Gathering

Gathering

                           (written the day after the 2024 election)

We woke at 2am to a world on fire.

In dark times, I am driven to gather hidden light.

After the shock,
I wove a basket from tears
and texts “I love you” and “are you ok?”
and grit
and tatters of faith.

I lined the basket with a nest for hope,
one by one I placed in treasures
burnished in the ashes:

3am thoughts:
“They don’t get to have my peace,
I reclaim my peace”
which flung me into the moment
of deep gratitude for
our bed,
my sleeping husband,
and the stirring cat.

A Rumi poem
reminding us that where the lowland is, the water goes
and that weeping draws in medicine.

Lodgepole pine seeds, sealed in resin
that can only release in the heat of a fire.
Eucalyptus branches
that can only bud if the bark is burned away.

The masks we are dropping
to say I love you
without hesitation.

Therapists creating spaces for each other
so we can keep working.
Little sparks igniting around the world
fanning flames of connection.

A veteran, betrayed by our own military,
who could still say
“I survived my toughest days, America will too.”

snippets of conversations:
“we are in this together”
“may your shakiness deepen your groundedness”

Torn and folded notebook pages from my husband’s students
telling him how they are:
“I am really scared”
“I am angry”

The maple tree glowing fiery orange
wrapped in fairy lights.
This little oasis does not read the news.

Perhaps this is an arc of history
that I won’t see in my lifetime,
but I can do my part.

gather and listen
and offer my basket.

Take a penny, leave a penny.

Place in your grief,
your wisdom,
your humanity.
Take what you need
connection,
hope,
a metaphor,
Take each other.

I will gather more.

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Maureen Kane lives with her family in Bellingham, Washington. She is a mental-health therapist in private practice in Washington and Idaho. Her work has appeared in anthologies and journals. She is a Sue Boynton Poetry Walk Award winner. Her books of poems are The Phoenix Requires Ashes: Poems for the Journey and Mycelium: Poetry of Connection. Her workbook A Guide Back to You: A workbook for exploring who you are and staying true to yourself is a Chanticleer International Books Awards First Place winner.

Photo credit: Photo by Jari Hytönen on Unsplash.

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