I don't know how to help
and that is paralyzing,
creating fear so great
it threatens to snuff out hope.
(Yes, you feel that too?)
The pandemic is tightening
its grip in so many places
while here we are happy
to be able to finally return to normal
and do our best to forget about it
because we are "so over it."
(Except for the people who lost
loved ones, lost businesses and jobs,
lost their health... it is not a mere
shifting of attitude for them.
And don't forget the people who live
where vaccines are not available.
Where are their choices?)
We are not taking care of the Earth
and the repercussions are
being felt in so many ways.
What possible difference
can one person make in a crisis so big?
How do I move from reverence to action?
(You ask that too?)
People are starving,
while so much of our country struggles with
the ill effects of too much.
Of just about everything.
White privilege is something
that makes me uncomfortable
in my own skin,
but I can't seem to find my role
in the effort to end systemic racism.
(Do you share the same questions?)
Children die every day
from illnesses that can easily be treated.
Every child lost has a name
and a family who mourns their passing.
People show up on our nation's doorstep
fleeing violence and poverty
and we can't figure out how to
put hope into their future.
(I see it breaks your heart too.)
Yes, it's such a long list and
this is only the beginning.
The answers are so very complicated.
I am one person
living in a small town in America.
The only thing I know for certain is that
I am not doing enough.
Please, tell me what you do.
Show me how to help.
It can be the smallest of things,
just please help me see.
And in doing so,
you will be giving me hope
so that I might pass it along.
