Reflections in Rhyme: An Everyman's Life, as Told Through Poetry

By Edward W. Renner

This book is written by an Everyman, a person who has traveled through the ups and downs of life, with his eyes wide open and his heart exposed. The eyes have seen too much. The heart has taken a few hits.

It started with a poem. One poem reflecting a single thought. Then a second and a third and a fourth. The poems span a period and, in themselves, have become a reflection of the writer, me.

The observations are not so unusual. It is unusual, however, I guess, to maintain a printed word of the journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 26, 2008
• ISBN: 9781465317995

Book preview

Copyright © 2008 by Edward W. Renner.

ISBN:                  Hardcover                       978-1-4363-3261-3

                            Softcover                        978-1-4363-3260-6

                            Ebook                             978-1-4653-1799-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE—LIFE

CHAPTER TWO—LOVE

CHAPTER THREE—CHALLENGES

CHAPTER FOUR—FAITH

CHAPTER FIVE—CELEBRATION

CHAPTER SIX—FRIENDS AND MEMORIES

CHAPTER SEVEN—OBSERVATIONS… . OPINIONS

CHAPTER EIGHT—SADNESS

EPILOGUE

INTRODUCTION

Life is a word that embodies so many different feelings, definitions, and consequences. It’s an existence and it’s an emotion, like the description of a person who is full of life. Or the person who has had the life sucked out of him (her), because of the life that they have lived. We mourn when a friend has lost his or her life. In truth, their body might have given in to life, but they will live on now as part of another life’s memories. So a person never really loses his or her life. It is just transformed into another medium. That person’s views, opinions, personality live on forever. The footprint of their existence remains for all who still live. It can be embraced, as is the case most of the time, or it can serve as fodder for hate among those it has left behind. It can be conveniently used by the survivors, as an excuse for their lives and mistakes.

Fortunately, in probably most cases, when a person transcends from life, the physical one to the spiritual one, the person becomes bigger than he or she ever was, while they were here on this earth. Stories become magnified, as do the departed person’s accomplishments and their impact on all who are left. Why is that? Why can’t a person’s impact and value be recognized, while they are here, right next to us? To this day, I have become more proficient at asking this question, than having the answer to it.

Mirrors are real, yet an interesting metaphor in our lives. Some of us love them. Some of us avoid them. We see, in them, more than the image that looks back. We see what we are, in every way; more than just the physical. A mirror reflects. This reflection is purely subjective. If you stand at the shore of a lake, and look at the water’s surface fifty yards away, there will be a reflection. There’s always a reflection. But you will see, perhaps, the trees on the other side of the lake. You may see the sky above. But, if you stand in the water, and look straight down, you will see a direct reflection of yourself. Reflections, like mirrors, don’t lie.

Following are my reflections, my take on life as I look straight down into the image that is mine. Following are my questions. Others may prefer the image that they see on the water, fifty yards away. That reflection poses no challenge. It’s easier to see the trees or the sky. It takes more honesty to look straight down at the image looking straight up at you. No embellishments, no air brush. Just like the mirror, you will be looking at more than your image, but your entire being. You are looking at all that has made up your life, in the guise of your physical presence.

I have had, probably, a life that is more common than I would like to believe. I have had the deep faith of a young boy. In fact, I was an Altar Boy in my Catholic Church. Later in life, I would see the flaws in that Church. I have had the experience of a completely dysfunctional family atmosphere. Later, I would recognize just what a saint my Mother truly was, while she graced this earth with her presence. I have had the experience of being abused, mentally and physically, in my growing years. Later, this would mold my adulthood.

I learned, in my life, to consistently ask one question. It is a question that has served me well in my lifetime. And impeded me, at times. The question is… WHY? This personality quality forces me, always, to want to look beyond that, which is obvious. To look beyond the reflection in the mirror or in the water. It’s a great gift and a curse at the same time. Many times, it gets in the way of simplicity; that which is there. Instead, I want to dissect. I want to find reasons. I want to find excuses for people, when there really are none. Sometimes, it’s no deeper than what is in front of us. I conclude that I look for the fairy tale because a fairy tale doesn’t make me confront the negative. To this day, I make these excuses for the people, who have been in my life. And at times, I make excuses to myself, for myself. But, as I dissect (there I go again) this personality signature, I conclude that it has been more of a positive than a negative. I look for the best in people, many times at my own expense. I look beyond a life situation, be it business or personal and, generally, get to what’s really happening. This exposes many ironies that exist in many, many situations.

I have had a broken marriage, with relationships that may never be repaired. Later, that would serve to make me a better person in my second marriage. This experience would teach me to look past the obvious, to look past the image on the surface of the water or the image in the mirror. When I am finished, I find that I cannot harbor resentment over what has happened in my life. I cannot be mad at others and I cannot be mad at myself, although I admit, I am still very tough on myself. I hold unreachable standards for myself. This I must work on.

The following writings are my REFLECTIONS IN RHYME. They span many different chapters in a normal life. They embrace emotions. They question realities. They look at things with a deeper, more prying, perspective. These words represent my interpretations of my life so far. The paradox is interesting. I have chronicled my life so far in poetry. Poetry, most of the time, although not mandatory, resolves itself. That is, by rhyming, the words always seem to find a happy concluding relationship, by virtue of the fact that, in the end, if it rhymes, than it is complete. So, for me, all of the emotions of these poems are fulfilled because they rhyme. Oh, if life were so simple. Make a rhyme and the problems go away.

Following is a trip through my life. As Jimmy Buffett may put it, from a different point of view. Humor, tears, anger, dismay, love, depression, they are all here. I have, as most of us have, questioned my life experiences. I have embraced my emotions, all of them.

CHAPTER ONE

LIFE

WISHES

IF I HAD THE EYES OF AN EAGLE,

I’D SEE ALL OUR PAINS

BEFORE THEY COULD HURT.

IF I HAD THE EARS OF A DOG,