A gift of love

She offered it to me because I had said I loved it when she first walked into the room

Only moments ago, but ages yet, after sobbing and stammering over the loss,

The grief, the disbelief, the incredulity that this could have happened again

And why, and why, I sobbed

And they all looked at me, their eyes which have seen so much, knowing this grief 

Or another, at least as bad, maybe worse, but by this age, we all know deep grief.

I said yes.

And then after she gingerly removed it from her neck, she passed it to the next person

Who held it in their hands for blessed moment before passing it all around the table

Where each person sent their intent of love and healing into this beautiful shimmer

Of love and community.

I put it on, it is my intention that a baby is one day cradled in their arms.  

 

Darkness and Light at Equinox

The beauty of the daffodils and the forsythia alongside the house

stopped me short, to take this photograph. 

Death was the only thing on my mind, my heart heavy,

Tears flowing down my cheeks,  how 

Dare the brilliant yellows intrude upon the dark side of this equinox.

I am in the darkest place with the news this Spring, when 

We should have been rejoicing in sunshine, the light has turned

Away from us, from me, from those I love more than my 

Own small life.

I took out my phone to capture the beauty alongside my small house, 

The yellows are blurry with tears, but insistent to be noticed.

To call me into the light from this dark place.

Today I don't know how, but the daffodils and 

The forsythia will still be there this afternoon, 

Tomorrow, to greet me

Alongside my small house, they do not know

Grief, only beauty.  

 

Rewriting

 

In the rewriting, I can find the downbeat,

Even if in a moment of silence, it's there, a steadiness

When the heel taps on wood floor, and upon rising finds

A flurry of sixteenth notes streaming forth

An energy, so necessary in these times.

In rewriting, the chaotic became manageable, and the 

Music navigable, the beat is within me and 

I can carry this into this dire time, find the downbeat,

Rest a moment, if needed, and reach for the next.

Fight Time

And to those who are asleep, wake up!

To those who believe the horror will happen to someone else,

It will arrive at your door, 

You, the one who was stopped by ICE agent -

Even though you voted for Trump.

Yes, you who is getting advanced immunotherapy compliments of 

The government, it will stop for you, even though you voted for Trump

Regardless of what you do, what you have endured, the horror has

Arrived and will keep flowing through the open cowardly fingers

Of our politicians, now fearful of what they have created,

The fear and violence at their doors.

Wake up, America!