The Shape of a Hero

[Naga_Fireball]

A stone that stands like many others
Enclosed and finished by even borders
Squarely perfect tall and smooth
With a self reflective tone of truth

They've set you slightly out of reach
That by this distance you may teach
The searching eyes your tower seek
Beneath you, churning waters breach

By day your walls are cool and calm
A peacefulness to call upon
The winds caress you with their song
Your foundations deep, your anchor strong

By night alone, defined by light
That streams in golden ribbons bright
That wandering ships may heed the sight
And set their fatal courses right

At your feet a harbor sits
Filled with many sailing ships
At peace they rest, content to stay
Until the arrival of the day

Climbers sometimes brave the heights
To unravel the mystery of your light
To enter all your hidden rooms
To penetrate the secret womb

At these you smile and gently say
Your Shadows interrupt the Day
Then sternly send them on their way
No matter their desire to stay

From your gracefully buttressed walls
I can hear the seagulls call
I see the wavelets rise and fall
For one moment i accept it all

I see the shape of the hero

Rachel Miller

[Naga_Fireball]

Some background information on this one.
I wrote it thinking about the positive qualities i admire in a man. There was a specific person in mind, but honestly i know very little about his character.

It sort of turned into a poem about hope and dreams after that. Even when people in our lives are discouraging and jealous, when they seem to be doing everything in their power to kill our hope, we have a clear and present help in time of trouble.

I knew that this day would come 17 years ago. As some of you know, I do have precognitive dreams from time to time. My dream of the lighthouse without a light, perhaps the true meaning of that dream was, when you find a dark place, Be the Light.

After I wrote this poem my phone rang.
A local couple was willing to meet my son and maybe give him emergency respite between placements. To save him from the Behavioral Rehab system.

The placement did not work out with them, but they are good people who are helping many children already. That they cared enough to try meant the world to me.

The truth about heroes is that anyone can rise to the occasion. For a few days these people lifted a terrible burden from my shoulders.

In a place as dark as this one, even false hope is better than no hope. For those who make a living pointing out the projections and assumptions of the dying.

[Naga_Fireball]

A pretty interesting article about a local photographer and his quest, lol:

http://www.union-bulletin.com/local/whi ... 6dae7.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Whitman College professor undertakes quest for Walla Walla ‘lighthouse’
It takes being in the right place at the right time on the right day — with weather permitting.

Alfred Diaz Updated 32 min ago (0)

...

Twice a year — about 30 days before and 30 days after the winter solstice — the azimuth and angle of the sun line up so its rays shoot through the cupola windows atop The Marcus Whitman Hotel & Conference Center.

The result is a brief solar lighthouse that lasts one to two minutes.

“ ... You have to be in the right place at the right time on the right day and the weather has to cooperate,” Pogue wrote.

This year, the right time was 3:58 p.m. Tuesday. But fate would once again obscure Pogue from his quest.


...