"If you cannot be a poet, be the poem". ~David Carradine, American Actor..
best known for "Kung Fu"
Four years ago, I used this quote to speak of my little grasshopper, Giovanni... my oldest son, who left me at 14 to travel with his father... He returned to me in late January, a young man... ready to start college and work... he hasn't officially graduated from high school as we are awaiting the results of the homeschool exam, but he has already taken college classes and is registered for summer B in the Honors College.... I really have no idea what he will do in the Fall, (he has 4 schools to choose from) ...but it's okay really... I know that once he decides, he will just do it... He is strong-willed and independent.. intelligent and determined... selective and methodical... his melancholic temperament is unbearable and frustrating to me and his brothers since we are so sanguine.. so outgoing.. so free....but Giovanni has learned to be outgoing and adventurous... and I believe that it's thanks to his father, who moved him around and exposed him to ... life......
He left Tuesday afternoon for a month-long trip to Europe... he wants to be the poet and write about all his travels... the way Master Po did as he walked the earth, absorbing knowledge through each encounter he had; surviving it stronger; and subsequently, teaching the young grasshopper ... Po was always so patient and kind... I loved that show and would love to be that way in teaching my boys... but we all know how hard it is... I think I may have gradually gotten better at this as the years have gone by... listening to them better... trying to speak to them in a loving manner... but I find that I often just stare at them not knowing exactly how to guide them... I am a unconventional mother... but then again, they are unconventional children... we try to plan things out, and for the most part, we follow through, but it's almost as if we are all the poems... God, the poet, seems to be in control of our lives... and it's not so bad really.... to have that kind of faith...
After he was already on the plane, the father sent me a text.. "did we do right in sending him on this trip?" .... I responded, "It's in God's hands now" ... and it is... it's not like he hasn't traveled alone before.. and he probably knows Milan and the Eurail system better than the Miami transit system, but I suppose it is a little scary... he sent me a message from Moscow, but none since.... however, now is not the time to wonder if it was the right thing... we just have to pray that he draws on all the lessons we tried to teach him and then, hope that his faith and trust in God leads him to make the right choices while he is out there writing his poem...
And so it should be with all of us in whatever we do... the quote is actually deeper than I remember when I used it last... I think that at times, we are the poets.. and at other times, we are the poems....... hmmmm? I have lost my train of thought because as I write, I can see this question flashing in front of me... "Am I the poet or am I the poem?" .. I may just have been stumped...
Oh well, I welcome your thoughts... what are you, the poet or the poem? ....
Regardless of the answer, remember that you are loved beyond measure and are a cherished blessing to the world....
may you be blessed with all things good,
With love,
Elena
p.s. write me a poem, Giovanni.... love and miss you already... I carry your heart.. Namaste..
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