by Suze Allen 1.20.2025
I will spend today with the poets, philosophers and sages
Let their wise and soulful words knead the woe from my heart
Until it rises as it has always done come darkness or light
I will light a candle to make the ordinary sacred
Celebrate the morning’s reinauguration of my soul’s worth
Play the ballads, strings soaring elevating swelling my melancholy
My resolve
I will stand at the edge of the ocean to feel inconsequential
Stardust and brevity in the midst of something majestic
unwavering
holy
The bay promises to hold me in its frigid salty embrace
calm my worries with its tidal lull and pull
rejuvenate my cells until they pop with joy
I’ll look to Alcatraz Island once a fortress of criminal degradation
disenfranchisement
now a place where tourists choose to walk free in confinement cells
swimmers jump off barges to swim the channel for fun and adventure
always heading for the shore
where the Great Blue Heron dances its leggy dance
scoops and swallows a fish
swoops to the green boat to tuck itself in from the wind
Her lessons luminously clear
I will call my beloveds to me by phone or in person
My kindred evolutionists, my loves, the keepers of the lighted path
We will share the stories of our days just as we always have
Laugh at our foibles, say what must be said
Always our truths our wishes our wonderings
the sun will rise as the moon sets
the tides will go from high to low and back again
the seeds will crack their slimy encasements
shoot up potential trees I may never live to see
buds will burst from their hot tight skin into whimsical flowers
colorful and laden with pollen calling the bees and birds
to eat to spread their seed
the nutrient rich compost yielding and ripe for new beginnings
for sustenance
I will run my hands over the ancient bark of the redwood tree
And lean my forehead against its fortitude
Hear the sap run life force strong
Sense the deep roots running everywhere connecting to every other tree
Calling I’ve got you. I’ve got you, in the language of hope and resilience