Rain Light

All day the stars watch from long ago
my mother said I am going now
when you are alone you will be all right
whether or not you know you will know
look at the old house in the dawn rain
all the flowers are forms of water
the sun reminds them through a white cloud
touches the patchwork spread on the hill
the washed colors of the afterlife
that lived there long before you were born
see how they wake without a question
even though the whole world is burning

~by W. S. Merwin

Even though the whole world is burning – it feels that way, doesn’t it?  We are all struggling in our own ways right now.  And while some certainly have it worse – I’m thinking of my elderly grandmother, who is probably lonely and doesn’t understand why her family has stopped coming to see her (she’s on lockdown; no one can visit); and my cousin, who is an R.N. and putting her personal safety on the line day in and day out; and all my family and friends in New York – it’s not easy for any of us.  I’m trying to be kind to myself in this season of being (mostly, except for runs and the occasional hike) trapped in my house, trying to do three full-time jobs at once (parenting, teaching, and lawyering).  But, as this poem wisely reminds us – when you are alone you will be all right / whether or not you know you will know – and the flowers wake without a question.

How are you doing?