lenten journal: gathering
gathering
tomorrow two
groups will gather
on opposite ends
or our town green
the first will be
a funeral for a gentle
man who loved people
and their pets well
the second will be
a rally of solidarity
in the wake of all that
is being destroyed
in both cases
we will gather not
fully knowing why
other than it matters
the dead will not rise
our grief will not end
nothing will be solved
and we won’t be alone
none of the roads
we walk are new
death and dictators
seem as old as history
but rubbing shoulders
with other bits of stardust
who are also struggling
re-members us
puts us back together
which means to gather
after death after loss
in the middle of life
by midafternoon
we will disperse
as will those gathered
in other places
held by the fragile
grace of futility
of being together
we can’t change much
and we are not alone
Peace,
Milton
