Requiem Aeternam

I have had enough of frivolous blog posts for a while. Today’s post leaves behind childish things to explore a very mature and important subject which has serious implications for every American (and probably Kazakh) family. My subject has its roots in the great American and Canadian prairies where it is carefully cultivated and nourished, growing tall and golden until it is cut down in its prime, dried, sorted, processed, and shipped to millions of households across the world. I speak, of course, of cereal.  And here, for the very first time, I list the ten best cereals * available to mankind.

10. Honey Nut Cheerios

Normal cheerios taste good enough with milk and sugar, but it’s even better when the sugar has already been added! Honey’s one of the best tasting natural sweet flavors, and is well applied to these delicious little o’s. Equally good with milk or handfuls straight from the box!

9. Alpha-bits

Marshmallowy cereal at its best! Of course the little marshmallows are the all-stars of this cereal, but unlike lucky charms, marshmellow mateys, and other similar cereals, there’s something left to do with the remaining cereal once you’ve picked all the marshmallows out! See how many words you can find, write a story even since the marshmallows will be gone looooooong before the rest.

8.Golden Grahams

I haven’t had these for a while, but I like them much! They have the honey flavor fused with a little graham square. While some people I know have a distinct disregard for “SQUARES!!!!,”  squares in this instance are umm…not square.

7. Oatmeal

Plain but hearty, it’s perfect for cold northern mornings and gives some good lasting energy. Plus it’s healthy! At least that’s what it says on the canister. I’ll admit it doesn’t taste too good on its own, but there are lots of ways to spruce it up. My favorite is with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

6. Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Cinnamon and sugar toast was an integral part of my childhood. Almost as much as spankings and groundings, but much tastier.  This cereal brings back great memories and tastes, but is much faster and easier to make. Plus it leaves behind some of the best tasting milk.

5. Cinnamon Life

I must sadly make a confession: I terribly enjoy a good bit of cinnamon. Probably more than is healthy. In fact, I used to eat cinnamon sticks from my mom’s kitchen. In fact, I still would, but there seems to be  a distinct lack of cinnamon sticks in the guy’s dorms. There aren’t any cinnamon trees nearby either. I weep.

4. Frosted Mini-wheats (Maple and Brown Sugar or Vanilla Creme)

I still shudder at memories of mini-wheat’s predecessors. Big bricks of wheat that you had to break up by hand. We heated it with milk in the microwave and added sugar, but it was still rather wretched. These, on the other hand, are delicious bite sized crunchies with great flavor. The strawberry flavored ones are probably good too, but I’ve never had them.

3. Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds

Mmmmmmmm. Now we’re getting into the really good stuff. Sweet, nutty, and even a little healthy. I could eat it all day long just about.

2. Blueberry Morning

Beats out Honey Bunches of Oats by virtue of fruity goodness. The blueberries are vastly better than the fake fruitiness of Trix or Fruit Loops or Fruity Pebbles. On a similar note, Strawberry Special K is really good too, but I forgot about it until now and I don’t have room to put it on the list because the top spot is reserved for the one, the only . . .

1.  Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs

Calvin, the world cannot thank you enough. ^_^

* The committee has deemed grits inelligible for this list on principle. Also because it is corn rather than wheat based. Also because of your face. And because I said so.

Dona Nobis

I dream of street lights passing by:
Sleeping against the window, your face fades
In the dark spaces between
Then returns; the shadow of rain on the windshield
Cascades down your face like dark tears
Dissolving your form into darkness
Until the next light passes and you reappear.

Once, time slowed and the sun obeyed
Us, our arms outstretched binding
Afternoons and evenings to eternity,
But now we hurtle over pavement,
A wheeled rocket racing toward the end of the world,
Incapable of turning or stopping.

Dies irae, dies illa
Solvet saeclum in favilla

The city blinks away behind us and
Street lights pass less frequently.
The dark spaces grow stronger,
Leaving you longer in shadow,
A black hole just beyond my elbow.
What beauty was in the world vanishes
As the last light fades, leaving
Only headlights to light the road ahead,
And no light shining on you at all.

Qui Mariam absolvisti,
Et latronem exaudisti,
Mihi quoque spem dedisti.

I must drive deeper into the night,
Hoping to reach some distant sunrise
In whose light you would again appear
And wipe the sleep from your eyes.
If I stopped while darkness still veils you,
I would reach out my hand to wake you
And find only air where you once were
Because you had faded away forever.

So I grip the wheel and drive sleeplessly
Toward morning hoping desperately
That the road beneath me will last
Until the sun rises from its grave
Reclaiming you from shadow,
Despite knowing, as one does in dreams,
That night would prove longer than pavement
And the road would end, leaving me alone
Listening to windshield wipers in the rain.

Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam.

Exhausted I wake relieved of dreams and see
Shadows diminished, through the window
I feel sunshine and hear a new day calling me

Lux aeterna luceat nobis, Domine,
Et requiem aeternam dona nobis.
Lux perpetua luceat nobis, Domine. Amen.