A Sunset Captured by a Drop of Rain

The orange sphere is racing just ahead

Of dark-gray sheets that sweep across the sky,

Collecting shades of pink and purple-red

Where rays of light impart their sun-made dye.

 

The sphere appears to touch the distant ground

And flatten, as the sheets begin to pour

Their water from above, its muffled sound

Surrounding me upon the grassy floor.

 

One cloud-borne tear falls just before my face,

Descending on the course it’s meant to fly,

And in that moment – that brief, eternal moment –

One droplet holds the sun before my eye.

Sometimes when I go on bike rides in the evening, I see the sunset to the west juxtaposed against clouds that cover the sky overhead. This poem simply imagines a magical moment, when a tiny raindrop falling from the clouds appears to contain the entirety of the sun within itself. We might draw parallels to the depths contained within the human soul, the wonder within a single moment of insightful revelation, or - to borrow the title of a book written by the Dalai Lama - "the universe in a single atom."

Stagnant

The faucet had been freely flowing

Much like a steady river running,

But then the drain had started slowing,

Surprising all our careless cunning.

 

Eventually, we turned it off

Or, at least, reduced the rate

At which the water filled the trough,

And now we’re left to ask, “Too late?”

 

A tepid pool now lingers, waiting

Until the flow will start again,

While we remain at odds, debating

The right way to restart and when.

 

But as the present seems to stretch

And sit from day to day unaltered,

Perhaps we have the space to etch

A better future where we’ve faltered.

 

When future’s bells return to ringing,

Perhaps the flow will pull us to

Release what vestiges were clinging,

Revealing light still shining through.

I wrote most of this poem several weeks ago, while the pandemic quarantine was at its peak (although I continue to work from home now). It explores many of the same ideas and themes as my poem Spun Askew, which I shared in early May. Still, I think it has some relevant things to say, especially about continuing to be conscious of the societal issues that this pandemic has exposed.

The Sun behind the Storm

Where does shelter lie

To offer solace from the storm?

Do you wall the endless sky

And close off every face and form

Until your soul is held inside

And nothing enters through the door?

But what of those who wait outside,

Enduring still, as times before,

The lashings of the driving rain,

The pressures of eternal strain?

 

No – today, I open up

To hear the cry and see the cup

Where dreams deferred spill out again

To break upon the ground, and then

I reexamine what I think

And learn from lives that bend their ink

To mark the struggles they have known,

Each loss and wound and broken bone

And so much time spent waiting

For all to hear the devastating

Song that pours until reform

Will find the sun behind the storm.

 

For the sun is sometimes brightest

When it’s breaking through the falling rain,

And the air is sometimes lightest

In the shadow of the hurricane.

Will the days soon bring that moment?

Will the swelling waves and fair refrain

Bring all humanity to bear,

Confronting such historic strain

With deeper strands of love? Ensnare

My humble soul, in days grown warm,

Where solace lies beyond the storm.

I've been writing this poem slowly over the past week, thinking about everything that's been happening in the country and the world - thinking about the past and present sins that haunt our society, the need to confront and address these horrifying realities and systemic injustices, and the importance of raising up the voices and work of members of vulnerable, neglected, and oppressed communities. In that vein, I'd suggest you check out the short and extremely powerful poem Harlem, composed by Langston Hughes. That poem is what inspired my use of the phrase "dreams deferred" in the second stanza.

The poem I've written is meant to convey the responsibility I have to be open, to listen, to work toward a better understanding of the issues at play, and to support efforts for a more equitable society where everyone - and especially those who have been and continue to be the targets of racism and injustice - feels safe, valued, and loved. It's my hope that this period will help to push us along a path that leads, eventually, after continued effort and sustained work, to better days.