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    Days of Reckoning
    Days of Reckoning
    Days of Reckoning
    Ebook212 pages1 hour

    Days of Reckoning

    By Ronald McCann

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    About this ebook

    Life challenges each of us uniquely, and yet, we all have our days of reckoningdays that demand we choose one path or another, and in so doing, plot our spiritual life journey.

    Days of Reckoning is an autobiographical collection that chronicles these choices and presents the resulting evolution of character. The poems included in this collection vividly depict a range of life conflicts and emotional upheaval.

    We observe the depravity of abuse; the tragic, mind-numbing experience of rejected love; the disintegration which occurs upon the death of a parent; and the epiphanies that result from the day-to-day prevalence of cruelty. But rather than lead us down a road of despair, these poems present strategies for envisioning our hardships as creative instrumentsanother means of defining ourselves.

    Days of Reckoning suggests that our struggles define and, potentially, refine our character, offering each of us an opportunity to advance our moral strength and spirituality.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisheriUniverse
    Release dateJan 29, 2013
    ISBN9781475963687
    Days of Reckoning
    Author

    Ronald McCann

    Ronald McCann has written over two thousand pieces about the human condition and the experiences that people endure in their lives. His first book, Angels and Leprechauns, was written for those who have experienced abuse or have had trouble resolving difficult problems in their lives. He lives and works in southeastern Wisconsin.

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      Book preview

      Days of Reckoning - Ronald McCann

      Contents

      Author’s Foreword

      Genesis of Despair

      How I Loved You

      Bones and Caty

      Kicks

      Left Alone Again

      Trust Fear

      Broken Glass

      Double-Edged Sword

      Bridges and Trap Doors

      Run

      Just Enough

      Whiskey’s Trouble

      An Idle Mind

      Furniture of Sadness

      Look At the Mess

      Final Breath

      What Have I Become

      Days of Reckoning

      Neverlasting Love

      Needed To Be Said

      Torn

      Damaged Hull

      Ashes

      Love Lost

      The Night

      Troubled Sleep

      Well Hidden

      Three A.M.

      The Dance

      Gray

      It Stays Like This

      How

      Mind Full of Thirst

      Kisses That Come and Go

      Lessons Of Loss

      Goodbye

      Make Sure

      Altar

      Visions of a Man Who Wept

      The First Night

      Swallowed Whole

      In My Dreams

      Turning On a Light

      From the Day

      How Many Deaths

      The Impasse

      Final Debt

      I Met Me

      Storyteller

      Entanglements

      What Have I Done

      Each Second

      Lost and Anxious

      The Age Tree

      Sits in Habits

      Goodbye

      The Last to Drop

      Turns and Hills

      Moments of Play

      Days To Fill

      Moments

      Tick Tick

      Your Own Cross

      Hardened Heart

      They Are of You

      First Floor

      You Choose

      Turbulence

      Peace

      A Clean House

      Thorn in the Sandal

      Bridge

      Perspective

      Desert Stars

      Ash

      The Constancy Of Nature

      Reincarnation, Heaven, and Hell

      Breathing to the Wind

      Out of the Brush

      Bitter Taste

      Trodden Ways

      Angst

      Threshold

      From Your Numbness

      The Power Of Friendship

      Warm Nose

      Bruised

      Turbulence

      Remainder

      Shoulders And Laughs

      The Search For Self

      New Season

      Leave Your Way

      Forward and Back

      Tick Tick Tick

      Time’s Account

      The Harvest

      Clear Blue Sky

      Rooms

      A Lifetime of That

      The Old Places

      The Rains Come

      Rain Upon Me

      Wonder of You

      Who Knows More Than I

      My Small World

      Selfish

      Pain

      Furrowed Seeds

      Guilt

      Reckoning

      Innocence of Fault

      Vicissitudes

      A Clear Mirror

      Branches

      Spot

      Ego

      So Much You

      All

      Buried in Your Chest

      Who Am I

      Measure

      Chapters

      Reflection

      For All The Dead

      Thread

      Well and Often

      Change and Quiet

      Sweet Control

      Eyes of Water

      Never-Ending

      Dreams

      Be Imperfect

      Waiting For You

      Thought Lost

      Years

      About the Author

      For Eric, Jodie, and Christopher who continue to be an inspiration and a great source of laughter and surprises.

      For all my Friends who have been surrogate Family for me over the years and who have lent an ear, their time, their wine, even their treasury to help me through rocky roads.

      Life challenges each of us uniquely, and yet, we all have our Days of Reckoning—days that demand we choose one path or another, and in so doing, plot our spiritual life-journey.

      This autobiographical collection chronicles a series of these choices and presents the resulting evolution of character. The poems within vividly depict a range of life conflicts and emotional upheaval. We see here the depravity of abuse; the tragic, nearly universally mind-numbing experience of rejected love; the disintegration which occurs upon the death of a parent, and the epiphanies that result from the day-to-day prevalence of cruelty. And yet, rather than lead us down a road of despair, these poems present strategies for envisioning our hardships as creative instruments, another means of defining ourselves.

      Days of Reckoning suggests that our struggles define, and, potentially, refine our character. It is up to us: the friction brought about by the challenges we face either leaves us permanently damaged, filled with hatred, feelings of victimization, and a small and petty desire for revenge against the world, or this abrasion polishes away the seeds of negativity planted by adversity, and leaves behind integrity, kindness, wisdom and love. Each Day of Reckoning is an opportunity to advance our moral strength and spirituality.

      An inspirational and empowering collection of verse, Days of Reckoning demonstrates the development of mature life-strategies and the positive effects of self-awareness, leaving the reader with the assurance that courageously embracing life’s challenges will foster inner peace and happiness.

      Author’s Foreword

      I remember years ago, after a scrape, or something I thought was serious, my Father would always say, Ten years from now you’ll never know the difference. As a child. I used to think....what is he talking about. The fact of the matter is, that on most water over the damn, he was right. Yet there are things that happen to us in life that cause us to pause on our journey, stop on the path, and wonder if where we’re going is where we want to be. The death of a child, the passing of a parent, the ugliness of a divorce, the facing of a seriousness illness, the loss of a close friend, an unwanted move, can all touch us in a place that provides impetus for us to reconcile our emotional and directional accounts. These times I call Days of Reckoning: Those days when we pause along the way and decide our next direction.... The next path our journey will take us. For those who meet these days and reconcile not, they are to find themselves always with the same problems: Always chasing the same tails. For those who reconcile their accounts and choose to move along a different way, may they find new experiences, new energy, and fulfillment until the next pause along the way. The sum total of these days is the place where you find you are now. God be with you on your Days of Reckoning !

      Ronald Mccann January 9, 2013

      Note: Special Thanks to Ellen Letizia who forged hour upon hour Editing many pieces to help form what is Days of Reckoning.

      Genesis of Despair

      How I Loved You

      ~

      All is quiet on New Year’s Day.

      Adam Clayton, The Edge, Bono, and Larry Mullen, Jr., New Years Day

      Performed by U2

      ~

      I wanted to show you the depth of my

      love,

      To guide you from a loving hand,

      Through so much you wouldn’t understand,

      To give you what you needed to weather

      life’s difficult storms,

      To show how I loved you.

      And so I beat you until you screamed,

      I slapped your face raw and put the belt

      to its task,

      I touched you where you would remember,

      And I locked you in dark rooms never to come

      back to find you,

      I sent you to bed with no food and knocked you

      to the floor,

      I embarrassed you in front of your Friends,

      And called you names you would remember

      forever.

      I threatened you into fear and submission

      I ignored you and

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