"Don't Look Back."

He was a short wordy man,
with a strange sense of humor,
he reminded me of a knome on tome,
or addicted to it anyhow,
he seemed so vibrant,
alive with a whirl of ideas,
I wondered, is this what it is like?
To have a free mind,
the kind you only witness in great thinkers,
and genuises of our world,
is this what it is like,
to be intelligent,
it wasn't a label ever applied to me,
but I wondered,
as the days went by,
I noticed he had an affinity,
for poetry,
it seemed strange this little man
could run verses like a madman,
I admired him,
all though,
I couldn't understand a word he said,
he had one of those unusual accents,
and I liked him,
even if I didn't like myself at the time,
I still liked him,

One day he showed me one of the books he wrote,
I was fascinated,
he had written three of them,
and had them self published,
I thought, can people do that?
He used big words on a constant,
and you could feel his good vibrations,
even when you first walked into the room,
He had a foriegn wife,
polish, I think,
she was a short woman,
of quiet and beautiful integrity,
I admired her too,

He told me stories of all his travels,
places I knew, I would never see,
he showed me pictures of London,
Italy,
New Zealand even and so many other places,
He was a blessed man,
He did his best to stiphen my wounded heart,
he seemed almost like fools gold to me,
too real to be true,
One day I showed him my writings,
and for some reason, he liked it,
I was stunned by this,
it wasn't that I didn't want to be a writer,
but I could have never expected him to tell me,
I should be a poet,
and so we formed a bond,
me and this happy little man,
in time he helped me to break free a bit,
he gave me a gift,
a gift I felt many times unworthy of,
but he gave it,
and I used it

One day as I was relaying to him my concerns,
he became quiet,
and I noticed it,
I would have felt ashamed,
except he than said,
Don't Look Back.
I was surprised by his comment,
I didn't know what to say,
He said it again,
Don't Look Back.

I had no idea how this would affect me,
until years later
when I remembered him,
and how he believed in my talent,
like no one else since him.

I was thankful to that little man,
he had such beauty and heart,
he was my doorway,
and my key,
he led me out of darkness,
and into the little light in me,

when he left
I was sore to see him go,
but he had given me all he could,
and so I took what I could,
and let him go.

All though,
I know,
looking back is necessary
from time to time,
I still remember his words,
and his gifts of freindship and compassion,
and now these days,
I look back too much,
for now is the time to do so,
and yet,
I remember him,
and his words ring clear to me,
and even in my most self inflection,
I look behind me,
and I see him,
he was more a light to me
than anyone had ever been.
thank you my old counselor and teacher,
Berry Lee

V.G. 11-24-08

giggles, well hello again, it is a pleasure to see you again. hugs, missed you much my friend. hugs and a bitty kiss.

nice that you had such a mentor to guide you in the process:

Yes, he was a wonderful man, I look forward to writing poems about all the people who influenced me in good ways in my life along the way. He is one of many people who have touched my life just by being themselves. smiles, people are amazing, smiles

nice of you to recognize...

Yes, your amazing too, huggles