Water

I’m always drawn to water; I guess it must be a family trait.   My mother and her father going back generations have always been found near water in some shape or form.  I see this trait being passed along to my nephew as well, I wonder if it is a learned trait or genetic.

I always find lakes, rivers and streams no matter where I visit, and Lake Waterloo was one of the more recent finds during my visit to Texas.  Half of the Lake is manicured and almost looks like a golf course water trap; the other half is wooded, wild, and beautiful.   I preferred the wild part, with the beautiful rocks, and trees… as well as the occasional snake swimming amongst the waves.

Reflective Witness

Places of tranquility often lead to inspiration, this is a rule that I believe many people neglect to follow.   Here in Mississippi, just a bit north of Jackson on the

Natchez Trace Parkway

lies what was once a part of the Pearl River.   It is marked as a point of interest, not a historical place as most others are, it is the Cypress Swamp.  The Pearl river changed its course thousands of years ago, leaving behind a swamp where it once flowed.  Over thousands of years Cypress trees majestically grew tall and overtook the swamp, creating a quiet breathtaking place of reflection.  I thought of many things as I explored this amazing place, one thing that grabbed my attention were the size of some of the cypress trees, and the knowledge that they could have bore witness to the first explorers to the region, and to the way of life hundreds of years before Europeans discovered this continent... and yet they are alive, to bear witness to me.     Small in the scheme of things.

Waterloo

Some paths appear in front of us, paths that we are meant to take no matter how much we avoid them. We do not always know why we must walk the trail or where the trail will take us… but it is there, and it must be traveled.

I walked this trail last week, and while I was in one situation at the beginning by the end I was in a completely different situation. I wish I could understand what occurred or why it occurred, but it did and I am left with the aftermath. Ironically the trail circles Lake Waterloo in Denison, Texas; part of the Texoma (Oklahoma/Texas) region… I met my “waterloo” at Waterloo Lake, in many ways…

 

Mended

I wasn’t ready for you,
But you claimed to be true.
I went the distance to see,
If it was meant to be.

I am used to the loss,
Another marker for me to cross.
It was affection that I did crave,
I’m slammed the much like a wave.

What was shattered will be mended,
And things will be splendid.
The shattered pieces will be whole,
As I pick up the pieces as I go.

Home

We hold these places to be sacred, for the most part they contain all that is us… our possessions, our photos, and our memories. They are never perfect, they may have cracks, and we may keep the doors locked to keep the bad people or, or us in… as Tim Minchin would put it. But the fact is, it is home.

I often wonder who once lived in homes such as the one shone here. I know someone once found shelter within these collapsing walls, I wonder if they are still around to walk among the ruins of their once sacred place. It is a sad thought, but at the same time there is something beautiful about the circle that is life. What was once someone’s haven is now shelter to the many creatures that roam the forest and need their own place to feel safe.

Inside the Door.

Inside the window.

This abandoned house is located on Airport Road outside Mendenhall, MS.

Reflections

The sunset creating shadows and colours upon the calm waters of Lake Tom Bailey in Toomsuba, MS.

This reminded me of how important it is to look into ourselves, and reflect upon who we are. We tend not to like to look at our own selves, preferring to look around us, but we must remember to take a glance at the beauty we are, and fix the imperfections we find. To become the best we can be.

The Road Avoided

The road before isn’t always the easiest road, the bend and tribulations are what make the trip worth while. When we begin the journey, we are one person, and when we arrive at our destination, we become someone completely different.



This is a road I avoided for a long time; it is Airport Road in Mendenhall Mississippi. I am not going to say the reasons I have avoided it, but it took me four years to traverse its beautiful stretches. I made the trip finally, and learned a few things about myself that I had been avoiding, and found what I was looking for.



Now what to do with that?

Always Remember

I don’t pretend to know why things happen… I don’t know why things turn out the way they do. That is not for me to even worry about, or waste time even entertaining the idea.

I like to pretend that I do understand the way the world works, or even that I know what happened that night. Why I acted the way I did, and I wonder what your thoughts were… what went through your mind… Did you think of me? Was that why you were there? If I had done anything differently…. Would you still be here?



I don’t know…



But you will forever be a part of who I am.



I will never forget you!



Johnny Dixon Brown
1987-2007