ABOUT LOVE

 

My granddog, Bosley, who will soon
have a puppy sister to play with.
A two-puppy household sounds like heaven!

I will not tell you everything will be okay.
We all know better than that by now:
the icecaps are still melting;
starving bears are swimming miles,
exhausted, in search of food;
underwater volcanoes can explode
with a force greater than a nuclear bomb.
(Think about that.)

There are too many worries to name,
and nearby the last of the Old Ones
are falling to chainsaws, bleeding sap
on the scraped earth. 

I don't know what to tell you, except:
it stays light a bit longer each evening,
and, some days, the grey skies draw back
and our old beautiful blue sky
is still there. We gaze at it, rapturously.

I can only say that life is a gift
that we all long to keep,
no matter what is happening.

Love is all around. So love because:
we are all here, breathing; because
the green shoots are popping up already
and we are not far from spring; love
because puppies are being born,
and baby everythings, even as
old peoples' eyes are closing peacefully
for the last time, on to their next adventure.

I can only say again that life is a gift
that we all long to keep,
that the beauty of forest and shore,
sea and sky, all the changing colours
of the earth, takes my breath away,
expands my heart with gratitude,
that, even, and always, alone,
a heart that hears the ocean's song
is never lonely.

Inspired by"New Year's Day" by Caitlin Myer. The italicized lines are hers.

Shared with earthweal's open link.