A Bad Year

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Even in this bad year,*
I learned:
how to change my perspective
from angst to rueful observation of human folly,
from a distance, in order to preserve
what inner peace I can. How to stay open
and aware of what is, yet not to let it bury me
in gloom, so that I have something sunny
and positive to offer those around me:
belief in the Bigger Picture, which is unfolding
towards the other end of the spectrum
in its time. (May it accelerate!)

I watch the news. I shake my head.
I wonder what it will take for some
of those in power to stop the madness.
I am surprised by the change from anger
to - is it resignation? fatalism? or trust
that the arc of justice is long, and the pendulum
will swing once more the other way,
hopefully to not be forgotten ever again.
May humankind find the harmony 
of living in the middle, with equity for all.

Why is it that the world needs to turn more brutal
in order for us to relearn compassion?

What do I hold onto?
The expansive ever-changing and yet eternal sky.
The reminder that, as we fall,
we break open, receptive to all that life
is trying to teach.

Who teaches me the most?
Dogs, who live only to love,
and birds, who survive on seeds and berries,
trusting only their own small wings.

Wild Writing: Day One: Inspired by the poem Bad Year by Jane Hirshfield The italicized words are hers.