By Donna Masini
I have oared and grieved,
grieved and oared,
treading a religion
of fear. A frayed nerve.
A train wreck tied to the train
of an old idea.
Now, Lord, reeling in violent
times, I drag these tidal
griefs to this gate.
I am tired. Deliver
me, whatever you are.
Help me, you who are never
near, hold what I love
and grieve, reveal this green
evening, myself, rain,
drone, evil, greed,
as temporary. Granted
then gone. Let me rail,
revolt, edge out, glove
to the grate. I am done
waiting like some invalid
begging in the nave.
Help me divine
myself, beside me no Virgil
urging me to shift gear,
change lane, sing my dirge
for the rent, torn world, and love
your silence without veering
into rage.
--------
Masini told Poets.org that during her sister's terminal illness, "I had prayed, or, rather, ricocheted from bargaining to demanding, to a kind of continual visceral begging." She wrote the poem while learning to drive in the aftermath, when "driving and prayer seemed equally inscrutable."
Thursday was a gorgeous day and I spent a decent part of the afternoon walking in the woods with friends! This was necessary because we are, ridiculously, supposed to have snow on Saturday and who knows how many of the cherry blossoms, daffodils, and magnolia flowers will survive that. I also hung out with Maddy, who is going on job interviews (she has found a second job at Georgetown Bagels that she likes so much, she'd like to find something else with compatible hours instead of her previous job).
Paul discovered that it was National Burrito Day and, in its honor, California Tortilla had a buy one-get one free deal, so we ate dinner there. Afterward, we watched Spider-Man: Homecoming with Cheryl, which remains an utter delight: believable high school students, adorable Peter, Daddy Tony Stark, a Bechdel pass by smart girls, the Captain America PSAs! Because they are also adorable, here are some more pics of the sheep and lambs at Mount Vernon over the weekend:
No comments:
Post a Comment