Thursday, December 31, 2020

The Woman Who Knows What to Write

 

The woman who knows what to write
didn't show up today.
Maybe she's sitting by the fire,
trying to decide whether to watch
the journalists review
The Most Horrible Year That Ever Was,
or to read another tome about
the accelerating climate crisis.

Why choose? She can do both!
I recommend a beverage,
to soften and blur the edges.

Sometimes it's not easy
to face the blank page.

But she is grateful to have
somewhere to put her angst,
her worry, her outrage
at so many injustices,
somewhere to sing
her love for the wild ones, 
and the trees, and the sky
and the sea.

In the midst of the world
slowly ending, are there
any words worth writing?
With so much going wrong,
can (she) find the words - any words -
that actually make a difference?

The Republicans who voted 
themselves a big cheque 
at the beginning of the pandemic,
are blocking  a $2,000 relief cheque
to the working poor "because someone 
might receive a cheque who doesn't need it."

My sense of justice has been on high alert
and outrage on a daily basis
for four years. 
No wonder I'm so tired.

But here's what I want you to know:
The world is still beautiful.
Mother Earth and her creatures,
who live by natural law,
know what to do, and our lives
are a gift.

It is humankind,
in our denial, our greed, our excessive
demand for More, who is the square peg
in a round hole. We need to soften our edges.
We need to open our eyes, our ears,
our hands and our hearts.

The woman who knows what to write
didn't show up today.
She has a
world-sized headache,
so she sent her envoy instead.


Inspired by "Proxy" by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. The italicized lines are hers.

4 comments:

  1. Ha, so often the woman who writes does not turn up at my abode either. Sometimes I have to beckon and cajole and tug at the woman, but I am always glad when (in the end) I manage to do so and the 'woman' writes! Despite the "world-sized headache" it is always good to put words on paper. So glad that you do!!

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  2. I simply LOVE LOVE third person poems! Yours is spectacular.

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  3. The women who knows how to write is very much here! I'd opt for sitting by the fire with a small drink!

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  4. Sorry, I'm late, it's been one of those days. I am always amazed and grateful when the "woman who knows how to write" actually shows up and does. And I'm certain that most days I definitely would prefer sitting by the fire with a (maybe not so small) drink.

    Hugs, Elizabeth

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