A Song in the Dark

By June Davis

This book of poems is a healing process for me.

Living through many losses, my father died before I was two years old, my mom just after I migrated to the USA (I did not attend her funeral because of culture shock and fear of the unknown), and my only son on the night of December 25, 2006.

At the age of sixty-six, of course, there are many other losses. Early retirement is a loss of not much outside connections, but I have a choice: to enter the room of suffering and mourning or to enter the room of happiness, choose life, and be happy. Turn my lemons into lemonade.

The joy of the Lord is your strength. Finding the courage and the strength to greet each day with daily exercise, eating the right foods, drinking plenty of water, not worrying, and feeding on the Word of God.

Happiness is sure to become a way of life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503587151

June Davis

I am June M. Davis, unmarried and retired. My age is sixty-six years old. I migrated from Jamaica, West Indies, in the year 1977 to the USA as a registered nurse. Education I am a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree in health-care management and an incomplete master’s degree in midwifery. Occupation As an RN, I worked at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in West Los Angeles from October 1979 to June 2012. I also worked through the nurse’s registry at various hospitals like Daniel Freeman Hospital from 1981 to 1996. I did some real estate buying, selling, and managing duplexes and triplexes from 1987 to 2009. Family Sad to say that I do have lots of blood family members, but the relationship is almost nonexistent. My only child, my son, was very gifted and talented in music. He sang and played the piano and the trumpet, even in event performances. He was a competitive winner in breaststroke swimming and played well in ball games when they threw him the ball. He attended college at the age of sixteen years old and died at the age of eighteen years old, as such is the law of a single-parent family without any form of support. It takes a village to raise a child. Social I play the piano very well, sing very well, and love to dance and recite poetry very well. I can be funny. I call myself a comedian. Religion I am a Christian. I will preach if you let me say the spoken Word, especially the Psalms. In all, I love the Word. It keeps me safe and gives me sanity.

Book preview

A

Song

in the

Dark

June Davis

Copyright © 2015 by June Davis.

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.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 07/17/2015

Xlibris

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Contents

A Song in the Dark

Angel

Wakening

Busy Market Street

Busy Pico Street

Change

Change Part Two

Change Part Three

Conversation

Cursed

Daily Victories

Design Intelligence

Divinity Chocolate

Eating to Live

Forgiveness

The Mote and the Beam

Lost

Vacation Island—Palace Hotel

Vacation Trip Follow-Up

Prepare

Presence Part Two

Silence

Presence Part Four

Presence

Reteach Loveliness

Reteach Its Loveliness

Winds Scatter

Being of Service

Being of Service Part Two

Silence Part Three

Silence

Silence

Silence Part B

Sounds

Sunshine in Darkness: Shadow Playing

Taking Responsibility

Targeted Words

The Cat

The Old House

The Prize

The Treadmill Part Two

The Treadmill Part Three

Wait

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Window of Memory

Window of the Mind

A Song in the Dark

At the amusement park, the young foreigner stood in line

To get on the roller-coaster ride.

Her children, in front of her, were excitedly talking to their new friends.

Her thoughts were

I am scared. I have to make a decision,

Not only make a decision, but

I also have to make a right choice.

I am used to having my own business,

But I am in a foreign country.

I do not know the culture.

I love the country, and I want to make it my home.

My mentor introduced me to friends.

They all looked so appealing and self-made.

My children are important in my choice.

Then again, I have to make a decision on a new career.

I do not even remember what I am good at.

The children’s voices brought her back to the present.

Mom, it is time to get on the ride, come on.

She stepped out of the line and said,

"No. You go on without me.

I will be waiting right here for you

When the ride is over."

The children replied,

"No, Mother. You are coming with us.

We are not going without you."

She thought,

This is the amusement park. I have to help them to

Remember this day in a positive way.

Smiling, she got on the ride.

She had difficulty fastening the seat belt.

She tried to hide her nervousness.

Her child beside her easily fastened the seat belt,

And they all laughed.

The ride was a successful distraction from thinking.

The next week, she enrolled in a class

That she thought she had no interest in.

At the end of the day, when she was picked up,

She said to her mentor,

This is not what I want to do.

The mentor replied,

This is what I know, try it. You might like it.

She kept on going to class daily,

Being attentive and never neglecting her assignments.

Each accomplished piece of work, she would take it home

And show it to her children.

Her children would cheer her on as she made progress.

She gradually began to appreciate the career class,

Make her own friends,

Listen to the possibilities in this new career path, and she graduated.

The task of finding a job was very simple.

The class that she thought she did not like

Turned out to be her greatest asset.

The community had a need for that kind of skill.

The very next week after graduation,

She started—she started working

And has been working ever since.

Angel

He smiled when he saw her for the first time

She was like an angel from heaven

Made perfect in the afterlife

When one loses everything—like

A father who died before he could be remembered

A mother who was remembered but could have stayed longer

Two siblings at a young age, before being able to say

I love you to them

Three much older sisters who could still be here, being old

An only child and more friendly older people losses—

Enduring such deprivations of life

Can make or break one.

One can fall into depression and stay there to their detriment

Living in self-blame when life is what it is

We are born

We play our part on the stage of life

And then we exit the stage

Longevity is the goal

But some are born great, and some, not so great

Which does not decrease their value in the eyes of the

Creator in any way

His last words count.

With this knowledge in mind, a prudent person

Will respect the gift of life in every and almost any thing

For after all, he, the Creator, made everything great and small

And afterward, he says

That is beautiful

Not having people to converse with on a daily basis

On a positive level can drive the mind to

See an angel in everyone

That is fortunate to come in contact with them.

Such was the case at an annual community event

The breakfast hour was in progress

Everyone was mingling, eating, and getting acquainted

This individual was isolated, standing alone

Eating and admiring people, trees, flowers, and the building’s architecture

When seemingly, out of nowhere, a well-dressed feminine character appeared

Said hello, and started a conversation

The individual, with a great smile, thought

Me, someone is interacting with me. This must be an angel

Sent from heaven to restore a lost, rejected mind

Bringing it back to the present moment of people interaction

To say Hello, how are you doing? and talk to people.

The conversation was a great learning experience

The feminine character was working and going to college

Majoring in a course name that was unfamiliar

They talked of the workplace

Opportunities in the medical profession, the self-satisfaction

And the financial independence that can be gained

They both had so much knowledge of their discussed topics

They could have kept on talking

But it was time to enter the conference room

To the individual’s surprise, the seeming angel said

I am going over there, pointing to the east, where the food was

"You have a good day

It was nice talking to you"

The individual was disappointed

In not having someone seeming to be an angel to sit beside him in the great hall

So the individual joined the entering crowd of people

The feminine character was never seen again

But the demeanor of happiness, being impeccably dressed

Having a clear speech, the seeming aura of goodness and mercy

And the thought still resided

It must be an angel

Because only an angel can persevere until the end

However good or bad was done

How can one not become