As I Sit in the Stunned Silence

As I sit in the stunned silence
For respect of the truth;
As I contemplate the little, incidental bits of joy in the earth:

The pot shards collected
And a Herb Robert growing with little sustenance;
A yellow leaf lying on the dug ground
And Forget-Me-Knots, rooted in an eddied corner:

I contemplate the little, incidental bits of joy in the earth:

The Grape Hyacynths have found their niche under the boards
And a clump of healthy daisies
Stand strong on the edge of the bed to be dug.

I think, 'They will stay'.

As I contemplate in the stunned silence
I know the palpitations of collective grief
And the sad breath of time.
The happiness is always tempered with sadness,
Quenched in the oil of desperate measures.

Written at the beginning of the Pandemic of 2020.