My brother-in-law (my sister's husband) has ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) - he is 55 and is a wonderful person. He's always been an extremely loving and caring individual. He is doing his best to keep his spirits up. One thing that he loves doing is to write poems. It's getting almost impossible for him to type at his keyboard now, but the poem below is one he recently finished. I am collecting all of his poems and will be putting them in a booklet. I think that this poem is one of his most beautiful ones (written for his wife), and so I'm sharing it here with you. I hope you enjoy it.
I would appreciate it if you would keep my brother-in-law, Pat, and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.
The Colors of My Life
Imagine your feelings and emotions,
as tints, color, and hues.
Would your life reflect colors of the skies,
or blues of the oceans?
Just like a box full of crayons,
my life has been a whirl of tints.
Filled with love and living,
getting married and having sons.
You and I have created the shades of my life,
they are highlighted like in a kaleidoscope…
with myriads of pastels and colors,
by you… my friend, my wife.
You painted my world with colors,
and tiled it with marbled floors.
You are the joy and happiness,
that melts my sorrow and sadness.
The tint of the birth of my sons divine,
that made my heart soar like a hawk.
Their births are a hallmark of my life,
and can only be the color of sunshine.
I know it sounds so old,
but the color I treasure so…
is the color on my finger,
it is ring that is a band of gold.
My time is short this I know,
what colors do I now see?
Certainly not gray or black,
but all of the colors of the rainbow.
So my love, let’s not cry or fret,
for you are my canvas and brush.
And my world has been full,
with the colors on my life’s palette.
Oh, how beautiful!!! His wife is truly fortunate to have someone love her like that. You, He and all your family will be in my thoughts and prayers. ALS is a horrid disease. God help us find a treatment and cure.
Cheree, I'd like to suggest that you google Charlie Wedemeyer a well known man in our area with ALS, he and his wife Lucy are an inspiration. There has been much written about him. You might want to share this info with your sister. Charlie was a football coach and continued to coach after being diagnosed with ALS , he is no longer able to do that , but his life is an inspiration.
Your BIL's poem is so beautiful and touching.
Thank all of you for taking the time to read this poem and for seeing the beauty in his words...and thank you so much for your responses.
Bargoo, I checked out Charlie's website and will pass on the URL to my sister and brother-in-law...I also sent an email to Charlie along with a copy of my brother's poem. I live in Palo Alto, so Charlie lives not far from me. Very inspirational as well, thank you.
I'm so glad you posted it for everyone to share. I loved it when you emailed it to me. It still makes me teary eyed. What you've told me about Pat just breaks my heart. He has to be one of the most caring, loving and helping men that was ever put on the planet.
Sharing a poem written by my BIL who has ALS
