We all belong to the same galactic oneness.
—Carlos Santana, Master Class
I could be the doctor who, overwhelmed
in the ER, went home and killed herself.
I could be the sixteen-year-old boy
who had to cover his father with a white sheet
before the coroner arrived.
I could be the white sheet.
I could be the lawmaker unable to sleep,
or her pillow that hears her cry out in fear
when at last the sleep arrives.
I could be the rhythmic hissing of the ventilator
or the wail of the wife, or the weary hum
of the custodian beneath her mask
as she wipes the surfaces clean.
It could be me, the eleventh death
in the town next door to mine.
It could be me, the one who
unknowingly makes you sick
because I don’t know I carry
something deadly inside my breath.
And so I don’t hug you when I see you
across the post office lobby,
though my heart leaps up to hold you.
Because you could be the flat line
on the EKG.
Because you could be number twelve.
Wow, Rosemerry. This is very profound and quite fitting for now. I guess there is a lot to be said for counting our blessings, for it always could be worse.
oh yes …. I think of the phrase used in some cultures to greet another, I am the other you, and it feels so true, how easily it could be any of us …
hugs to you, Kaye
My goodness, yes, these really are the other shoes we could be in, imaginary or otherwise. This is a sharply observed, salutary reminder of the hard places some are inhabiting, which we could become a part of without knowing. We’re all more interlinked than we often grasp. And we feel that more than ever before when breath, the very basic stuff of life itself, can be what we’re all gasping for.
it is something I think of a lot in this time, the breath, how it links us, how it’s what is under attack … this most basic need for human life … hugs to you, Joy
I felt this all the way into my lungs, all of it. You put so well here how we are indeed one another, with a pandemic the most resounding reminder possible. Thank you.
thank you, friend … I keep thinking of that ancient greeting, I am the other you. And yeah, it seems soooooo resonant right now. we need each other so. I need YOU!
This is a beautiful poem of empathy. So many need more empathy right now. I’m really enjoying your video on Rattle cast. You’re right, the Carlos Santana Masterclass is wonderful!
thank you, Maria! Oh i have so much respect and courage for so many people right now. thank you for the feedback on the Rattlecast video. Tim is a marvelous interviewer.
And Wow! Carlos Santana … I am enthralled by his being–have no idea how to play guitar, but I love the way he shows up, how his insights into guitar have everything to do with how to show up in life.