Be the Spark

Today was a day of sunshine after a very long, long winter!

As I let the sun warm my face I was reminded of the warmth and spark of light that many have given to my life.

I grew up the youngest of a family of seven, four older brothers and a hardworking father and mother. We always had enough, just no frills, no extras when it came to material wealth, but we were rich in other ways.

I was blessed with a mother who taught me justice and to always "do the right thing," a father who had a heart of gold and loved me unconditionally, a grandfather who encouraged a young child to read sitting on his lap, praised her awkward retelling of poetry found in his seasonal "Ideals" poetry magazines and was always up for my "why?" questions that are so unanswerable at age 6.

I was also very fortunate to have a grandmother for seven years of my life that gave me my love of gardening and gentle way of appreciating life.

One of the strongest sparks in my life came from my aunt who never married, never had children of her own, but instilled in me the "Yes, you can!" attitude in my life.

I always told her I was so fortunate she was there for me, for without her I would not be who I am today.

Look around and you will find those that were your "spark" and then think about how YOU can do the same for others; it really does matter.

The Spark

"Get the matches -- I'll carry the cans!"

Following my Aunt Eva

Down that narrow path

The day's last glimmer

Fading behind

Grandpa's aging barn

My small feet kept double-time

Hands holding tight

To her dusty brown coat

Ahead the soot-filled pit waited

Strange black mounds

Of unknown

Crouched low on one knee

Her strong hand

On my tiny shoulder

"Here, you do it --

It's time you learned

You -- light the fire"

Fire that loosed

A thousand captive tongues --

Tongues that licked and hissed

Danced over collapsing paper houses

Burned down the walls

Sending sparks high into the night sky

Donna is president and founder of the Carnegie Heritage & Arts Center of Greene County. She can be reached at mcklues@gmail.com .