my pandemic (r)evolution

ripples of a pandemic

ground zero

hub of pestilence and grief

fear and worry

resilience and daring

persistence and courage

generosity and altruism

humanity

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remembering

how it was to dare

to sit at a bar

to give a spontaneous hug

to a stranger at the laundromat

to sit in a classroom and share birthday cake

to go to a baseball game

to dance on a crowded dance floor

to love to laugh to live

to lean

into the days

expanding my capacity

to learn

to be in the moment

in. the. moment

in. this. moment

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to live with no mask

again

mouths moving

forming laughter

lips kissing

a cheek a mouth a forehead

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in a world brushed with worry

I mix my moments of gray

that dance between white and black

light and dark

love and fear

bravery and cowardice

hope and doubt

the velvet essence

of what we all call "a new normal"

whispering

wrapping its cloak around me

hushing my resistance

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My fingers search the keyboard

I tap out . . . h-o-p-e

again

h-o-p-e

we grow

we sow hope

dropping seeds in our wake

in the furrows of disaster

watered by tears

pollinated with love

harvested by helping hands

making light of the work

that lies before us

h-o-p-e