Pipe Zen - A Thread Based in Appreciation

[LandonColby]

edward 40 hands! lol that game sucks lol! think it isnt that bad till you actually do it. I need to drink quick before it get s warm or im screwed!

We should all get together for a forum meet n greet but play that! To mix it up we have to clench a pipe the whole time.
...after 80 ounces of beer and a bowl of tobacco I think we'd all make friends rather quickly.

[mooster]

I think we'd all make sick rather quickly...

[Branzig]

I think we'd all make sick rather quickly...

Not me!

Take that as you will....

And if you judge, I've never stuck a tin in a crockpot before

[LandonColby]

I think we'd all make sick rather quickly...

Oh come on, Mark.. You'd have loads of fun, I promise!
and if you play your cards right I just might share some tasty old Red Rapparee with you...just maybe..

[mooster]

I've never stuck a tin in a crockpot before

I can do things sober that takes other men at least three beers to even think of doing...

[Chris0673]

My pipe zen is when I'm out on a trail, top down on the Jeep, just exploring. I love going places that the average Joe doesn't even know exist. Once the trail runs out I'll hike for a bit and just enjoy nature.

Aside from off-roading (don't hate guys, I'm a "Tread Lightly" guy and I don't sling mud) my other hobbies are reading and writing poetry (this occurs only when my "muse" strikes). I'll leave you guys with a couple samples, one from my time in Afghanistan and the one I just wrote yesterday. Note the differences:

Mortars, rockets all around,
Smoke and fire upon the ground.

Wild eyes and combat stress,
What I'd like is just to rest.

But up at dawn without a break,
A cup of coffee I must take.

A little time to settle down,
And puff this flakey leaf of brown.

Oasis for the weary soul,
Contained within this little bowl.

For a while the world is nice,
As I puff this piece of paradise.

Now I'm done but wanting more,
I go to face this place of war.

It waits for me while I must roam,
This pipe of mine and thoughts of home.




Chasing dreams across the night
No one here understands my plight.
Nine minutes more to close my eyes
I try to rest but it’s all just lies.

Memories that fade upon the clock
Plague my dreams while sleep they mock.
Eyes full of sand when eyelids grate
Upon the ringing of the clock I've grown to hate.

A drunken stumble toward the hall
When dreams escape the mind’s prison walls.
Imploring I grasp at threads of thought
To just remember why I’m so distraught.

Water plays upon my head
Washing away those thoughts of dread.
Soap and rag may cleanse the night
But weary eyes still know the sight.

My soul is tired, longs for relief
But every night I relive grief.
In my dreams I see them gathered
Bodies broken, torn, and battered.

I feel such guilt, feel so alone
For being the one to make it home.
My brain knows well these thoughts are wrong
But my heart still grieves for those that are gone.

“Time heals all wounds” the people say
But they weren't there for my darkest day.
They didn't send a friend to die
They didn't see fire in the sky.

“War is hell” I've heard them tout
But they weren't there when Hell came out.
They didn't hear a brother’s last breath
They didn't join in the dance of death.

A jagged night I've clearly spent.
My soul is raw and my mind is rent.
But I offer my prayer to the One who knows
The One who’s been there and received the blows.

Help me, Lord, to face this day
When all my thoughts are shades of gray.
Help me see the color of light
After such a long and sleepless night.

Take these thoughts of guilt and despair
And replace them with hope and warm, fresh, air.
It’s Winter now, in my soul
And I long for Spring to come take hold.

Thank you, God, for being right here
When, in my darkness, I cried out in fear.
You brought me home, you have a reason
That thought alone helps me through this season.

[Nature]

Wow! @Chris0673 Very beautiful; and yet haunting. Thanks for sharing.
Peace be with you.