Water Prayer

from Out With Lanterns, a daily poetry practice

One day we will look back 
on these times and think, 
  Phew, we made it. 
We will have remembered 
that we must love our neighbors 
even when they’re not like us--
don’t vote like us, don’t look like us, 
don't worship like us, don't act like us.
Our outrage will be worn out
and we’ll turn off screens,
greet our neighbors, incite
potlucks instead of violence.
We will topple this regime with love,
because hate burns hard and fast 
but love lingers. Like water, love seeps
through floorboards and leaves
rivulets on windows, drop joining drop
because in the end, we’re all just water.

A note about this poem: I wrote this poem last night. I usually don’t post the poems I write for several days/weeks/months. I like to fiddle with them, see what else they have to say. But sometimes poems feel too urgent to sit in my drafts file. So here she is.

For me, in times of great disruption, terror, and fear, it can be healthy to do a little wishful thinking. I send love to you all as we navigate this scary moment together. Let’s be like water.