In difficult times, carry something beautiful in your heart.
–Blaise Pascal
And so today, I walk the streets
with vermillion maple leaves inside me,
and the deep purple of late-blooming larkspur
and the lilting praise of meadowlark.
I carry with me thin creeks with clear water
and the three-quarters moon
and the spice-warm scent of nasturtiums.
And honey in the sunlight.
And words from Neruda and
slow melodies by Erik Satie.
It is easy sometimes to believe
that everything is wrong.
That people are cruel and the world
destroyed and the end of it all
imminent. But there is yet goodness
beyond imagining—the creamy
white flesh of ripe pears
and the velvety purr of a cat in my lap
and the white smear of milky way—
I carry these things in my heart,
more certain than ever that one way
to counteract evil is to ceaselessly honor what’s good
and share it, share it until
we break the choke hold of fear
and at least for a few linked moments,
we believe completely in beauty,
growing beauty, yes, beauty.
OMG, I so needed this vividly beautiful poem. Thank you.
Oh friend, it’s a lifeline, really, finding and sharing goodness. You have done it for me, too, with your poems, your stories, your photos, your website … thank you
Oh what a gem of a poem! So beautifully descriptive, warm as honey, golden as sunset, and ripe with promise. I love the many ways in which you honour the good through your words and share it from your heart. This really lifted me today. Thank you! xo ❤️
Thank you, Joy! It reminds me of the story about which wolf are you going to feed
I know which I want to feed …
What a lift to my day. Blessings to you for brightening our lives
Thank you, Constance–we’re so in it together 🙂
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