Welcome to Spring!
Poetical Journal ©by Bob Casey
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Mission: To provide poetical and thoughtful comments on life
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PLEASE! Supporting the efforts of the Poetical Journal is greatly appreciated!
Any amount of donation is appreciated. To support, click on the link and scroll down. click here.
To learn more, click on Amazon. Reviews also appear at the end of the newsletter. Questions? Email me.
Also during the pandemic, I wrote two novels under the pen name Leon Pashi. Both are romantic in style and have a tinge of eroticism.
I especially like the second one, Zahin and Anoop. Recently, I received the following rave review for this book from M.L. of Kansas "
What a beautiful, eloquently written love story. . . a bright spot during this time of isolation . . . hot, passionate intimacy with incredibly
warm tenderness which validated its sacredness."
All my books are available on Amazon. Reviews appear at the end of the newsletter.
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Demographics: No states or countries were added this month. If your resident area is not listed, please let me know.
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VOLUME XX – Issue 3: Sunday, April 28, 2021 (236th Issue)
Welcome
I am pleased to have you as a reader. If you enjoy the PJ, please encourage others to subscribe.
If your country is not listed in the demographic section at the end, please let me know so I can update the list.
The next Poetical Journal will be out May 30, 2021.
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Hello Spring |
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Opening Comments from Bob
This Issue: Pictorially we welcome the arrival of Spring. The narrative portion is a very personal one. The poems and vignette focus on an issue I have been dealing with for over fifteen years. You will understand as you read further.
Subscriber Residences: PLEASE let me know if your state, providence, or country is not listed in the demographic section at the end. There currently are subscribers in 27 states, 3 provinces, and 13 countries. See complete list near at the newsletter.
Next Month: The next issue comes out on May 30, 2021.
To become a friend on Facebook, click on this link.
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PLEASE! Supporting the efforts of the Poetical Journal is greatly appreciated! Any amount of donation is appreciated.
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| .Spring and family picnics go well toghether |
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A few days later - Parley's Pass, a parking lot. Our son Craig said it was the worst driving conditions he has experienced in during his years in UT. |
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Enjoy a taste of Spring
Curiosity
An ocean of clouds
lie beneath.
What secrets
remain hidden
below this shroud?
Perhaps an affair
where passion blooms.
Or a couple
who have spent a lifetime
nourishing each other.
Many better
left unknown.
Comment: Pictured to the right inspired the poem. It was taken on my flight to Pittsburgh where I had major brain surgery on the last day of March. (Much more discussed in the Vignette Section.)
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Trepidation
Wipe, wipe, wipe
Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize
buckles, trays,
whatever one sees.
Travel has morphed.
Fear of moving
into the lion’s den
becomes your companion
Astounding how one
minuscule microbe
can bring the world
to a halt.
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Even though spring, the snow remains on the mountains and, as shown earlier, sometimes on the roads.
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Vignette: Trigeminal Neuralgia
This I hope is the last time I write on this topic. Suffering since 2006 with this condition, nicknamed the "suicide disease" I decided to take the risk, flew to Pittsburgh, and underwent a special brain surgery, cranial nerve decompression, which is the only known treatment that can provide a lasting cure. However, no guarantees. Over the years in my case, the flares lasted an average of 3 months, the longest 13 months.
What follows are some poems written during my recent flare which started two days before Christmas and ended on March 30 after the surgery. I had been on a total liquid diet. Even then, the pain was excruciating.
Trigeminal Neuralgia
With dread
the slight discomfort arrives,
wishing only it was imagination.
Perhaps this feared visitor
will stay a day and move on,
leaving me in peace.
Months have passed
and he remains,
making himself at home.
He is a constant companion
except for the few glorious moments
I am alone.
Drugs, acupuncture, and medications
will not dislodge
this searing fiend.
Though I have tried to befriend him,
we continue to clash–
no longer desiring his embrace.
I long for him to depart
never to see his face again.
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TN 2
Writing poetry
about pain
seems superfluous
for pain continues
despite the written word.
But what does one do
with pain so searing
that drives some to suicide?
The jabbing shocks
that bend one over
are said to be secondary to none.
On most days,
you attempt to embrace
the sensations
as the face turns red
from the invisible electrodes
held to the cheeks.
You relax and breathe
while the current travels
and branches outward–
some durations longer than others.
When it ceases,
you celebrate the departure
though aware the next visit
will soon arrive.
Then one blessed day
the heinous guest departs
for weeks or months.
You rejoice
but live in perpetual dread
of his inevitable return. |
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No Walk in the Park
My wife of fifty-two years
holds my hand
uncertainty on her face.
I too lie
in my specially designed gown
waiting for the dreamless sleep.
The surgery is no walk in the park.
Though the risks remain great
the rewards greater.
But isn’t all of life
from crossing the street
to visiting the grocery store.
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MRI Soliloquy
Every sound imaginable
pieces the ears.
Highs, lows, shrills, clangs,
and even a bit of table jar.
The earplugs struggle
to mute the sound.
For forty minutes
feeling alone
greets the depth of the soul.
The known world
ceases to exist.
The head encased
in an apparatus.
Do not move.
Am I allowed to swallow?
Thank God for Kacie
who comforts and assures.
She is gone
all too soon.
What does one do
in forty minutes of volunteered
thunderous isolation?
Writing a poem became
an objective
even though lack of quietness
disturbed the creative processes.
Finally, meditation
quieted the mind
as time passed
into blessed silence.
Conclusion: Though fatigued from the surgery along with flying across the country and back, I am doing much better. At least for now, I celebrate no pain. I am always fascinated the gifts life offers. However, there are some you never want to unwrap.
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Recommendation
Neurosurgeon: While highly unlikely, but if you suffer for trigeminal neuralgia a superb surgeon to consult further with is Dr. Raymond Sekula at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center - Presbyterian.
Pittsburgh Taxi: I have traveled the world and discovered that knowing a reliable taxi driver in the city you are in can be invaluable. I used Tom's services three times. He has a fascinating personal history and is extremely knowledgeable regarding the city. He goes out of his way to assist. This was especially helpful following my hospital stay. Tom's contact phone: 724-309-7830. Tell him Bob sent you.
.........Please take a look at the gift page.
Quotable Quotes
"Springtime is at hand. When will you ever bloom, if not here and now?" - Angelus Silesius
"A man is known by the silence he keeps." - Oliver Herford
"If you miss the present moment, you miss your appointment with life. That is very serious." - Thich Nhat Hanh
"Our real journey in life is interior." - Thomas Merton
"Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention." - John O'Donohue
Bit of Humor
A bit of laughter is healthy for the soul
My three-year-old son, Jack, was as excited as he could be to visit his grandma and grandpa in Florida, especially since it meant taking his first trip on an airplane.
We'd just boarded and got buckled in when Jack looked around the plane and frowned. "What is it?" I asked, wondering if he was nervous.
He then asked me, a bit worried, "Are ALL these people going to Grandma's house too?"
Compliments of Joke a Day
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Tai Chi Corner
Some of the participates in a class held in Australia via ZOOM.
In a few weeks, I will offer a beginner's tai chi course via ZOOM. Participants with balance or arthritic issues will find the course especially beneficial. Email me for additional information.
PJ Forum
If you have comments, recommendations, or suggestions for the PJ, please e-mail them to bob@poeticaljourneys.com. While I often cannot print everyone's, I personally respond to all. (When editing the comments for publication,I often eliminate the paragraphing to save space.) .
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"Twenty years! Congratulations! You certainly have accomplished so much in so many fields! We feel quite honored to be a small part of your classes and partake of the wisdom you share so freely in your life and your books." - Irene from Heber City, UT (Ed: Irene is a Tai Chi student of mine, a known author and poet in Utah, and most importantly a fine human being. I really appreciated her comment.)
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Reader Demographics
States - AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, HI, IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, NC, ND, NY, OH, OR, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV, and WI
Canadian Provinces - BC, ON, and QC;
Countries - Albania, Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Turkey, UK, U.S., and Venezuela.
........Changes to this section will be updated each month.
If your state, province, or country is not mentioned, please let me know.
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Book Reviews
General: JJG wrote: I've read Bob's "To the End of Time" trilogy twice, each time gaining deep and deeper insights into the human condition. The three small volumes hold their own as good stories but also provide a unique glimpse into a new religious paradigm. Would that it could come to be.
Specific Book: To the End of Time and Back: An Epic Journey
David from Utah: "The new novel, To the End of Time and Back is a skillful account of two lovers on an 'Epic Journey,' racing through time and history to learn life-changing truths. Their spectral mentor, Arundel, sends them through difficult travels, but their relationship endures and remains strong despite physical, and psychological stress. Powerful emotions such as fear, anger and happiness, combine with lust, pain and sexuality to help them learn. Written in verse form, the story is an epic poem, painted to portray the duality of mankind throughout dimensions of human history that is sometimes cruel and horrific. The reader will come to know and understand what is being described and will certainly enjoy the stimulating elegance of the story and the philosophy. A thoroughly enjoyable read that is certain to make you think."
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Jim from Mt. Vernon: "I finished your book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was much easier to follow by having the whole thing in front of me, and reading as much as I wanted at a time. I felt pretty weary after bouncing around in time for many hundreds of years, but I was relieved to know that at least part of the world survived 'Armageddon'. What a feat you have performed."
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Kimberly from Ohio: "Well, Bob! I am rather blown away by your book. Finished it yesterday, and it only took four days, which means I was intrigued and wanted to know how the book ends. I'm a slow, deep reader and since my profession is writing and editing, I edit continuously as I read. Can't help it! But this book was worth dropping everything for and reading to the end. I admit to cynicism about your claim that it would change me, and I don't know that it has just yet but it won't be leaving my heart and head for a long time, and change could happen. I'm impressed that the book actually lived up to your claims for it. . . . I'm intrigued by this book because it rings so true, and I am therefore tempted to believe you actually were given the gift of this dictation. But if not and this is fiction, you have written one hell of a book, masquerading amazingly as non-fiction ... which is indeed one of the goals of fiction."
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An Ohio Reader: "WOW! WOW! WOW! I read it in one sitting and found so many things you wrote about 'true' for what I know and feel about past lives I've lived. Actually, the chapter about the Holocaust was something I couldn't bear to read–too sad and painful. (I've always felt that way about that period of history.) . . . it was very well done, Bob. Just beautifully done. I'm looking for the movie. . . I'm sure others will feel connected to this book just as I did. AMAZING. Just AMAZING. I couldn't put it down. There was so much anticipation with each chapter it hooked me from the very beginning. . ."
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Specific Book: Adelyn: An Epic Journey:
Ohio Reader: "In his book, Adelyn: An Epic Journey, Bob navigates the reader through a challenging journey in the time space continuum while exposing both the weaknesses and strengths of humanity. As Adelyn is exposed to the infinite love of The Source, the reader is challenged to understand how personal beliefs and actions often have more to do with cultural rather than spiritual influences. In a time and world filled with political anger and personal indulgences reading Adelyn offers the open-minded promise. It would make a great book study."
Specific Book: The Tao of Momentary Thoughts
Doug from Ohio: ". . . I was not prepared for page 116 Should have been because of the extremely personal nature of the entire book. Please understand that the unusual length of time to finish your book (especially for a binge reader like me) was because it screamed to be read thoughtfully in increments. For me that was 10-15 pages every weekend, often in quiet . . .Thank you for "putting pen to paper" and sharing your soul. Those of us who have followed Poetical Journeys will recognize much of the content. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to share part of your journey really feel a part of it."
Charles from Park City: "Hi Bob….I just picked up your The Tao of Momentary Thoughts. It’s wonderful . . I love your book."
Ed from Seattle: The Tao of Momentary Thoughts: "I was smiling all the way through the reading . . .I think I will reread it again during the next week."
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PJ Online
To read some of the back issues of the PJ, go to here.
The next issue will go out on Sunday, May 30, 2021.
Until next time - joy and peace,
Bob
Bob Casey
Poetical Journeys
P.O. Box 319
Midway, UT 84049
bob@poeticaljourneys.com
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