So Many Thoughts in the Quiet

I had a different poem in mind to open this Congress,

I wanted to inspire people to join our new board

I thought I’d make it funny

Gently prodding and lighthearted

But for weeks on end

In the early morning darkness

Tangled up in my bed sheets

A different poem waited for me

 

I turned away at first

Does anything good come from 4 am worries?

It’s been an exhausting decade

To have a human nervous system in.

When I lay still and tried to clear my mind

All I wanted to do was scream.

The mosquito whining beside my ear

Was the only one who seemed to understand

 

We are in a time of cataclysmic change

We are losing familiar ground

Crossing swords sometimes even with friends.

Many of us feel like we are on this strange path alone.

Trusting ourselves, God, and each other

Feels like a snake-ridden path.

Our human hearts are no longer

Defining sanity the same way.

 

How long is the night supposed to last?

Morning, whenever it might come,

Seems too far away each night

Why was my favorite robin always sleeping in?

“God,” I begged, “won’t you pull me aside

And explain the mysteries of the lower forces properly?”

Silence was always my answer

Even the sounds of forest rain were drowned out by that

 

What is there to say

When there’s so much to say

Last night, I decided to do some personal testing in the dark.

I was unable to avoid some snark

“You know, God,

An occasional note from management saying,

‘This is what you do when faced with a shit show’

Would be really nice.”

 

To my surprise,

A voice,

Clear as day

Rang out in the dark.

“There’s a town in Norway where nobody has a clock.”

I closed my eyes and took that in.

At the same moment,

Several robins began to chirp outside my window.

 

My face broke into an unexpected smile.

I didn’t know exactly what that meant

But I somehow understood

We don’t need certainty or for things to fit

We need resilience

And the latihan

We have what we need to carve something new

Out of the mosaic of our broken hearts

The future will be different

Maybe really so

But if we remember to listen

To our inner

And fall headfirst into the new

With curiosity

And joy

I have faith we will find our way.