By Miles Patrick Yohnke
© 2010 All Rights Reserved.
for Phyllis Gerein
We headed out, out we headed,
through an open window we heard the whine of tires on the pavement,
that sound of hot black tar asphalt beneath us.
Me,
driving two sisters,
my Aunt and my Mom,
searching for their innocence,
retracing their youth.
On back roads now,
four wheels on gravel roads,
from Landis, Handel, on to Leipzig,
in that province of Saskatchewan.
Dust flying, as we headed west,
it was the summer of '05.
I watched them revisit their youth once again.
Two sisters now in their seventies,
no signs of wrinkles, no signs of grey hair.
but for this day, back in their teens,
laughing and giggling,
like little schoolgirls would.
No signs of my aunt with her loss of a daughter,
twenty years earlier to a car accident.
No signs of a life to an abusive, alcoholic husband.
No signs of wiping away tears.
No signs. Just happiness.
For today they saw with brand new eyes.
Like when we went to the second generation
Chinese restaurant where we stopped at to eat.
And there we ate hope.
I would witness a special kind of freedom maybe only sisters could enjoy.
That ethereal freedom to share one's innermost thoughts,
to be there no matter what, whatever was going on.
I heard enchanting stories from their childhoods.
What a privilege for me!
My aunt wore a smile on her face that day,
In spite of all the events of her life.
She always had a smile for another,
No signs of her trouble, for it was no trouble to help another.
There are some who drift in and out through the plains of doubt.
She met despair and defeat with grace.
With the grace of God.
She would die the following spring.
To the same disease that took her first child,
forty years earlier.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Subject: Remembering Phyllis Gerein and Robert Genn
Release Date: May 3, 2024
"The world is full of paper. Write to me."
- Agha Shahid Ali
Tomorrow, Saturday May 4th, will mark eighteen years since my dear aunt Phyllis Gerein went to be with our Heavenly Creator. Monday, May 27th, will mark ten years since painter Robert Genn went to be with our Heavenly Creator.
In 2011 Robert Genn wrote something so beautiful for my dear Aunt's poem that I wrote in 2010 to pay homage to her. Below is what he wrote for it and wrote for my life. I hope you enjoy!
"Cancer" by Miles Patrick Yohnke is a poignant and evocative piece that delves into…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Subject: Remembering You
Release Date: Aug. 31, 2023
"We're all just walking each other home."
- Ram Dass
Today, four years ago, my 87-year-old Mother took her last breath. This press release is all about releasing every single breath in a positive manner. It's about pressing on. I have curated a series of materials in which my mother is mentioned. But she is just the vehicle so you can remember yourself; so, we can make you be the best you. Please don't feel that you need to read every single article now. Take your time. Take a breath. Come back to it. Come back to it again and again. I assure you; you'll be profoundly better for…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Subject: Remembering You
Release Date: Aug. 31, 2022
"We're all just walking each other home."
- Ram Dass
Today, three years ago, my 87-year-old Mother took her last breath. This press release is all about releasing every single breath in a positive manner. It's about pressing on. I have curated a series of materials in which my mother is mentioned. But she is just the vehicle so you can remember yourself; so we can make you be the best you. Please don't feel that you need to read every single article now. Take your time. Take a breath. Come back to it. Come back to it again and again. I assure you, you'll be profoundly better for…