Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Health’

"My Beloved Survivor" copyright 2009 (Possible PG13 rating) John J. Rigo, upcoming book, "Passion Amidst Apathy"

Posted in My Wife with Courage to Overcome Cancer, Overcoming Breast Cancer Twice, Poetry, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on March 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Courtesy of Hubpages.com

 
She stood naked before me in the bathroom.
Before me I can see her beauty
amidst the scars of her two battles.
 
Breast cancer
twice in a ten year period.
 
Her left breast was twisted almost inward.
The scar under her arm pit made her nipple
bend inward toward her chest wall.
 
Upon her right breast the burn was clearly seen.
It was where six weeks of radiation were done
in one week. 
 
The right side was caved inward in this area of burn.
Her nipple stood straight high and proud on this breast. 
This was the breast that the doctor suggested
that she also have chemo due to her second bout.
 
Her hair had long grown back from this terror
of a heart-wrenching attack on her entire body.
 
As she smiled at me
and kissed the top of my head.
 
I thanked my Lord
for putting this beautiful
and strong woman
in my life.   

Read Full Post »

"There Was a Certain Grace" copyright 2005 John J. Rigo "Roses Amidst Thorns"

Posted in A Poem Dedicated to a Prior Friend, Curse not me for thy will become Cursed, Selection from "Roses Amidst Thorns" published in 2005, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

 
Courtesy of kelihasablog.wordpress.com

Courtesy of kelihasablog.wordpress.com

There was a certain grace to the look of him facing death.
He did not seem to have succumbed to the idea of dying.
He stood tall and proud with a direct look into your eyes.
His bearing, his eyes, said many things.
 
His eyes said he had lived a life of honor
and without shame
as to who
and what he was
as a person.
 
If he was guilty of any deep emotion
it was to have loved too much.
He had loved many in his life
giving all he had to give
to each relationship
without a reserve held.
He was always the one hurt
the deepest in the leaving.
 
If you ever knew him
you would never forget him
whether for a few minutes or several years
in the sharing part of a day with him.
 
He lived as a man
protecting the ones he loved.
He loved in the best of circumstances.
He loved in the worst of circumstances.
 
I am glad I got to know him on a personal level.
There were days of doubt in knowing this person.
“Yes” as one said about him in a dissenting way
“He always came out smelling like a rose.”
 You ask, “How did I know this man so well?”
It was easy knowing him
for you see
he was me. 
 

Read Full Post »

"Yea Through the Grace of God Go I" copyright 2005 John J. Rigo "Roses Amidst Thorns"

Posted in Battling after Holidays Depression, Overcoming Depression, Poetry, Selection from "Roses Amidst Thorns" published in 2005, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »

 
I have been where you are
a hell of loneliness and despair.
Had I created this place in my past
as you are now
where I was once?
 
I ask myself what pains cross your mind
as this day of many comes to you?
Do you hunger?
Are you without sleep?
 
The night only brings fear for your life.
Are you without anyone who cares
where you are this day?
Are you missed?
 
I too have been where you are.
From ashes of the mind did thou raise me
from a pit of worldly hell.
 
It was not my talents of mind
nor spirit that lead me from this dark world.
It was my prayers.
 
You never failed to hear me
when I cried out to you.
When I tried to end this life
you spoke gently to me
asking me to be patient
and wait one more day.
 
One day lead to another.
Finally the sun began to shine again
in your blessings and your love for me.
 
Thank you Lord
for giving hope to the hopeless
as you gave to me.
 
Thank you Lord
for loving me when I was without love.
Yea Lord without your grace
would I now be lost.  
 
 

Read Full Post »

“The Shadows of The Dark” copyright 2012 John J. Rigo, a poem about overcoming Depression, upcoming book, “Passion Amidst Apathy”

Posted in Poems, Winning the Fight Against Depression, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »

 

Courtesy of copingwithdepressioncenter.com

 
 
 
I have fought this battle before….. I lost.
It starts with those that are closest to us.
They remind us of our shortcomings
rather than our victories in life.
 
We fight but seem not to overcome
the weight that falls upon our spirit.
We cannot find anyone to reach out to.
 
Those that we thought cared about us or loved us
really are not sincere in their hearts.
We no longer live under illusions.
 
We feel that our life is over.
Our very breathing becomes heavy
the weight upon our lungs for air becomes heavier.
The battle for light begins.
 
We must reach again for the strength of our Lord.
We must armour ourselves.
Before us lays the battlefield.
Prepare for the good fight.

Read Full Post »

“The Joy and Courage to Overcome Pain” copyright 2013 John J. Rigo, upcoming poetry book, “Passion Amidst Apathy”

Posted in Overcoming Pain in One's Life a poem by John J. Rigo, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 31, 2013| 2 Comments »

 
 
Author unknown. Courtesy of Google Image search.

Author unknown. Courtesy of Google Image search.

I deal with extreme pain each day.
I use to curse the pain
I no longer do
but rejoice
in overcoming it.
 
The pain comes from a fall
over eleven years ago
a fifteen foot fall from a ladder
into concrete
while trimming a tree.
 
The results were
a fracture in my spinal bone
three disks in my back crushed.
 
Each waking hour
of every day
is filled with constant pain
many times
to a point of agony.
 
The pain follows me
to bed at night
ever relentless
constantly disturbing
my sleep. 
 
Each morning as I awake
I rejoice in a new day
to the joy of my Lord‘s creations
and His Love for me.
 
This body but a temporary home
of the Loving spirit that my God
has created for me.
 
My thoughts each morning
turn to the Crucifixtion of my Lord.
Surely the total pain
I have felt these eleven years
would never equal the agony
He suffered in just
one day. 
 
Thank you
my Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ
for the blessings of this day.
 
I know now
a place awaits
for me with You
in eternity. 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

Read Full Post »

"Friends of a Lifetime" copyright 2005 John J. Rigo "Rainbows Amidst Storms"

Posted in "Rainbows Amidst Storms" Second Published Book, Friends of a Lifetime by John J. Rigo, tagged , , , , , , , on December 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »

 
 
 
 
With the passing of time
I have come to realize that there are truly
spaces that are never filled
by the loss of friends who were very personal
to my mind and heart.
 
Through the years
do the memories of Cliff and Tom
constantly come to my mind.
Never are they dead in my heart.
 
I see each of them
special in their concern for me
as the friends they were to me
and yes the love they rendered to me.
 
Have they been replaced in the void left by their absence?
No one has accomplished that.
Cliff was the short, large man from the deep South
always with a tale of lesson and advice not wanted
but when given
seemed well placed.
 
He spoke of home and craw-fish
his Mother and his victories in life
never of his losses.
 
You knew he was special
a special person to know.
The same stories he related never got old
just deeper in meaning.
 
The straight-laced
IBM type of guy was Tom.
He seemed to have found victories too early in his life
burning, dying as a shooting star.
 
An anger was present about him that could never be explained.
Tom loved a good meal and good drinks.
Save the waiter or waitress who spoke too much while serving!
He was there to savor the moment
should it be his last.
 
As Tom’s life was coming to an end
he maintained his pride to the last minute in a VA hospital
wearing a blue blazer that no longer fit;
no one cared about his past.
 
I miss Tom’s advice to me,
his laughter at my watch
that he thought was such a great sales job
because I had to push a button
to tell time.
 
His loud laughter rang in the night
raising high his special drink
to wish me and all
the best of life.
 
I miss both of these men.
They were the special friends of a lifetime
never to be replaced.
 
They are in my heart each day
with the warmest of love to my dearest friends
Cliff and Tom.
 
Whenever you both may be
in the great wonder of it all
I am one person
who misses you both
oh……….. ever so much.
 

Read Full Post »

"Hugs" copyright 2009 John J. Rigo (Revised) upcoming book "Passion Amidst Apathy"

Posted in Christmas Hugs A Poem about Hugs by John J. Rigo, Poetry, Texas' Poetry, upcoming book "Passion Amidst Apathy", tagged , , , , , , , on December 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »

 
 
There is something wonderous about a hug.
It is a way of saying,”you are special to me.”
A step beyond the boundries of formal convention.
 
The assurance of a heart touching a heart.
A touch of comfort to calm a grieving heart.  
A cheek touching a cheek
with a kiss of greeting.
 
Whether a man to man
or woman to woman
or man to woman
or woman to man
there are no limits to showing
our love for another.
 
We are all souls in His creation
with an eternal bond between us all.
The hug is the sign of our sisterhood and brotherhood.
 
Let it not become forgotten in your life
it is precious honey to the wounds of this life
forever giving
forever loving
in the wonder of love
to us all.
 
 

Read Full Post »

“Great Thoughts” copyright 2012 John J. Rigo, upcoming poetry book, “Passion Amidst Apathy”

Posted in "Great Thoughts" a new poem by McKinney Texas' poet John J. Rigo, tagged , , , , , , , on December 6, 2013| 5 Comments »

Picture Courtesy of “The Thinker” by Rodin in Paris

 
 
There are moments in my life
that I know that I am
at the edge of great thoughts.
 
A sentence
a phrase
that when read
would change the world.
 
Has hard as I push
I cannot find those words
they seem immediately lost to me.
 
Yet those moments of what can be
great revelation to share with others
seems so important to capture and share.
 
It is always after this time
of reaching so deeply within myself
that these three sentences keep playing in my mind.
 
He knows your pain.
He loves you.
He will be with you 
forever.

Read Full Post »

"I Have Never Gotten Comfortable With Death" (Revised) copyright 2009 John J. Rigo, upcoming book "Passion Amidst Apathy"

Posted in A Poem About Facing Death by John J. Rigo, upcoming book "Passion Amidst Apathy", tagged , , , , , , , on November 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

  
"We need each other on a human level of communication." comment by John J. Rigo, Texas' Commentator

“We need each other on a human level of communication.” comment by John J. Rigo, Texas’ Commentator

My mind still does not accept they are gone from this world.
I find myself many a time reaching for a phone
to call them.
 
It is a select group
these souls that were a part of my life.
Some are friends
that cannot ever be replaced
in the deep meaning of their unselfish love of me.
 
Others were my parents
who I never really knew as people.
There was the apple of my eye,
my step-daughter of many years.
Truly the only daughter
I ever knew in my life.
 
There were others
that I would have liked to have known better
they are now gone
without any notice from my life.
 
At times I find them in my thoughts
mind speaking with them about different things
reaching and seeking unresponsive council  from now
an unfamilar place in my heart.
 
I know they are not really gone
they are just in a different place than me
a place that beckons me as my own death comes closer each day.
 
You see I never have gotten comfortable with Death.
So my dear friends
my dearest of loved ones
make a place for me.
 
A place where again
we can laugh and love
and talk about
all that is around us
each day of the eternity before us.
 

Read Full Post »

“The Country is Lost” copyright 2013 John J. Rigo, Texas’ Commentator

Posted in "The Country is Lost" by John J. Rigo, tagged , , , , , , , on November 19, 2013| Leave a Comment »

 

A Commentary by John J. Rigo Picture courtesy of google image search author unknown

A Commentary by John J. Rigo
Picture courtesy of google image search
author unknown

The following message was sent early this morning to the head of a well known national Resistance Movement in the United States.  In sharing this short e-mail with you the reader, it is my hope and prayer that the young people of this country will be able to take up the banner of freedom that so many have fought and died for over almost two centuries.  That time has passed for me, a 71 year old man with an aging body, who clings to the few last years he may have: 

“What I am grappling with this morning is knowing by entering this arena I will be giving up the lives of both my wife and I.  I fear with a sense of shame and forebearing, I lack the courage to do that.  It seems to me that evil has truly won in taking our country of freedoms from every last one of us.  I truly fear we are now lost without any hope of saving our country.”

John J. Rigo, Texas’ Poet and Commentator  

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »