Harry N. Haigh
Follow the journey of a woman's spirit, while she endures her days of loneliness in a home for seniors, travels through immeasurable time and distance, and is reborn.
Share a day in her life, 26 years later, as she extends her love to others and absorbs their love in return.
Experience the power love holds for each one of us ... If we can only learn, through our thoughts and feelings, from the events in our lives.
I was born in New Rochelle, N.Y., attended college in Virginia, lived for two and a half years in Colorado, and married Beth on April 9th, 1960. We lived in Westchester and Putnam counties, N.Y., in Maryland for 19 years, and near Lake George, N.Y., for the past 7 years.
I began to write seriously in October, 1994 (poems, essays, short stories). Song was completed in August, 1997. Besides Beth, other inspirations have been my children, son and daughters-in-law, three granddaughters, nature's beauty, and recollections of past experiences.
Several poems have been published. I also have an exhibit of poetry on the Internet (International Poetry Hall of Fame).
Too weak to utter any sounds, Ann closed her eyes and wept silently. The tears poured copiously, then stopped. She no longer heard the rain. She opened her eyes and watched a beam of light grow wider as it approached her. It was so bright! Yet, it didn’t bother her eyes, still open. As it came closer, she noticed it bore all kinds of birds ... cardinals, orioles, sparrows, wrens, doves, and canaries ... all singing, like the woodlands’ symphony before a dawn. The light almost upon her, she raised both arms to reach for it. There was Charlie, flying to her hands. A flock of mourning doves appeared just over her head, now raised from her pillow. Their ‘coo - ahh - coo - coo - coos’ reverberated through the room. Their ‘doh - mee - doh - doh - dohs’, in harmonious thirds, lifted her from depression into a state of peace and well-being. A faint smile creased her lips. The doves encircled her, calling ‘Ann - eee - ann - ann - ann’ ... over and over. Her arms dropped, and her head fell back upon the pillow. Her eyes stared fixedly at the ceiling. Her mouth remained fixed in a faint smile. Still singing ‘Ann - eee - ann - ann - ann’, the doves swept her toward the light’s source.
***
ENTITY: "Yes. You will come to realize that the universe, as you knew it, is but a speck of dust compared to the totality of things ... compared to what can be experienced."
Ann sensed there was more she must accomplish before she could enter this realm.
ANN: "I must go back, then!"
ENTITY: "Yes."
ANN: "What must I accomplish? When may I return there?"
ENTITY: "Think ... and feel! ...Discover for yourself ... You will know when you are ready."
Ann felt its presence diminish, then disappear. She thought ... and felt, recalling her Earthly existence, her feelings of rejection and loneliness. They increased in intensity until her anguish was nearly unbearable. She wondered why she felt so much pain. In an instant she realized what she had to do. Her pain vanished, as an aura of peace and understanding engulfed her.
"I know," she felt. "I’m ready."
