hair

We are certain

That smile will still

Light up a room

Those eyes will still

Sparkle with laughter

That mind will still

Rapidly zoom

That heart will still

Radiate warmth

And that hair will

Grow back soon

We love you Cathy ❤️

E.A. Fussell

06/13/2018

Nervous Excitement

Excited

Nervous

What will our next encounter hold

Clouds like fluffy other worlds

Drift past the airplane window

Bubbly worlds of white

As far as the eye can see

As my carriage of mega horsepower

Transports me over several states

To arrive at our rendezvous destination

Voices chattering, children crying,

Soda can tops popping,

Snack bags rustling

These are the sounds that fill the cabin

Of my carriage

As it traverses the miles

Bringing us closer by the minute

My prayers are given for the pilots,

The plane, the flight attendants,

The passengers

Thoughts rush in

About the last six months

How our conversations have grown

Now imagining soft music

Meditating to instill calmness

In my mind and body

But it doesn’t help much

Mega horsepower has now taken me

Halfway on my journey

These feelings still persist

Nervous

Excited

E.A.Fussell

05/25/2018

An Old Fashioned Man

He is one of those rare people

The kind most people like

The kind who doesn’t realize his impact

The kind who is mostly thinking of others

Takes little time for himself

A force to be reckoned with

In his passion

To promote his community

Or preserve history

Or take care of his loved ones

He is the kind of man

That can make a wounded woman

Believe in true love again

Believe in taking a risk again

Believe in happily-ever-after again

He brings a since of security

To a world set on destroying itself

He is from another time

A time of shared milkshakes

A time of front porch sitting at night

A time of knowing and helping

Your neighbors

Your local businesses

Your pastor and church members

Sometimes I wonder if he is real

Or just a figment of my imagination

A dreamed up old fashioned man

Representing the life I wish I had

But then a package arrives

And in it the most thoughtful gift

Things to make me feel at home

While I work in a distant place

And I know he is real

He is not a dream

And life is offering us the chance

At how wonderful love can be

E.A. Fussell

05/20/2018