“How does one endure, survive, adapt, accept with grace what’s sent our way?”
— Poet Lynda Hull, in a letter `to her student, S.A.
We must endure–
We rise each morning to the same sounds.
Birds among motors keep us moving forward.
At times just noise, but now a welcome reminder—
we are still here.
We must survive: It was never easy
to maneuver through all the tricks and facades
learned through the years –
they all worked, up until now.
We must adapt:
In our evolving lexicon a new C word,
more horrifying than the other,
Corona–it can be beautiful:
A pearly glow surrounding the darkened disk of the moon
Yet, every beautiful thing decays,
even gilded points of a crown wear thin.
We must accept:
Everywhere an absence, only to see
the cloaks of the orange and black monarchs
their black wing-tipped eyes,
staring down at the amazed empty spaces,
of buildings and bike racks,
and the silence of blazing bus horns.
And then there’s Grace:
This the hardest part—
to relinquish power, and with sweeping wings,
fall to land into the hurdle,
then attempt to rise in the face
of what’s sent our way.
Laurie Kuntz is an award-winning poet and film producer. Her poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. She has published one poetry book and two chapbooks. Her website is: https://lauriekuntz.myportfolio.com/home-1
Lovely and poignant work
This poem goes right to the heart. I appreciate how the poet writes about powerful things/events that are frequently painful, yet she gives the hope of those small moments of beauty that make life not only bearable, but wondrous.