A worry, a reminder, and a hope for spring
From Blessings for the Long Night
My book, Blessings for the Long Night, came out in 2022, but it was largely written during the first two years of the pandemic. Now, when I read Blessings (along with 365 Days of Peace) it brings me back to that time so vividly. This first poem, For the End of a Really Long Winter, captures that feeling of spring 2021 for me — emerging not just from a long winter, but a long period of isolation, confusion, and fear. The hope was tinged with the trauma of the past year and a half. I think, for many of us, it still is.
A Worry:
A Reminder:
A Hope:
Your Dear Heart
Throughout the world today
scary things are happening
Big, bright bells are rung
sirens sounding emergency, urgent
But within your house
and within your body
Is a heart battered but unbroken
fluttering, fighting to thrive
And I, in my house
want to hear more
From that dear heart.
Thanks for hanging out with me through the chaos and fear of these times. You are not alone, and spring will come. Spring always comes. No winter lasts forever.
Love,
Jessica