Here in Australia, Nature is currently having a tantrum. In North Queensland we should have been in Monsoon mode. Instead we have had unrelenting hot weather whilst further south the rain rules supreme demanding heartbreak. Floods always do. Elsewhere in the world I am sure Nature is also causing havoc of some kind. Or at least getting ready to do so, for Nature answers to no-one. Why should she when we ignore her needs? A reality check is needed.
Meanwhile Covid is still running its own race even if on the surface we seem to be navigating it so much better than we were. And then we have a war that is breaking more hearts, hurting families and taking lives. In fact, it is reeking such destruction that getting back to any equilibrium is almost impossible. I wonder everyday about what I can do to help, and it is overwhelming to feel so helpless. Reality check has no answers. It sees but gives us little direction.
Or maybe it does. All around us people are doing things, kind things and opening their hearts and offering their hands. There is an army of people trying to give both help and hope to those that have lost so much. Perhaps it has to start with small things, in the way we see others behave. If we let it inspire us then more may rally. As a consequence our actions may grow into the epic proportions we need. Or will it? The pessimist in me rears its head and says we are pawns fighting to move forward on a chess board someone else controls. Yet, I don’t think I can stop the optimist from believing.
Sometimes writing is a balm to the heart and mind.
Accepting the Reality
I reach for colours
of weaving waving white
for the sake of wounded warriors.
I wait for the setting of the sun
and pray for the ones still standing
hoping we will remember them.
Soldiers at arms
in eerie bloodied battlefields
of everyday struggles
still end in penetrating pain
no-one sees,
that no-one notices.
The fight is fought
inside the mind
and brutally battered cells
suffer spiteful torturous touches
in sickly spinning silence
of brain confinement.
We can’t speak up, and
afraid to make real sounds
everything is mumbled.
Messages are stuffed
in a bottle and doomed to float
to nowhere.
This is not the normal war.
This one is insidious,
an internal struggle
resulting in a deep, dark
and depraved bitterness.
This is a moratorium,
a sixties sit-in protest.
The reality like then
shows no-one listening.
When will I learn?
From Emotions in Existence and The Emotions Anthology Box Set.
Until next time,
Barb
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It does seem like the world is going crazy sometimes and it is heartbreaking as you said. I suppose all we can do is contribute whatever goodness we can. Beautiful words. Sending virtual hugs!
Thank you.
As heartbreaking as it is to see history repeat itself – it’s important to remember that the world has gone through worse and come through it. I believe it’s important to concentrate on things we can control. Do what we can to help – however small. I believe this in not only the best way to help the world but ourselves as well. Beautiful poem Barb 🙏
Thank you for your kind words.
It does seem like things are falling apart right now. I do believe that there is a lot of good in the world.
There is. Thank you for stopping by.
I enjoyed the poem, even though about a difficult subject. I particularyl enjoyed,
“Messages are stuffed
in a bottle and doomed to float
to nowhere”
Very clever.
Stuffed could be the operative word, the hurry to do and not think.
Beautifully said, Barbara. I feel an unease about the future more than any other time in my life. I’m glad I don’t know what the future holds. I’m afraid the pessimist in me couldn’t cope with it. The optimist in me is having more and more trouble treading water. I’m glad I’m not a young person. And isn’t it sad to say such a thing?
I feel the same way most days and it saddens me too.
If we all would take small steps to making the world better, things may change. I’ve always told my kids and grandkids to leave every place you are at better than when you got there.
Beautifully said.