He told me as we left the house

“As we get older the light inside us fades”

I was worn down by the problems of the day

He said, “That’s why we have to hang Christmas lights

Kids don’t have to because their lamp is bright”

I thought about that as we passed the blue-green-gold-red flashings in our front yard

I thought about why life has to be so hard

How many times today did I think it’s just not worth it

Another obituary read for someone I prayed for

Sometimes I admit I wonder if God heard it

My efforts seem futile

The alcoholic returns to the bottle

Kyphosis worsens

The spine rounds like the state of my soul

Back to the walk – my husband said, “Isn’t it beautiful?”

He was watching our dog prance through the leaves on the sidewalk

The pup got excited at the rustling leaves

He ran in circles excitedly

The pup greeted our neighbor

Richard said, “Isn’t that stranger than anything –

That dogs have souls

Where do souls go?”

I wondered myself today

As I thought about my patients in their graves

Why do we all grow old

Why does the lamp inside us fade

We got to the backyard where we hadn’t put any lights

My pup came running through

He kicked up all the fallen leaves

Wind blew and more leaves fell

Wintertime cast its spell

The pup ran in circles as hundreds of leaves floated about

I grabbed some and threw them higher

My husband lit a fire

“We need this light!” he said

We all danced in the flames of our mini wonderland

Twirling in the leaves and wind

A golden glow appeared on the periphery

All the neighborhood kids taking a peak

The darkness got brighter

My mood a bit lighter

I thought of the words of that one patient: “Enjoy every twirl”

The backyard was lit up with soul

Me, my dog, my husband, and the neighborhood kids

Bedazzled by the Christmas leaf swirl