My Backyard Reverie

 It’s early Monday morning. 4:30 a.m. 

We’re having some thunder, lightening and rain. That’s what

woke me up. i like summer rain. The smell and sound of it.

It’s not quite daylight. The solar lights still aglow in the backyard.

i stand on the porch, caught in a trancelike stare at what’s 

before me. The quiet beauty of this backyard. 

So peaceful and pretty. The many memories of family

and friends it holds in its shelter. And i’m grateful

Lightening darts, and dashes across the sky 

breaking my reverie.

 A warm breeze gently sways the leaves on the trees. 

There’s a rhythm to their movement like there’s a 

rhythm to life; breathing in and out 

Like the swaying of the leaves, we sway back and

forth adapting and adjusting to the music of life. 

Independence Day & Freedom

Flags and fireworks,

Parades and parties 

Hot dogs and hamburgers on the holiday menu;

Family and friends gather 

to celebrate Independence Day,

The day of America’s birth.

Freedom.

Freedom from tyranny and oppression

Freedom from taxation without representation

Freedom of religion and Freedom of speech.

But surely not freedom to harm or malign

To rear down and destroy. Anarchy. 

America is about building up.  Believing in

the good. Doing good. Striving to be better.

Aiming toward that higher purpose. 

Over 200 hundred years ago when my

ancestor, John Hart left his New Jersey

farm to sign the Declaration of Independence 

I imagine he was full of hope for what was about 

to come, that what he was about to sign would 

have endurance and positive effect

 throughout the ages:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men

are created equal, that they are endowed by their

Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that

among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit

of Happiness

And for the support of this Declaration, with a

firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence,

we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our 

Fortunes and our Sacred Honor.

There’s much to admire about the signers 

of the Declaration of Independence; Their  fortitude,

wisdom and courage. And perhaps especially, their 

Faith in God, and loyalty to each other. 

On this Independence Day 2023 we would do

well to re-read the Declaration of Independence, 

think about it’s signers, and this great country 

And give thanks to God for the founding of our

Nation, the men and women who took 

the chances, and persevered.