Inspired

This scrappy dogwood was very old when we moved here seventeen years ago.  We were advised to remove it because of structural damage but I was taken by its stalwart spirit.  Transfigured by trauma, it persists and reaches, still, for the light.

Terrible Things

Some things, unforeseen, knock us off kilter.  Early on, full of hope and resilience, we glean gifts from the wreckage and move forth, stronger at the seams. 

Some things come in quick succession, before the last seam has cured. 

Some things irrevocably change us.  We become unrecognizable to ourselves, unsure of our seams.

Some things happen over and over again.  The price of changing our response is too high.  Those for whom the price is not too high begin to fall away, one by one.

Isolated, brittle from vigilance, we move forward, trying everything.  With each failure, we retreat within, in search of our innocence, where we might find a spark of hope.

Depleted, disoriented, stillness is a balm as we wait for the next . . . thing.