Greetings, Poetry Lovers! I've missed you as I've ducked in and out these couple-few weeks. In the midst of all the stress in the news, we've had happy family events to look forward to - a baby shower for daughter Morgan & family last weekend, and a little celebratory lunch for Son Seth & his love that we're hosting on Saturday, after they get married at the courthouse TODAY/Friday! (They'll have a ceremony and reception in the Spring.)
I was among those who met late Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning with numbness and a bit of despair. I texted with a few friends, and there were lots of messages with hubby Jeff's sibling group. What struck me was that it seemed to be the impulse of several folks to respond to this state of overwhelm with... poetry. Tuesday night as results started rolling in, my sister-in-law Patti shared "Holding Vigil" by Alison Luterman, written in response to the experience, I believe. Among the poems ending up in text messages the next morning were "The Peace of Wild Things" by Wendell Berry, a favorite among our PF folks. Jeff shared a post on social media by Chelan Harkin that started with, "It's when the earth shakes...." Other folks sent spiritual passages that read as a mix of poetry and prose.
I wanted to post something on Facebook, but nothing I could come up with myself seemed right, or appropriate. Then I ran across Janet Wong's post, where she shared her wonderful poem, "Looking for Birds," and it resonated with the feelings and tone I wanted to share. So I shared the post and asked if I could share the poem again here today. It's from the wonderful Pomelo Books collection, HOP TO IT. Janet and Syliva Vardell are the power team behind that publishing venture, and several of us are lucky to have poems in those anthologies. I love how a poem, originally conjured up with a certain topic or sensibility in mind, can also meet another experience not dreamed of when it was originally penned.
Look for Birds
It could be worse.
It is worse
somewhere
for someone.
Today will blend into tomorrow.
Tomorrow will become next week.
Everything happening now
will become just one page
in a history book
in a hundred years.
Let's look out the window.
Come, let's look for birds.
©Janet Wong
I suppose one reason I took this poem to heart on this occasion was that Wednesday morning, I took my dog Rookie on his usual walk. I realized that for him, nothing had changed. He was immersed in whatever smells, sounds, sights and tracks caught his attention in the moment. It was okay for me to just be on a walk for a few minutes, noticing the natural world. (And Rookie's used to my stopping now and then to try to see some woodpecker I've just heard, or to try to suss out what bird made some unusual call.)
In a few lines, Janet's poem helped me take a breath and a brief big-picture break. But more importantly, it helped me remember that implications from this election might have a much more dire impact on people more vulnerable than myself, particularly those who weren't born here, those whose gender identities bother or frighten some people, and my daughter, daughter-in-law, and soon-to-be-born granddaughter, and all women in those generations. All younger folks, of course, when one thinks of the climate crisis. And then we must think about the rest of the world - those in Ukraine, Gaza, Taiwan ... and all countries, really.
Back to the poem. Take comfort from the woods and from birdsong, we must. Simply noticing can make us grateful and more calm. But we can't stay on our wooded paths, or behind a window, indefinitely. Others need us to look out for them, too.
At Merely Day by Day, you'll find a powerful original poem by Cathy on this topic, and you'll find the whole Roundup. Thank you, Cathy, for hosting this week. And many thanks to Janet for letting me share her poem!