remember what powers remain

to make peace in fractured times

Oleanders by Vincent Van Gogh, 1888

A poem by Jane Hirshfield ~

from The Asking: New and Selected Poems, Knopf, 2023

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Invitation

Count what you can make and do, today. Not in general, not tomorrow; just today.
I’m in New Orleans, where yesterday a man drove a truck into a crowd on the legendary street where everyone goes to relax their boundaries, get drunk and see women’s skin. I worked on that street once before I was even a woman. People go there to walk in a crowd, to feel part of a crowd. Many hearts were broken in the 6 by 13 block neighborhood called the French Quarter. It was not a good way to start the New Year. This is a city of hospitality, a gem of generosity, of sweet pet names between strangers. Take that violence somewhere else.

Today, I can do one thing. There will be blood drives at six locations in the city. I can get glazed donuts and bring them to the people in line to donate blood. Raise their blood sugar. Assert the bonds of love. Say that streets are also safe. Whisper thanks, if nothing else.