by Laura Parker Roerden
There’s something
available to us
that sits beside hope,
like an open door.
Children know
about it.
You sometimes
see them walk towards it.
Often they carry it
and place it on our laps,
looking up at us with
eyes flung
wide open.
“Here,”
they seem
to offer.
“Take this.”
I’ve once or twice
grabbed for it;
but that never
has worked.
It has no interest
in your worth
or intention even.
It simply arrives
quiet as sunrise,
yet never as fleeting.
Like a window-less
sky it changes and
moves on unseen currents
with force,
grace and
ample forgivness
teaching us
that rain is no worse
than sunshine; and
simple stones
as valuable as jewels.
Don’t miss another post: including Friday Poems and From the Shaker: Best Investments in Sustainability.
Laura Parker Roerden is the founding director of Ocean Matters and the former managing editor of Educators for Social Responsibility and New Designs for Youth Development. She serves on the board of Earth, Ltd. and is a member of the Pleiades Network of Women in Sustainability. She lives on her fifth generation family farm in MA.