Sunday, April 12, 2009

One person's 'bliss'~

What a gorgeous Saturday. We went to Route 66 State Park to ride bikes. It is the site of the former town of Times Beach, MO. Many years ago, Russell Bliss dumped dioxin-tainted oil on the roads. The soil was eventually removed and the houses and buildings razed. It is a happy-sad place. I love the open space along the river, and I enjoy seeing the deer and wildlife. I can almost hear whispers of the past in the wind whipping at my face: childrens' voices as they romped and played and grew up there; adults tending gardens, snapping fresh green beans, slicing home grown tomatoes which grew from that toxic soil. Now there is just green space, no building foundations, no signs of what used to be. Just memories and illness for some of the former residents.

As we rode our bikes, I spied a thick row of daffodils sticking up out of a field of short grass, like a little boy with a fresh Mohawk. It made me smile. I wondered if that was a patch of earth they'd forgotten to remove -the bulbs lovingly buried in the ground, like some of the former residents. As I stopped my bike to watch those yellow flowers nod, a poem wrote itself.

Dioxin-tainted daffodils,
Bliss for today's viewer.
Bliss, a different meaning
for yesterday's planter.

Happy Easter and happy spring to everyone. I see the Lord's hand in nature's rebirth. I am grateful. Blessings to all!

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