Ripples of Life: "Disturbed the Peace and Calm Is Shown. the Waters Come to Life Awakened by a Stone"

By Chad L. Roberts

The selections in Ripples of Life are easy to understand. They are simply written. Yet, they are powerful enough to keep you thinking and wondering as you are being entertained. Ripples of Life has been divided into separate sections which contain their own specific type of content for ease of access and with the use of the Table of Contents. Best of all, the contents are offered in both, the English and Spanish Language for either native speaker, if not bilingual. I don't know of any other written work quite like this one, except for the closest thing to it; an English/Spanish Dictionary.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463421458

Chad L. Roberts

I have lived in El Paso, Texas throughout my life, except for the six years I gave to my country. I joined the United States Air Force right after high school. During this time I did much traveling. I visited places like England, Germany, and the Azores. Back home, I traveled from the West Coast to the East Coast and back down to the Southwestern part of the country. That was back starting in 1974. I have always seen myself as an average everyday person making a living just like everyone else. But when I have time on my hands I indulge in one of several activities that I enjoy doing, whether it be going fishing with my son or finding a quiet corner of the house where I can put my thoughts to paper. That is, whenever I am inspired to do so. I like to write. Yet, when I began, I never thought about publishing any of my work. That idea was extremely distant in my thoughts. It wasn't realistic or attainable to me. But as time went on and my work started adding up plus the constant encouragement from people who read some of my writing, the idea didn't sound crazy after all. The more I thought about it, the more appealing it became and so, here I am now. This is one of my greatest accomplishments. My mother would have been proud.

Book preview

CONTENTS

Forward

Introduction

Acknowledgement

I

Pig of a Different Kind

A Writer’s Intent

My Day at the Park

Our Fishing days

My Legacy

The Colors I Bring

Under the Rules

Stay Out of My Life

A smoker, I will always be

The Outsider

Difference Unkind

Broken Ties

Thanks, but no thanks

Don’t Search in Me

My Lost way back

Moments of Glory

Change for the sake of change

Demons Within

Killing The Past

The Shield

Learn to Know Me, First

Ripples of Life

One Painful, Dreadful Day

Eyes to See, but Blind to Be

Forty to Life

The Issue

Ponder to Wonder

Staying the Course

Where Parallels Journey

The man, the myth, the legend

How a Poet Does It

Family Tree

A Women’s World

Mistaken Identity

A Case of Hardship

Precarious is the system

The World We Knew

Where there is light

The Loner

II

The Key

Earth, Wind, and Fire

Repelling Force

The Wrong Side of Love

The Plate

Like Water and Oil

Heart of Iron

A Fork on the Road

A Morning without Sun

Knowing love

When Commitment Falters

Love on the Wing

Empty Echoes

Eternal Valentine

The Rose

The Anniversary

Poor Woman

The Confession

A Gift the Seasons Gave

Missing You

When Time Could Have

Stood Still

The Encounter

Love Uncertain

Just another Pick-Up Line

The walk out

A Quest for Love

Reflections

The deepest of pain

Innocent Victims

III

El Ropero

Me Sorprendió el Futuro

Un Brindis a Mí Destino

Sé Quien Soy

Mi Patria

Vuela, Vuela Pajarillo

Dilatación

Cambio de Vida

La Reina de Nada

El Pollito

Niñita De Ayer

Desafío

Sabio Tropezón

Disgusto Poético

Dame a Conocer

Solo y Perdido

Amor y Desprecio

No Te Necesito Ahora

Sigo Siendo el Mismo

El Amor no es Sexo

Como Cinta Sin Zapato

Su Memoria Está En Mi Mente

Acompañé a mí Madre

IV

Days of Will and Misery

Autumn Draws my Death

Restless Soul

Return of a Phoenix

Closure

A Lesson on Existence

Two things everyone should know about their journey through life.

About the Author

To

Sylvia, my faithful wife;

Chris, my only son;

And,

my mother’s memory that lives in me.

Forward

During the editing process of my manuscript, I was first assisted by one of two colleagues of mine. She teaches English grammar in middle school and has done so for a number of years. When she was finished with her part of the manuscript, I sought to collect it. A short time later, we met and began to talk shop briefly. It was then that she made a revealing comment that took me by surprise. She went on to say how the first going over the material was strictly for the purpose of editing. But afterwards, she felt compelled to go back and actually take time to read it. I can only speculate to say that something must have caught her attention along the way. With a beaming look on her face, she looked at me and said she had found my work to be therapeutic.

My other colleague, who is an educator as well, teaches Advanced Spanish in high school. She also made known a revelation to me just as surprising. After having helped me edit the Spanish part of the work, and while discussing the material further at length, she disclosed that the thought of acquiring a classroom set when my book came out of print had crossed her mind.

Imagine that. These are two educators in different fields of teaching. Each of whom was able to derive from the same source a different set of values. On the one hand, it was found to be therapeutic. On the other, it was seen as having the potential for becoming an educational resource. There is no absolute doubt in my mind that my two colleagues were in fact able to relate well to the written matter. Anything else that can be said about my work can only come from you.

Introduction

In the busy world of today, life speeds up so fast that sight is lost of everything around you. Time has become a luxury and there isn’t enough of it left to endeavor in all daily activities. The only interests considered as a priority may be, what you need to do, where you need to go, and how you need to get there. Beyond that, there may be no time left to pause and review the steps you’ve taken. So many wonderful and interesting experiences in life are left behind or lost. The observations made have become no more then a mere glimpse of that which pass you by and the morning after only serves as a cycle to the process.

The content within the pages of Ripples of Life provide you with the opportunity to cast your mind adrift. You will temporarily be enveloped in subtle seduction and will be moved through conscious awareness by what you read, which will release you from the every day stresses of life. It is also possible your mind will be refreshed with gentle reminders of how things in life can be, for the greater good. All while making a connection where there was none before. Perhaps, in some unusual way, the reading to be done may stir up the thought for change when change was never considered to be a perceived need.

I have always been fascinated by poetry, but as it was first introduced to me I shied away from it. I found it uninteresting, and difficult to understand the meaning behind the words I’ve never seen or heard before. In Ripples of Life, I have changed all of that. While poetry remains a spoken Art, the style in which I write is contemporary and simple to understand. Above all, it is emotionally refreshing, powerfully entertaining, and at times even amusing for just about all age groups. There is no guessing involved, only wonderment.

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my deepest gratitude and thanks to two long time friends for taking time out from their busy lives to help me with this undertaking: Mrs. Patricia (Patsy) Fraire and Ms. Angelica (Angie) Perez.

I

Pig of a Different Kind

Like filthy grunting pigs

That wallow in deep mud

To cool their heavy carcasses

And keep them off the flies.

Delightful and quite cheerful

They move about their sides

And squeal as if they’re talking,

In social groups of five.

Their conversation carries

The nectar of the times

With news about the sow in heat

And how she wants it done.

Then, from the corner watching

As I’m sitting on my rump:

After having been scratching

The itching from my back,

I see the pigs are hungry.

They snout about for food

And smell for tasty morsels

Deep in their feces pools.

How utterly disgusting,

To find myself with them.

When I can rule the open fields

While keeping myself clean.

I can’t get any closer.

The pigs won’t let me near.

They treat me as an outcast

By nipping at my rear.

Roll; roll in your own feces;

You horrid nasty swine’s.

A normal life for you may be,

The one outside of mine.

I’ve been condemned to follow

The ways I don’t approve.

By living with these nasty pigs

That wallow in their soup.

I’d just