JOY
As I’ve struggled to work out how to respond to events in the Ukraine I came across some inspiring words by William Sieghart. Commenting on a poem by Mary Oliver (‘Don’t Hesitate‘) he points out that the world has always been bleak but that joy enriches it – and is a persistent weed we can’t, and shouldn’t, control. I found this very helpful and it prompted the poem below, which I’ve called, simply, Joy.
Joy
When cities are ravaged,
hospitals razed to the ground,
when our dreams are haunted
by the sound of explosions,
it is not wrong to feel joy
for it has always been this way
and always must,
the fault in human make up
can turn all things to dust,
and yet we love and laugh,
we give and maybe pray
for only with the touch of joy
can we face another day.
©C A Earnshaw 10/3/22
