Dear Daddy,
you found out mommy was pregnant. you told her how happy you was and how you would always be there. you said that you was excited and loved us both, you said you couldn’t wait until you finally got to meet me.
i can’t wait to meet you either Daddy!

Dear Daddy,
i heard mommy crying and really upset.
she said something about another women.
she said she hated you.
but don’t worry I’m still here
i can’t wait to meet you Daddy!

Dear Daddy,
i was just born, you gave my soul a look that said you would always be there
you helped mommy give me a name!
Mollee Ann Langemkamp
wow today was great.
I finally got to meet you Daddy!

Dear daddy,
im a day old and you already are mad at mommy infront of me.
i can’t see you but i can hear your anger.. i can feel your anger
Mommy gave me a have a new name
Mollee Ann Nelson
I guess we will have to meet again Daddy!

Dear Daddy,
i can remember you and mommy fighting over me.
you dragged her down the driveway while she was in the car.
my brother drove after us.
he wanted to **** you
your lucky i looked over my shoulder to stop him.
Because if i didn't.. then Bubby said you would have met god...

Dear Daddy,
its christmas and boy am i excited.
I’m five and begged Mommy for this new dress.
i hope you come this time.
this time i have a good feeling.
maybe ill get to see you and meet your new girlfriend!

Dear Daddy,
its christmas again.
I’m six.
you called.
but you didn’t show.

Dear Dad,
you have been missing a lot of visits
i don’t know why
i cry a lot over you
why aren’t you here..
Did i do something dad..

dear dad,
im 10.
you called mommy asking why she was trying to put you in jail.
you got mad so you ended the call
you called back
i think it was the first time i heard your voice in almost a year.
the first words you said to me were “hey brat how old are you now?”
brat.. rung in my ears..

Dear Chris,
i haven’t heard from in you in two years.
im 12
you fought to get custody of me
the judge didn’t allow it but he let you visit
five hours max
i cancelled a lot
so did you

Dear Chris,
its been four years
i can barely remember what you sound like

dear ***** donor,
you contacted me the morning of my 18th birthday
i went off
you tried to make me feel bad
i didn’t give a ****

I was given someone who decided they would no longer care. They would bail out before i could correctly form words into sentences. I was given a father who as barely even a stranger in my life.
But i was also given a brother who made my life much different..

dear Bubby,
You found out mom was pregnant.
Boy was that a shocker huh, 20 years apart from you will be fun!!!!
I can't wait to meet you!

Dear Bubby,
You was there to help mom when she was crying about Daddy and a woman.
Wow i can tell your going to be a great brother!
I can't wait to meet you!

Dear Bubby,
You was there when i was born.
you were so excited to meet me.
You told mom she was making a mistake by letting me take my fathers last name.
You and him meet with a lady to fix the problem.

Dear Bubby,
Mollee Ann Nelson
Our last name
Wow Bubby i think its so cool you helped mom
Its like meeting a whole new me

Dear Bubby,
Mom fell out of the car when Daddy was backing out of the drive way.
You were really mad.
You told Daddy he was going to meet god.

Dear Bubby,
I know you want me to spend christmas with our family but Its Daddys turn to have me.
Boy am i excited
Im five and i begged mommy for that new velvet dress you like so much.
I have a good feeling Daddy will come this time.
Im supposed to meet his girlfriend but you seem unamused.

Dear Bubby,
Its christmas again.
Im six and you cuddle me while i sob because daddy didn't show...again
You called saying i would have a new sister to meet.. Thats a good gift i guess..

Dear Bubby,
Every visit he missed you were there..
You held me close and told me it wasn't my fault..
You knew he was braking my heart
You knew you would meet a different person.

Dear Bubby,
Do you remember how angry i was when he hung up.
When i questioned why he didn't want to talk to me?
But don't worry he called me back.
He didn't even remember how old i was..
Its like we were meeting at a reunion..

Dear Bubby,
We were both confused when he tried to get custody of me back.
We laughed and the judge must have too.
He was allowed five hours max
I cancelled on you because i was in power to do so.
Your meets will have to wait

Dear Bubby,
I don't remember what he even sounds like..
Do you?

Dear Bubby,
I remember how happy you were for me when i was finally able to tell my ***** donor how i felt about him.
To bad it had to wait until i was 18 huh!

He has one eye missing
And a patchwork ****.
I tell everybody he’s winking,
That he has one eye shut.
He’s lost a lot of hair
And he no longer sits up
Like he used to before.
But whenever I see him
I am never in doubt
He is still the bear I adore.

Bubby Bear is a very good bear
The best friend there ever could be.
He sleeps by my side every night
And Bubby never argues with me.

When things get too scary
Or out of control I go and
Grab up Bubby and hold him.
He’s always warm and he’s
Sympathetic, and so I never
Feel the need to scold him.
I can always talk to him
And explain things out
Because he is so very patient.
I think it is because he
Is such a very wise bear
And always there waiting.

Bubby Bear is the finest bear
He always right beside me.
I don’t have to worry that he
He might want to abandon me.

Some people like to tease me
About the way Bubby looks
And make fun of his condition.
But they have to admit to me
They don’t have a friend who gives
One hundred percent permission,
And never gets tired of them
Or tattles their confidences
Or gets bored with what they say.
That’s why Bubby is my best friend
Always was, always will be
All night long and every single day.

Bubby Bear is a very good bear
He puts up with my every whim.
I feel sorry for anyone who
Doesn’t have a friend like him.

Imagine this centered: And lunch with Kirk and Uncle Bubby

Even the birds are staying home today
Those flocks and flights whose accustomed spirals
Make animate the skies are grounded by frost
And leave the waters of the marsh in peace

Young men uniformed in Nomex 1 and beards
Spiral into Hollier’s Cajun Kitchen
From the barges and the maintenance shops,
Cracking units, pipelines and hotshot rigs

They are smart, tough, and strong; they fuel the world
And pose for pictures with the concrete pig 2


1 Nomex is a flame-resistant material developed by DuPont and is worn by workers in many industries, especially petro-chemicals.  The man or woman in Nomex keeps our cars, our lights, and our lives functioning.

2 There are in fact two concrete pigs outside Hollier’s (pronounced “O-Yays,” says Uncle Bubby).

It promised to be quite ordinary,
that old student/new student/faculty social hour.

I had come to Champaign with high hopes a year earlier,
starting a new career (--and hoping to find someone to love).
Now, with just three months left,
my studies had been a success,
but I had not found anyone to love.
And now I was thinking beyond Champaign:
where I would go, what I would do with my new degree.

I scanned the faces in the crowd.
Mixed in with all-too-familiar classmates and teachers were new people:
A formidable, blonde-haired woman
with a big voice and a large imitation pearl necklace;
no meek, retiring librarian here; a Valkyrie.
A guy with wire-rimmed glasses in his early twenties;
congenial, but serious; he had studied engineering.
A girl; stylish, extroverted;
loved Faulkner; engaged to be married.
A sensitive, thirty-ish woman; recently divorced;
her ex had stuck her with a mountain of credit card debt.
And you, in a pink dress.
No jewelry, not much makeup.
Nice figure.
Very simple, very pretty.
A wonderful smile.
Obviously bright.
You had gone here as an undergraduate.
You had taught school in Iowa for several years
and now were back to get a Library degree.
You had grown up on a farm.
You were eminently lovable.
You were, amazingly, unmarried.

I felt that I was at an art exhibition in nineteenth century France.
Here was Raffaelli's "Boulevard of the Italians"
which had sold for 500 francs.
Over here Lecomte de Nouy's "Ramses in His Harem"
which had brought 1900.
And over here in the corner, neglected,
Van Gogh's, "The Artist's Room at Arles".
I felt like shouting,
"My friends, can't you see the beauty of this painting:
its simplicity and purity, its energy; the symphony of its colors!
You have opted for these smooth, conventional paintings
and left this one, the most valuable of all, unsold. . . ."

I felt like hugging you, right then and there.

You were number two or three on my all-time "instant attraction" list.
But I was wary -- so many others had not worked out, why would you?

Our first date was a "Streetcar Named Desire".
I put my arm around you during the play and held your hand as we walked back    toward your apartment.
I invited you to "Bubby and Zadie's" cafe. You refused and offered no alternative.
I was devastated. So this, too, would come to nothing.
We would walk the three blocks back to your apartment.  We would say    goodnight.
I would go home and cry. That would be that.

But when we arrived, my hopes soared: you invited me up to your apartment. You really just didn't like Bubby and Zadie's -- and you liked and trusted me well enough that the intimacy of your apartment didn't seem inappropriate. We talked for a long time and kissed. When I left, all traces of wariness were gone. The coming weeks would not be ordinary.

Bubby, all I needed was  you to take me away
You disappeared without me,
It's been two years since you left
You have your own family now

Two gorgeous daughters, and I wish they new me

My heart is coming through my chest, I don't think I'll have one soon

Bubby, all I wanted was to see you one more time
You didn't care though
Remember the day you told me to jump again? You said I was nothing

And im starting to feel that way.

Genderless with scraped knees and
A lipstick crush on one who bore the same name as me
Uncut brown hair untouched by bleach and
Stealing kisses from my best friend while my parents lied asleep
Lying in the grass with a picture book on faeries
Listening to the wind whistle through our dying trees
Jumping on the bed with my ***** and my bubby
Giggling hand over mouth when my mother called him "hubby"
Daisy chains and he loves me nots
Unbrushed teeth beginning to rot
***** shoes and ***** shoelaces
Visiting imagined places
Pink striped socks and a skirt to mismatch
Waiting for robins eggs to fall or to hatch

O, to be a child and to live within a dream
To lie awake at ten past eight, imagination like a stream

He was a beautiful person.
The room lit up when he entered it.
He was a beautiful person.
My world got darker when he left it.

when i was born,
you cried to our grandmother
because you wanted a brother
and got stuck with me, instead.
and what a turn of events that became.

when i was a baby,
i busted the back of your teeth out
with a bottle of perfume,
most likely contributing to your
repetitive dreams of your teeth falling out.
sometimes i think of this when you say your "th"s.

when i was a child,
you would pick peppers with our dad
down the street and hold eating competitions
while i squashed berries in my little tyke car.
we played mouse trap on the floor.

when i completed my first decade of life,
you packed your bags, got on a bus,
got married, and were deployed for the first time.
i don't remember much of those days.
i only remember the first phone call,
"yours truly, from iraq."

when i was eleven,
you came home, war torn and ragged
and divorced from an army wife
who was never really a wife at all.
you moved on, in some ways
more than others.
you were different, changed.

when i became a preteen,
i met a girl, and looked at our mom
and i said, "he's going to marry that girl."
and marry her, you did,
and had your first child, too.

when i was a teenager,
you taught me important life lessons
like how i act when i'm drunk
and how to do sake bombs like i belong in asia.
you taught me to eat with chopsticks.
through babysitting, i learned to wait to have a child.

and now, at twenty years old, everything is different.
living down the street from me, then in the old house,
and finally in our mom's house with me,
the dynamics changed.

we became the best friends we'd
always tried to be, but were too distant
to maintain. we gained trust and inside jokes.
you finally gave approval of my boyfriend.
we wreaked havoc and stayed up way too late.

but then you moved five hundred miles away,
and every day my heart feels ripped into pieces.
i miss all the jokes, and you waking me up
to our favorite songs.
i miss my brother. i miss my bubby.
i hope one day one of us will go home.

I woke up this morning, and no I am not singing a blues song....
There is something big and white in a small room
I had a torrid few minutes trying to recall...
re-fri-ger-a-tor
a step forward
ouch! My kneecap hurts, not fun.
I learnt the refrigerator although white
is not as soft as a pillow or a cloud
I managed to make the room safe
by pushing the refrigerator
out of the window.
Whoops.....sorreee!
there is something under it outside, round and red
a volley ball is round and red
but this round thing is gurgling
and very red indeed
except for the things like lips that are going bluey-grey
Wow the world is fun with severe memory loss
and a laissez-faire attitude to exploring things.
Bubby, my neighbor gave me a present
it is heavy, has a handle and a little lever on the side
safe......fire.....safe....fire......
It fits in my mouth, I wonder if ..
BANG!!....

i read your poems, but i can't read you.
what's the point?

other boys, they call me pretty-
well,
sometimes they do.
but still,
other boys, they touch my hand,
they like my hair,
they think i'm funny.
but they're not you,
and that rips me up.

the boy who once said i'm not his type
doesn't think
you are good
for me.
but
he doesn't know you.
he doesn't know
your pretty
folded
inside out
folded
right side out,
folded
into the pit
of my stomach, giving me butterflies.
oh, my god, i think this is what love feels like
when you’re stuck on the rewind
of a cassette tape,
because the player
doesn’t auto-stop,
and you don't feel like getting up,
so the tape snaps or tangles or knots.
either way it can’t be the same ******* song,
it sounds too different to be.
warbled.

but the beat is the same.
it starts off slow then speeds up
as the eyes get bluer
and her cheeks get warmer.
tha. thump. tha. thump.
tha thump. tha thump.
thathumpthathumpthathump.

if you love me, baby, just say so.
because i’m so brand new,
i’m so full of darkness.
you’re so ruggedly smooth,
so full of lightning.
i’m so brand new,
that i can’t read you like your poems.
i’m so full of darkness,
that i can’t feel loved anymore.
but, baby, baby, bubby.
i could love you like a poem.

i’ll be the body electric.
(i love as hard as a whitman)
i’ll be the master, the dream, the fool.
(i love as illogically as a kipling)
i’ll be immortal.
(i’ll love as sweetly as a dickinson)
i’ll be everything
you’ve ever read about and wanted,
if you’d just come clean.

so if you love me
if you love me
come clean.

Your leaving. Your going. Going to serve your country. Going to serve the Red, White, and Blue. My brother i love you. Don't leave me. You have been there for me through everything. Grandmas death, moms breakdown, soccer tryouts. Everything. You've been there for me since I was born. I will miss you. I don't know what I'd do if something ever happened to you. I watch the videos on Youtube of those soldiers coming home and surprising their families.. I don't want to be that little sister that hasn't seen her brother in two or three years and he just shows up during her school day in front of everyone or that girl that think her big brother that was always there cant be at her graduation. I wanna know your safe and nothing will happen to you. If I freaked about your motorcycle accident what makes you think I could go two or three years at a time without you and without knowing you WILL come back. I miss you already. Don't leave me. Please. I can't take this world anymore. they tell me you will be okay and that you will be fine and nothing will happen. I don't believe them. How do they know you'll be okay.. How do you know..? Stay. Friend. Best friend. I love you bubby. Don't join up... Please...

Its raining baby outside
umbrellas wont help you
nor will your tears
surely not your fears

baby girl pack your bags
not more than a single memory
okay just maybe 2
flashlights baby get them too

the wind is mad
its fighting you
don't fight back
just hide yourself

The oceans are marching
with armies of wind
but nations of faith
stand up still

charge up baby
yourself and phones too
stay calm baby
God heard yours and mine too

crackers and cookies
keep them too
mummy and bubby
hug them too

Whistles and voices
Save them too
Keep speaking
Let me hear your noise

Storms may be loud
And oceans may be sound
But none can bring you down
For hope you prevail

This will all pass
I promise you that
like me and you
hurricanes die too

lost in the world, losing myself.
the first thought of you didn't help.
what will i teach her?
don't even know myself.
what will i give to her?
will my love be enough for her?

the reality of you came quick,
but reality forgot to kick in.

dealing with the world,
dealing with myself, as well
i found heaven in your eyes,
you brought heaven to this hell.
i take care of me so that i am able to take care of you.
i value me because you see the value in me.
i love me because you love me.
and i love you. i will always love you.
and because i love you,
i will treat you with care and affection.
i will speak positive over everything that you are.
you are kept & all your days will be full of complete bliss.
you will never grow weary,
you will not be mislead or insane
nor will you be torn down & content.
you will rise, always.

you saved me & i owe you my life, my love.

i owe you a life of meaning
full of peace, love & happiness.
i owe you wisdom & understanding.

bubby, i cant imagine a life outside of you.
my sanity relies on you.
my peace of mind and pieces of my life requires you.
thank you for showing me how true love feels.
how true love is.
thank you for keeping me,
without you i wouldn't know how to keep me.

my entire existence lives off of yours.
im just basically trying to say that you are my world,
and without you i would be lost.
i would not know how to love,
i would not know that there is love.
you are love & you are the most beautiful being i have ever laid eyes on.
the way you're so passionate about everything,
the way you are so challenging, and the way it annoys me but i wouldn't want to have it any other way.
you are so unique,
so full of energies that make others feel.
feelings of warmth and feelings of light.
never let the strains of the world take away all that you are.
please, don't allow it to make you hard.
stay soft & stay true
stay you.

i am here, i am there, i am everywhere.
i never leave you.
i am in the stars.
i am where you need me,
i am everywhere you are.
my promise to you,
to keep you.
to grow you.
to be a light to shine upon you.
to protect you,
to be true to you.
to be there for you,
when you rebel, and that you will..
i will hold my peace because i know.
and because i know me, i will know you.
and because i know you i know that the world can be trying,
but all that matters is your happiness and your peace of mind.
i know that we have to stay pure, and treat ourselves and others alike
; with kindness, care and genuine love.
we have to stay positive, and always see light in the darkest of things.
  because, if you can make it through the night there is always a brighter day.

love, mom.

This is a poem I wrote for Fr. Raph’s 90th birthday this spring. Last night - 29 October 2020 - he died truly in the fullness of years, in the prayerful company of his brothers at the Abbey, and so I re-send this as my poor valedictory for him on his happiest birthday of all:

                           Father Raphael Barousse, OSB

                    Abbey St. Joseph, Covington, Louisiana

             Monk, Missionary, Muleskinner, Writer, Teacher,
                           Scholar, Raconteur, Uncle Bubby,

                                                      Friend


­                       To God, Who Gives Joy to Our Youth

                  For Reverend Raphael Barousse, OSB

                 Father Raph - Uncle Bubby - on His Birthday


                                      Introibo ad altare Dei

                    Ad Deum qui laetificat juvenitutem meam


You look into the mirror and ask yourself
“Who is that old man staring back at me?”
Your friends tell you you’re lookin’ good - for your age
And your uncooperative body in protest creaks

But you and all of them are wrong because

You still approach the Altar as a child
As you once were, and are, and will be forever
For God will have it so, will have you so -
Enchanted by His magic - a little boy

A little boy in Sunday shoes and shirt
Who hears his Mama whispering to him, “Don’t squirm!”
As the Mass hums through a summer morning
Until that moment when you encounter Him:

The universe spirals through its sunlit dance
Creation spins around, in, and down
Eternity circles the paten and cup

Miraculum

Eternity circles the paten and cup
Around and out and up, Creation spins
Through its sunlit dance the universe spirals

And only little children understand that
And only little children are invited
And so God gives joy to your forever-youth
And your forever-youth gives joy to God

You hurt me bad, mommy
I thought you would never know
When you cut your wrist, mommy
I did not wwant to let you go
Mommy, why did you do this
You know I love you so
When you hurt *****, mommy
You hurt me to
Bubby ran away, mommy
He couldn't stand the pain
So many things
You never took the blame
You took it out on them
When things didn't go your way
I had to be there
I just wnanted to stop their pain
I missed out on so much
Things I can not get back
For what you put us through
It hurt to love you
To see you drunk
Having men in bed
Not to know my father
Thinking hurt my head
The lies you told
I still hear today
What hurts the most
Your voice is not there to stay
Actions speak louder then words
Yours speaks loud and clear
I'm ok now, mommy
I forgave all those things
Taking care of you
Not a chore, but a full time job
You didn't see my tears
You never felt my fears
When I cried at night
You wouldn't open your eyes
Took care of myself
You never knew the pain I felt
I'm sick of feeling this way
There's nothing you can say
Somethings seperating us
You can't make it better or ok
I was the mom
You were the child

I read my poems to you and you got mad.
Why?
Do you not like the truth?
It’s just my life as youth.

Maybe you know how I feel just you don’t want to agree, only want to deny.
Why?
The truth was only a sliver told.
The rest should naturally unfold.

Did you not like what I said about you and mommy?
Why?
You didn’t tell her you loved her. Right?
Your madness was just your hidden fright.

How about my story of neglect? You like when inside I cry.
Why?
Do you love me?
Mommy would tell me she loved me. Right?

Bubby read my poem. He felt what I felt.
Why?
Because he cares for me.
Please, listen to me.

You always wonder why I don’t tell you what I feel.
Don’t ask why, Daddy. I will freely answer:

Your lack of understanding;       {I’m mature and responsible}

Your forceful demanding;               {I won’t tell you.}

Your pessimist girlfriend;                               {Why does she do that?}

Your prejudice and judgements;     {I’m pansexual...}

You don’t know me, Daddy.       *{Leave me alone!}

I don’t pick someone and wish to be a part of them
Not like I am right now with him
I don’t usually find someone who stands out in such a
Overwhelming way, in a way I feel so sure about.
But he makes me love me, and love who he is
But I found out what I thought I was prepared for
And the worst was a little bit
Satisfying in the strangest way
She is one of my very closest friends
She is bubby, beautiful and bright
And I love to be in the light she cast upon the world
She glides, hides from nothing and is fearless
And he likes her.
If I were a boy I would too
Just like I like you
But I’m transparent in a way
You see right through me
And although it makes me sad you don’t see
A light in me
You see the same light I see in her
And if you are so blind or you feel my light isn’t right
Maybe I should step back from yours
What is funny is we are so similar
How could I love and appreciate you
Without loving parts of myself?
But I understand
She is great
Love to love, love to hate
Life is such a funny thing

So Bubby said that on graduation night
He and Jamby was gonna leave the gym
Toss their rented caps and gowns to some friends
Rev up their Harleys, and leave forever

This little town, where nothin’ ever happens

They had made their plans, you see, real good plans
They’d pack what they needed in their saddle bags
And thunder night and day to Florida
Because there was good jobs waitin’ in Florida

Away from this town, where nothin’ ever happens

They wasn’t gonna stop except for gas
Gas and eats and beer and the American road!

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

They wasn’t gonna really stop until
Their front wheels touched the cold Atlantic

Not like in this town, where nothin’ ever happens

But they didn’t.  

                                     And next year Bubba rolled
His pickup on that curve next to the school

This little town, where nothin’ ever happens

What is Consciousness?
The spirit as our inmost part is the inner *****, possessing God-consciousness, that we may contact God
The soul is our very self a medium between our spirit and our body, possessing self-consciousness, that we may have our personality
The body as our external part is the outer *****, possessing world-consciousness, that we may contact the material world

All around I look and I see hardened hearts
Though that’s what you told us not to do.
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion”
Down another bottle of anti depressants to make you feel stable tonight
Eat another plate of dinner to make you feel full, satisfied
Smoke one more joint to give you peace
Just one more drink to help you sleep, keep the demons away
Spend your money on one more shirt, you know, shopping therapy
And yet, still empty, hopeless

I know if I flip the switch I can experience the beauty but I feel the weight of the sufferings of this world on top of my shoulders
Loved ones passing away,
Children sick and dying,
****,
Torturing of the mind,
It holds me down, chokes me out

Breathe in, breathe out
That’s what I tell my daughter anyway
When her emotions are getting the best of her,
Stop, breathe in, breathe out
Notice 5 things for each sense
Count your fingers, 1,2,3,4,5
Sniff and smell 1)wax melt 2)mommy’s hair 3)your favorite stuffed animal 4)the blanket 5)laundry
Look at 1) bubby’s eyes 2)the blue grey painted walls 3)Azora’s yellow shirt 4)toys all over the floor 5)the fuzzy carpet
Listen to 1)the birds outside 2)the tv in the background 3)the fan in the bedroom 4)my breath, in and out 5)Azora’s laugh, one of my favorite sounds
1)take a drink of your juice 2)taste the cookies I just made 3)the inside of your mouth 4)garlic green beans, mommy and Azora’s favorite 5)daddy’s best omelette

And we’re back to calm waters

One night Jesus told me He forgave me
Of course I thought, what do I do to deserve this? Only He replied,
You are loved
And so my journey began, to become a fisherman of people
So I say to you, call out to Him as I did, admit your sins, whatever they may be, jealousy, anger, envy, lust, abuse, drunkenness, ****** immorality, pride, do not hold back because He knows what our thoughts are and what is written on our hearts. In doing so you will turn from the darkness, in to the light.

Notice the trees, the grass, the flowers, the waters, all the beauties of the Earth and then for one moment begin to imagine Heaven. There will be no sufferings, no night, no darkness. All colors will be more in depth, richer, fuller.
Imagine time and space all in one. One moment can last a lifetime and a lifetime can last for a moment
Being able to experience the past, present, future all at once  

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.“

were once currency    
revive bubby in champagne
dried grapes are raisins