Terry Leach

Tree no More

Reaching to the sky,
Cooling the house below.
The green leaves of summer provide
a natural air-conditioning for the old house.
It is a both a home and the highway
for several long-tailed four-legged families.
The squirrels jump from limb to limb
and chase each other around and around the huge trunk.
They dig holes deep into the large limbs and long-lived trunk.
They are oblivious to the destruction they have wrought.
They have destroyed my source of free air conditioning.
It has to come down.
It is dangerous.
Thump.

From the Hospital Bed

My hair is a mess
But I don’t care.
My muscles ache,
I can’t stand on my own.
I need help walking across the room.

Outside the sun is shining and the birds are singing,
My garden at home calls to me.
Can’t wait to watch the corn standing tall.
The sun has been shining all day.
The weather outside is nice and warm…
I am told.

It’s the flu.
“You can’t have any visitors”, they say.
The nurses come in with masks and gowns and gloves.
I ache all over.
Why can’t they give me something to make me feel better?

I remember just a few short days ago
playing basketball and making sure my hair was combed.
Looking forward to getting outside,
I can’t wait to get out of here.

The walls are so sterile.
The ceiling has become an unwanted friend.
I can’t stand on my own.
The bathroom calls,
But I am helpless here in this hospital bed.

The Church

Their purpose is always the same,
Provide a place to
Meet the needs of needy people.

An ancient multi-level building that has heard prayers and hymns for centuries
Or a modern one-story building full of life.
One in the middle of a large metropolis
Another in the middle of nowhere.

Problems arise though,

One becomes antiquated.
Another becomes too small.
A bad neighborhood has grown up around one while
Nothing has grown anywhere near another.

People fight and argue about the carpeting
Or the leadership or the worship.
People fight and argue about moving or staying.

And yet, that is exactly why the church is there in the first place.
Provide a place to
Meet the needs of needy people.

Surrender

They say that time heals all wounds,
But those are the ones inflicted on you.
It has been thirty long years,
Yet, my wounds are just as fresh as the day I inflicted them.

My boys ask about my stint in Viet Nam,
But I can’t talk.
My niece needs help on a history project,
But I can’t give any.
How can you talk about killing a man . . .
No
A boy no older than yourself?
In a different place and time
We might have been friends,
Teammates,
Athletic adversaries.
But this was a game for keeps.
I did not want to be in this game.
I was told I had to participate.

I replay that final minute in my head over and over and over.
We had been pinned down for four days.
Our supplies were exhausted before we got trapped.
Sarge gave us the plan and said, “Go!”
I ran.
Out of nowhere, there we were – him and me.
He looked as scared as I felt.
His arms twitched from his side toward me or up,
I wasn’t sure
I pulled the trigger first, pleased with myself.
He fell to his knees; his piercing, pleading eyes never leaving mine.
He finally lay prostrate and motionless
Then I noticed that he had
No gun.

I wake up often in the middle of the night
My face dripping with sweat.
I still see his eyes
Pleading with me.

When will this wound ever heal?

A day you expect but still dread,
Sickness and disease distorted his once strong body.
He took his last breath
And walked into
Jesus’ arms.

Bright red with shiny chrome,
Top down on my new mustang
My hair blowing in the wind
Pedal to the metal
Burning rubber

revised to:

Bright red new mustang
With the top down,
My hair blowing in the wind.
Pedal to the metal
Burning rubber

Orange, yellow, pink, purple
Balls of finely threaded plastic chicken wire,
Skrunchies filled with soap.
Feels so good
Gliding over my skin.

Sleeping so peacefully—
Exhausted
I watch her sleep
Grateful she’s mine.
I love her so.

People the size of ants
Up where the birds soar.
Not a care in the
World.
So peaceful in the balloon.

revised to:

Up where the birds soar.
Not a care in the
World.
So peaceful
In the balloon.

Amazing organ
Beating inside my chest,
Pumping without thought,
Sustaining my life…
But I need a new one.

For little boys
new clip on ties,
For little girls,
frilly little skirts.
For a few minutes… Mothers beaming.

The tomb is empty.
He is risen.
Christ’s free gift of salvation
Now available for
Only those who believe.

Ladies shuffling in the early hours
Hearts broken.
The stone rolled away
Their minds whirling with
Anticipation.

Pieces of curved glass
Colored strands of wire
Help me to see clearly.
Cutting my nose
I want contacts.

Hole in my roof
Air rushing in
My sunroof.
Cools me off,
Feeling of freedom.

Big house on the prairie,
memories for a dozen families.
Razed to the ground
More farmland needed.
Maybe an acre?

Go and tell, the ladies were told,
Nothing to show – must be bold.
The disciples would meet Jesus in Galilee
on top of a mountain by the sea,
The story of Jesus’ Resurrection never gets old.

Our manual for life
I read it each year.
Historical, poetical;
Practical, lyrical
God’s Holy Word.

Eucalyptus trees
Stretching to the sky
Cormorant birds overflowing:
Green leaves
Stained white